Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

An instrument used for measuring the degree of rotation of plane-polarized light by an optically active compound/solution. An instrument for measuring amount of polarization of fight or rotation of polarized fight,  

A mutation in one gene which, because transcription occurs only in one direction, reduces the expression of subsequent genes in the same transcription unit further down the line.  

A molecule in which the centers of positive and negative (electrical) charge do not coincide, so that one end of the molecule carries a positive (or partial positive) charge and the other end a negative (or partial negative) charge.  

A hydrophilic (“water loving”) portion of a molecule; it may carry an electrical charge. A group that “likes” to be in the presence of water molecules or other polar compounds.  

A mutation consisting of a change of only one nucleotide in a DNA molecule. A change in only one nucleotide in the DNA sequence of a gene. Frame-shift, conservative, non-conservative, missense, nonsense, and silent mutations are examples of point mutations.  

Adjective used to describe a gene that affects more than one trait (apparently unrelated) characteristic of the phenotype (appearance of an organism). For example, biologist David Ho in 1993 discovered a single gene in the barley (Hordeum vulgare) plant that controls the traits of the plant’s height, drought resistance, strength, and time to maturity.  

An angiogenic growth factor produced by the blood’s platelet cells which attracts the growth of capillaries into the vicinity of a fresh wound. This action releases still other growth factors, and starts the process of building a fibrin network, to support the subsequent (blood) clot. PDGF is a competence factor (i.e., a growth factor that…

An independent, stable, self-replicating piece of DNA inside a plant cell that is not a part of the normal cell genome (i.e., in nucleus). Because there can exist up to 10,000 plastids in a given plant cell, the insertion of a gene (e.g., via genetic engineering) into plastids can result in a higher yield (of…

Another name for a blast cell. The malignant cells found in the bone marrow and occasionally in the blood of persons with multiple myeloma.  

A thin structure that completely surrounds the cell as a “skin.” They may be seen with the aid of an electron microscope. The entire membrane appears to be about 100 Angstroms (Å; 0.1 μm) thick and is composed of two dark lines each about 30 A thick which are, however, separated by a lighter area.…