Search Results

A common medicine used to relieve mild to moderate pain and reduce fever. Acetaminophen (N-acetyl-p-aminophenol), or paracetamol, is a white crystalline compound with the molecular formula C8H9NO2 (Fig. 1). It is a member of the aniline family of…

A naturally occurring quaternary ammonium cation ester, with the formula CH3(O)COC2H4N(CH3)3+, which plays a prominent role in nervous system function as a neurotransmitter. Acetylcholine (Fig. 1) is an organic compound released from certain…

Natural and artificial substances in the atmosphere that affect human health or well-being, or the well-being of any other organisms in the environment. Air pollution also applies to situations in which contaminants affect structures and artifacts…

An ongoing current event in which a large number of living species are threatened with extinction or are going extinct because of environmentally destructive human activities. The Earth is presently in the midst of a mass extinction event. In the…

Earth's oldest desert and the most arid place outside of Antarctica's Dry Valleys. Located along the edge of the Pacific Ocean and to the west of the Andes in Chile's Antofagasta Province, the Atacama Desert (Fig. 1) has long been recognized as…

A neurodevelopmental condition that impairs the way that a person relates to and communicates with other people. Persons with autism have difficulties with social communication and interaction. They also can have unusual behaviors, such as…

The part of the nervous system that controls visceral (internal organ) functions of the body. The autonomic nervous system is a component of the peripheral nervous system, or PNS, which, along with the central nervous system, or CNS, represents the…

The ongoing lower level of species extinction intensity occurring between episodes of mass extinctions. Extinction is a normal part of the history of life. Out of every 100 species that have ever lived on Earth, 99 are no longer in existence.…

The function and transport of the bicarbonate ion for maintaining the acid level (pH) throughout the body for stable physiological processes; disfunction of bicarbonate transport results in disease. Bicarbonate (HCO3−) is a small inorganic negative…

Any of the self-sustained circadian (approximately 24-hour) rhythms that regulate daily activities, including sleep and wakefulness. A biological clock is any physiologic factor that functions in regulating innate organismal rhythms. Biological…

A kind of mathematics whose variables can only be True or False. A variable is called Boolean if it can only hold two possible values: True or False. The value True can be represented by the number one and False by zero. For example, if A is a…

Any of the cells within a tumor that possess the capacity to self-renew and cause the heterogeneous lineages of cancerous cells that comprise the tumor. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) typically represent a small percentage of all cells in a tumor (rarely…

Cameras in mobile phones or smartphones that can capture images and videos.The cellphone, the world’s favorite must-have gadget, has been with us for nearly a half-century, while experiencing continuous and often phenomenal improvements. Much of the…

The portion of the nervous system composed of the brain and spinal cord in vertebrates. The division of the vertebrate nervous system comprising the brain and spinal cord is known as the central nervous system (see illustration). In general, the…

Light emitted by a high-speed charged particle when the particle passes through a transparent, nonconducting, solid material at a speed greater than the speed of light in the material. The emission of Cerenkov radiation—also spelled Cherenkov—is…

A DNA and protein complex that is found in the nuclei of eukaryotic cells and stores most of the genetic information for a species. Chromatin was first discovered and named by German biologist Walther Flemming in 1879. While staining cells to…

The scientific study of climate. Climate is the expected mean and variability of the weather conditions for a particular location, season, and time of day. For planet Earth, the climate is often described in terms of the mean values of…

The internal structures and processes that are involved in the acquisition and use of knowledge, including sensation, perception, attention, learning, memory, language, thinking, and reasoning. The mental processes and behaviors that constitute…

The extraction and refining of copper (Cu) from its ores. About 18 million metric tons per year of copper metal is produced from the mining and processing of copper ores, typically containing only about 1% Cu. About 80% of the world's primary copper…

The response of corals to environmental stress in which they eject the single-cell algae that live within the transparent coral tissue, making the white coral skeleton visible. Corals (Fig. 1) are animals that live in a partnership (symbiosis) with…

Any peripheral nerve that has its central nervous system connection with the brain, as opposed to the spinal cord, and reaches the brain through a hole (foramen) in the skull. The cranial nerves are involved in providing sensory and motor…

A genome-engineering technique that allows precise targeting of specific stretches of genetic code and editing of DNA at designated locations. The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been used as a general tool to engineer the genomes of many different…

The capture, processing, transmission, and storage of images in electronic form. Digital photography differs from film photography in that images are captured and recorded as electronic files rather than as recognizable images on a light-sensitive…

A radar system used to measure the relative velocity of targets and their position. The operation of these systems is based on the fact that the Doppler frequency shift in the target echo is proportional to the radial component of target velocity.…

A general term referring to a system or part of a system of conducting parts and their interconnections through which electric currents are intended to flow. A circuit is made up of a voltage source along with active and passive elements, as well as…

The measure of the opposition that an electrical circuit presents to the passage of a current when a voltage is applied. In quantitative terms, electrical impedance is the complex ratio of the voltage to the current in an alternating-current (ac)…

The ability of a material to resist or allow the flow of electrical current. Material properties largely determine the resistance and conductance—quantified by electrical resistivity and conductivity—of a given object, such as a circuit or…

The measures of a material's opposition to the flow of electricity and a material's ability to conduct electricity, respectively. Resistivity quantifies resistance, which is a material's opposition to the flow of electrons (an electric current or…

