Category: C

A transit peptide that, when fused to a protein, acts to transport that protein into chloroplast(s) in a plant. Once (both are) inside the chloroplast, the transit peptide is cleaved off the protein and that protein is then free (to do the task it was designed for). For example, the CP4 EPSPS enzyme in genetically…

An enzyme that degrades chitin. It is produced by certain fungi and actinomycetes that destroy the eggs (shells) of harmful roundworms.  

A chemical compound that contains an asymmetrical center and is capable of occurring in two nonsuperimposable mirror images. This phenomenon was first described by Louis Pasteur. “Chiral” is a word that is derived from the Greek cheir (meaning “hand”). For example, human hands may be used to illustrate chirality in that when the left and…

Fused proteins from different species, produced from the chimeric DNA template.  

Recombinant DNA containing spliced genes from two different species.  

Therapy (to cure disease) by chemically synthesized drugs.  

An empirical methodology utilized to (inexpensively) infer a chemical quantity/value from (indirect) measurement(s) of other physical/chemical values (which can be obtained inexpensively). The term chemometrics was coined in 1975 by Bruce Kowalski. One example of the use of chemometrics is to infer the TME(N) or “true metabolizable energy” of high-oil com from that corn’s protein…

Protein molecules inside living cells that assist with correct protein folding as the protein molecule emerges from the cell’s ribosome. Examples of such chaperone molecules include heat-shock protein 70 and heat-shock protein 40. An individual who accompanies a health care provider during the examination of a disrobed patient to ensure that sexual boundary violations do…

Diamond vs. Chakrabarty, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1980; a landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that the inventor of a new microorganism whose invention otherwise met the legal requirements for obtaining a patent, could not be denied a patent solely because the invention was alive. It essentially allowed the patenting of life…

The set of current, up-to date methodologies, practices, and procedures mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which are to be followed in the testing and manufacture of pharmaceuticals. The set of rules and regulations promulgated and enforced by the FDA to ensure the manufacture of safe clinical supplies. The cGMP guidelines are more…