Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Vagility
The ability of organisms to disseminate (e.g., spread throughout a given habitat).
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Vagile
Wandering or roaming (e.g., a microorganism that is not attached to a solid support tends to “wander” through its environment as it gets pushed about by currents of air or liquid).
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Vaccinia
A non-pathogenic virus that is believed to be a (modified) form of the virus that causes cowpox. Vaccinia readily accepts genes (inserted into its genome via genetic engineering) from pathogenic viruses so it can be used to make vaccines that do not possess the risk inherent in attenuated-virus vaccines (i.e., that the attenuated virus “revives”…
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U.S. patent and trademark office (USPTO)
The Washington, D.C.-based American Government agency that is responsible for common patent protection matters for all of America’s 50 states and its territorial possessions. The USPTO allows the patenting of new and unique microbes, plants, and animals; as well as the new and unique methods to produce such biotechnology advances.
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Unsaturated fatty acid
A fatty acid containing one or more double bonds (between individual atoms of the molecule). Fatty acids whose carbon atoms lack two or more hydrogen atoms. They are usually liquid at room temperature and come from vegetable products contain no cholesterol saturated fatty acids. Those fats that are liquid at room temperature. Fatty acids are…
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Units (U)
A measure (quantitation) of biological activity of a substance, as defined by various standardized assays (tests). An organization of curriculum implying a unity or wholeness.
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Union for protection of new varieties of plants (UPOV)
A group of the world’s countries that have jointly agreed to mutually protect the intellectual property (of owners) that is inherent in new plant varieties developed by man. The secretariat for this union is in Geneva, Switzerland.
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Ultrafiltration
A (mixture) separation methodology that uses the ability of synthetic semipermeable membranes (possessing appropriate physical and chemical natures) to discriminate between molecules in the mixture, primarily on the basis of the molecules’ size/shape. Invented and developed by Dr. Roy J. Taylor in the 1950s and 1960s, ultrafiltration is typically utilized for the separation of relatively…
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Ultracentrifuge
A high-speed centrifuge that can attain revolving speeds up to 85,000 rpm and centrifugal fields up to 500,000 times gravity. The machine is used to sediment (i.e., cause to settle out) and hence separate macromolecules (i.e., large molecules) and macromolecular structures in a mixture/solution. In general, a centrifuge is a machine that whirls test tubes…
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Ubiquitin
A small protein present in all eucaryotic cells (ubiquitous) which plays an important role in “tagging” other proteins that are destined (marked) for destruction (via proteolytic cleavage). Such proteins are then removed because they are damaged or no longer needed by the body. An intracellular protein that helps to destroy misfolded proteins. It is also…
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