Category: A

An independent, nonprofit organization that was established in 1925 for the preservation and distribution of reference cultures. A nonprofit scientific organization dedicated to maintaining collections of microorganisms and other biological resources for use in academic, governmental, or industrial laboratories. The ATCC also provides educational and technical support about microbiology and biological resources.  

A society founded for the purpose of “providing a multi- and inter-disciplinary forum for those persons from academia, industry, and government who are interested in any and all aspects of biotechnology, and will achieve its aims by cooperation with existing organizations active in the field.” To join, write ASB, P.O. Box 2820, Sausalito, California, 94966-2820.…

A set of dispersed and related genetic sequences, each about 300 base pairs long, in the human genome. At both ends of these 300 bp segments there is an A-G-C-T sequence. Alu 1 is a restriction enzyme that recognizes this sequence and cleaves (cuts) it between the G (guanine) and the C (cytosine).  

Also written as a-interferon. One of the interferons, it has been shown to prolong life and reduce tumor size in patients suffering from Kaposi’s sarcoma (a cancer that affects approximately 10 percent of people with acquired immune deficiency syndrome). It is also effective against hairy-cell leukemia and may work against other cancers. It has recently…

Monoclonal antibodies that are isoantigenic.  

The “site” on an (allosteric) enzyme molecule where, via noncovalent binding to the site, a given effector can increase or decrease that enzyme’s catalytic activity. Such an effector is called an allosteric effector because it binds at a site on the enzyme molecule that is other (alio) than the enzyme’s catalytic site.  

Regulatory enzymes whose catalytic activity is modulated by the noncovalent binding of a specific metabolite (effector) at a site (regulatory site) other than the catalytic site (on the enzyme). Effector binding causes a three-dimensional conformation change in the enzyme and is the root of the modulation. The term is used to differentiate this form of…

An IgE-mediated (aggressive) immune system response to antigen(s) present on protein molecules in the particular food that (a given) person is allergic to. The antibodies (IgE) bind to those antigens and trigger a humoral immune response, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, skin reactions, wheezing, and respiratory distress. In severe cases, the immune response can cause…

The expression in any particular manner of only one of the alleles, coding for the expressed immunoglobin.  

A chemical method of liberating DNA from a DNA-RNA hybrid.