Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle [TCA cycle because the citric acid molecule contains three (tri) carboxyl (acid) groups]. Also known as the Krebs cycle after H. A. Krebs, who first postulated the existence of the cycle in 1937 under its original name of “citric acid cycle.” A cyclic sequence of chemical reactions that…

A gene that codes for (i.e., causes to be produced by an organism possessing that gene) the enzyme known as citrate synthase. A bacterial gene that is utilized by certain bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas) to code for (i.e., cause to be produced by bacterium possessing that gene) the enzyme known as citrate synthase. That enzyme is…

The enzyme that is utilized (e.g., by plants) to synthesize (i.e., create) citric acid.  

Synonymous with gene. A unit of function. The section of a DNA or RNA chain that controls the amino-acid sequence of a single polypeptide chain in protein synthesis. A cistron can be regarded as the functional equivalent of a gene. A DNA sequence that codes for a specific protein (i.e., a gene).  

Assays (determines) the effect of relative configuration on expression of two (gene) mutations. In a double heterozygote, two mutations in the same gene show mutant phenotype in trans configuration, wild (phenotype) in cis configuration. The phenotypic distinction is referred to as the position effect.  

A type of geometrical isomerism found in alkenic systems in which it is possible for each of the doubly bonded carbons to carry two different atoms or groups. Two similar atoms or groups may be on the same side (i.e., cis) or on opposite sides (i.e., trans) of a plane bisecting the alkenic carbons and…

A drug that is used in chemotherapy regimens against certain types of cancer tumors. Cisplatin works against (tumor) cells by binding to the cell’s DNA and generating intrastrand cross-links (between the two strands of the DNA molecule). These intrastrand cross-links prevent replication, and cause cell death. A chemical substance which may help fight cancer by…

A cis-acting protein has the exceptional property of acting only on the molecule of DNA from which it was expressed.  

A human protein that has been shown to help the survival of those cells in the nervous system that act to convey sensation and control the function of muscles and organs. CNTF was approved by the U.S. FDA to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 1992. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis causes…

Protein-based structures that occur in certain cells of both the plant and animal world. Cilia are very tiny hair-like structures and occur in large numbers on the outside of certain cells. In higher organisms such as man, they usually function to move extracellular material along the cell surface. An example is the “sweeping-out-of-foreign matter” action…