Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A class of enzymes that cleave (i.e. cut) DNA at a specific and unique internal location along its length. These enzymes are naturally produced by bacteria that use them as a defense mechanism against viral infection. The enzymes chop up the viral nucleic acids and hence their function is destroyed. Discovered in the late 1970s…

A class of enzymes, each of which cleaves (i.e., cuts) oligosaccharides (e.g., the side chains on glycoprotein molecules) at a specific location within the chain. They are an important tool in carbohydrate engineering, enabling the carbohydrate engineer to sequence (i.e., determine the structure of) existing oligosaccharides, to create different oligosaccharides, and to create different glycoproteins…

The product of a regulatory gene, it is a protein that combines both with an inducer (or corepressor) and with an operator region (e.g., of DNA). Something, especially an enzyme, that inhibits or interferes with the initiation of protein synthesis by genetic material.  

The inhibition of transcription (or translation) by the binding of a repressor protein to a specific site on the DNA (or RNA) molecule. The repressor molecule is the product of a repressor gene.  

An enzyme whose synthesis (rate of production) is inhibited (repressed) when the product that it (or it in a multienzyme sequence) synthesizes is present in high concentrations. It is a way of shutting down the synthesis of an enzyme whose product is not required because so much of it is readily available to the cell.…

The point at which strands of parental duplex DNA are separated in a Y shape. This region represents a growing point in DNA replication.  

Reproduction of the original virus. This process can be viewed as occurring in stages, in which the first stage consists of the adsorption of the virus to the host cell, followed by penetration of the virus (or its nucleic acid) into the cell, the taking over of the cell’s biomachinery and harnessing of it to…

A virus containing double-stranded RNA. It is isolated from the respiratory and intestinal tracts of humans and other mammals. The prefix “reo-” is an acronym for respiratory enteric orphan. A virus which affects both the intestine and the respiratory system, but does not cause serious illness. One of a group of small RNA containing viruses…

Those chemicals that act to block the hypertensive (i.e., high blood pressure-inducing) effect of the enzyme, renin.  

A proteolytic enzyme that is secreted by the juxtaglomerular cells of the kidney. Its release is stimulated by decreased arterial pressure and renal blood flow resulting from decreased extracellular fluid volume. It catalyzes the formation of angiotensin I from hypertensinogen. Angiotensin I is then converted to angiotensin II by another enzyme located in the endothelial…