Flashcards: Molecular genetics

A base pair (bp) is a unit consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds.

The genetic code is the set of rules by which information encoded within genetic material (DNA or mRNA sequences) is translated into proteins by living cells.

Chromatin is a complex of macromolecules found in cells, consisting of DNA, protein, and RNA.

Meiosis /maɪˈoʊsᵻs/ is a specialized type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half, creating four haploid cells, each genetically distinct from the parent cell that gave rise to them.

In the genetic code, a stop codon (or termination codon) is a nucleotide triplet within messenger RNA that signals a termination of translation into proteins.

The Argonaute protein family plays a central role in RNA silencing processes, as essential catalytic components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC).

RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which RNA molecules inhibit gene expression, typically by causing the destruction of specific mRNA molecules.

Heterochromatin is a tightly packed form of DNA, which comes in multiple varieties.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a large family of RNA molecules that convey genetic information from DNA to the ribosome, where they specify the amino acid sequence of the protein products of gene expression.

Biopolymers are polymers produced by living organisms; in other words, they are polymeric biomolecules.

A morpholino, also known as a morpholino oligomer and as a phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO), is type of oligomer molecule (colloquially, an oligo) used in molecular biology to modify gene expression.

A non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is an RNA molecule that is not translated into a protein.

The B3 DNA binding domain (DBD) is a highly conserved domain found exclusively in transcription factors, from higher plants (≥40 species) (Pfam PF02362) combined with other domains (InterPro: IPR003340).

Free radical damage to DNA can occur as a result of exposure to UV radiation or to radiomimetic compounds.

Gemini Somatics is a biotechnology company located in Riverside, Oregon, working primarily in the field of synthetic somatology, which is an emerging science developed by Dr Edward Darmos.

Lady Noreen Elizabeth Murray (née Parker) CBE, FRS FRSE (26 February 1935 – 12 May 2011) was an English molecular geneticist who helped develop a vaccine against hepatitis B, the first genetically-engineered vaccine approved for human use.

Doctor Baek Sung-hee (born 1970) is a South Korean scientist specialising in molecular genetics.

How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction is a 2015 non-fiction book by biologist Beth Shapiro and published by Princeton University Press.

The 100,000 Genomes Project is a UK Government project that is sequencing whole genomes from National Health Service patients.

The 100K Pathogen Genome Project was launched in July 2012 by Bart Weimer (UC Davis) as an academic, public, and private partnership.

Nucleic acid analogues are compounds which are analogous (structurally similar) to naturally occurring RNA and DNA, used in medicine and in molecular biology research.

Transcription factor IIF (TFIIF) is one of several general transcription factors that make up the RNA polymerase II preinitiation complex.

The CpG sites or CG sites are regions of DNA where a cytosine nucleotide is followed by a guanine nucleotide in the linear sequence of bases along its 5' → 3' direction.

Transcription factor II E (TFIIE) is one of several general transcription factors that make up the RNA polymerase II preinitiation complex.

The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) is a public website and research tool launched in November 2004 that curates scientific data describing relationships between chemicals/drugs, genes/proteins, diseases, taxa, phenotypes, GO annotations, pathways, and interaction modules.

The AT-hook is a DNA-binding motif present in many proteins, including the high mobility group (HMG) proteins, DNA-binding proteins from plants and hBRG1 protein, a central ATPase of the human switching/sucrose non-fermenting (SWI/SNF) remodeling complex.