Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

In chemistry, a substance that is similar, but not identical, to another. A term which, when used to describe information (data), means that the information relates to a point on a continuum, such as a person’s body temperature. Those using analog information typically “round off” the information, such as using 98.6 instead of 98.596745. “Analog”…

The production of additional copies of a chromosomal DNA sequence, found as either intrachromosomal or extrachromosomal DNA. Enlargement, magnification, expansion. In the context of radiation detection instruments, amplification refers to the process, involving the use of gas, electronics, or a combination of both, by which ionization effects are intensified to a level appropriate for their…

A colorless alkaline gas. It is formed in the body during decomposition of organic materials during a large number of metabolically important reactions. A strong chemical used in a number of cleaning products. Available at hardware stores. A gas with a strong smell, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, which is a usual product of…

Organic compounds that generally contain an amino (-NH2) and a carboxyl (-COOH) group. Twenty alpha-amino acids are the subunits which are polymerized to form proteins. Strands of carbons, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Proteins are comprised of amino acids. The building blocks of protein; an organic compound. Any organic acid containing one or more amino groups…

The naturally occurring or experimentally induced replacement of one or more amino acids in a protein with another. If a functionally equivalent amino acid is substituted, the protein may retain wild-type activity. Substitution may also diminish or eliminate protein function. Experimentally induced substitution is often used to study enzyme activities and binding site properties.  

The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining protein conformation.  

Tiny air sacs at the end of the bronchioles in the lungs. Small balloon-like air sacs in the lungs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged. The microscopic air sacs in the lungs through whose walls the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen occurs. The smallest airways in the lungs that contain the membranes through…

Practices not generally recognized by the medical community as standard or conventional medical approaches and used instead of standard treatments. Alternative medicine includes the taking of dietary supplements, megadose vitamins, and herbal preparations; the drinking of special teas; and practices such as massage therapy, magnet therapy, spiritual healing, and meditation. Medical systems, therapies, or techniques…

Defensins found in azurophilic granules of neutrophils and in the secretory granules of intestinal paneth cells.  

A protein with the property of inactivating proteolytic enzymes such as leucocyte collagenase and elastase.