Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Defective virus
A virus that, by itself, is unable to reproduce when infecting its host (cell), but that can grow in the presence of another virus. This other virus provides the necessary molecular machinery that the first virus lacks. A virus particle that, because of a lack of certain essential factors, is unable to replicate. Sometimes this…
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Deamination
The removal of amino groups from molecules. The removal of an amino acid from a molecule. Some amino acids can be converted to glucose in a process that begins. The process by which amino acids are broken down in the liver and urea is formed. A process, occurring in the liver, that occurs during the…
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Dalton
A unit of mass very nearly equal to that of a hydrogen atom (precisely equal to 1 .0000 on the atomic mass scale). Named after John Dalton (1766-1844) who developed the atomic theory of matter. It is 1.660 X 10-24 gram. A unit of molecular mass; 1/12 the mass of a 12C atom.
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D Loop
A region within mitochondrial DNA in which a short stretch of RNA is paired with one strand of DNA, displacing the original partner DNA strand in this region. The same term is used also describe the displacement of a region of one strand of duplex DNA by a single-stranded invader in the reaction catalyzed by…
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Cytotoxic T Cells
Also called killer T cells. T cells that have been created by stimulated helper T cells. The T refers to cells of the cellular system rather than to cells of the humoral system (B cells). Cytotoxic T cells detect and destroy infected body cells by use of a special type of protein. The protein attaches…
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Cytolysis
The dissolution of cells, particularly by destruction of their surface membranes. The breaking down of cells especially by the destruction of the cell’s outer membrane. The breakdown of cells, particularly by destruction of their outer membranes.
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Cytochrome P4503A4
An enzyme that, in humans, catalyzes reactions involved in the metabolism (breakdown) of certain pharmaceuticals. Those pharmaceuticals include some sedatives, antihypertensives, the antihistamine terfenadine, and the immunosuppressant cyclosporin.
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Cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator protein (CFTR)
A protein that regulates proper chloride ion transport across the cell membranes of human lung airway epithelial cells. When the gene that codes for CFTR protein is damaged or mutated, the (mutant) CFTR protein fails to function properly, which causes mucous (and bacteria) to accumulate in the lungs. This lung disease is known as Cystic…
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Cyclosporin
An immune-system-supressing drug that was isolated from a mold in the mid-1970s by the Swiss firm F. Hoffmann-LaRoche & Co. AG. The drug is used to prevent (organ recipient’s) immune system from “rejecting” a transplanted organ and typically must be taken by the organ recipient for the duration of his/her lifetime. Cyclosporin’s mechanism of action…
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Cycloheximide
Also called actidione. A chemical that inhibits protein synthesis by the SOS eucaryotic ribosomes; it does not, however, inhibit the 70S ribosomes of procaryotes. The chemical blocks peptide bond formation by binding to the large ribosomal subunits. A cytotoxic protein that inhibits the synthesis of proteins by cells.
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