The process in which an electron, which has been excited from the valence band to the conduction band of a semiconductor, falls back into an empty state in the valence band, which is known as a hole. When atoms come together to form a crystal, the…

An international consortium of research groups dedicated to determining how the human genome functions.Many human diseases are caused by changes in the abundance or activity of proteins, and proteins are encoded by segments of DNA called genes (Fig.…

The study of heritable (stable) changes in gene expression and function that are not attributed to alterations of the DNA sequence. The epigenome represents the complete set of epigenetic modifications possessed by an organism or an individual cell.…

A condition characterized by the paroxysmal recurrence of transient, uncontrollable episodes of abnormal neurological or mental function (or both). "Epilepsy" generally refers to the medical condition of recurrent, unprovoked seizures, and the term…

A mathematical system that details the properties and relationships of spatial objects such as points, lines, shapes, and planes. Euclidean geometry is also known as flat geometry or planar geometry, because planes in Euclidean geometry have the…

An interdisciplinary science area that is concerned with modeling aspects of natural evolution in order to solve real-world problems of optimization. Living organisms, as well as those that are long extinct, demonstrate optimized complex behavior at…

A sense organ that acts as a photoreceptor capable of image formation. The eye of vertebrates is a specialized light-sensitive sensory structure that provides these animals with vision (the sense of sight). It is constructed along a basic anatomical…

The upper part of the female oviduct present in humans and other higher vertebrates, also known as uterine tube. The fallopian tube extends from the ovary to the uterus and transports ova from the ovary to the cavity of the uterus. Each tube is…

Typically, an aquatic vertebrate with scales, gills, and paired fins. Fishes (Fig. 1) are found throughout the world's waterways, from saltwater oceans to freshwater streams and ponds. About 35,000 species of fishes have been described to date. Many…

A coenzyme primarily used by many enzymes of the oxidoreductase enzyme class. Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is employed either as a freely diffusible molecule or as a covalently bound prosthetic group within flavoproteins, which are proteins…

The use of pollen and spore evidence in legal cases. In its broader application, the field of forensic palynology also includes legal information derived from the analysis of a broad range of microscopic organisms that can be found in both fresh and…

The intentional production of new genes and alteration of genomes by the deletion, substitution, or addition of new genetic material. Genetic engineering involves the artificial recombination of nucleic acid molecules in the test tube; their…

A plant that has altered genetic material (DNA) through recombinant DNA (rDNA) manipulation. Genetic engineering of plants allows for very specific genetic changes to be made to a plant's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), as opposed to the random…

A commercially grown plant that has altered genetic material through artificial recombinant manipulation. Genetic modification is the latest scientific tool for developing improved crop varieties. Such genetically modified (GM) crops can help to…

A biological organism whose genetic material has been manipulated artificially through genetic or genomic editing techniques. In contrast to the long history of artificial selection (domestication), in which humans selectively breed organisms to…

An ordered, internally consistent, internationally recognized sequence of time intervals, each distinct in its own history and record of life on Earth, including the assignment of absolute time in years to each geologic interval. The geologic time…

Resident non-neuronal cells that actively influence the development and function of the nervous system. Glial cells, also referred to as glia and neuroglia, are found in both the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).…

Significant and persistent changes in the state of Earth’s climate. Earth's past climates, or paleoclimates, have alternated between ice ages and periods warmer than today over relatively long time scales (millions to tens of millions of years)…

The rise in the surface temperature of the Earth. Global warming is one of the names given to the systematic increase of globally averaged surface temperature that has been measured since the mid-nineteenth century. There is abundant evidence that…

One class of several hormones that are produced in the outer part of adrenal glands, known as the cortex. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are crucial for regulating metabolism, the immune system, blood pressure, and other essential functions (see…

A simple sugar, or monosaccharide, with the chemical formula C6H12O6; also called dextrose, d-glucopyranose, cerelose, grape sugar, and corn sugar. Glucose is a monosaccharide carbohydrate with six carbon atoms. It is the most common sugar and the…

A phaneritic (visibly crystalline) plutonic rock composed chiefly of sodic plagioclase (oligoclase or andesine), alkali feldspar (microcline or orthoclase, usually perthitic), quartz, and subordinate dark-colored (mafic) minerals (biotite,…

A strongly cemented or hardened (indurated) dark gray sandstone that is characterized by abundant dark-colored detrital rock fragments and more than 15% clay minerals (matrix) between sand grains. The term graywacke evolved from initially informal…

A space-traversing unmanned vehicle which contains the means for controlling its flight path and that delivers an explosive warhead with high accuracy. Various kinds of missiles are guided in the sense that they can aerodynamically adjust after…

The most common sulfate mineral, characterized by the chemical formula CaSO4 · 2H2O; it shows little variation from this composition.Gypsum is one of the several evaporite minerals. This mineral group includes chlorides, carbonates, borates,…

The region of the body consisting of the skull, its contents, and related structures. Its two principal parts are the cranium, or braincase, and the face.The skin, hair, and subcutaneous tissues over the top of the skull are collectively known as…

Pathologies or aberrations in structure or function of blood cells or the blood-clotting mechanism. Hematologic disorders affect the blood and blood-forming organs. Although many diseases and abnormal conditions may be reflected by the blood and its…

The process by which the cellular elements of the blood are formed. Blood contains many free-floating cells that are moved throughout the body within the blood vessels. The three main types of blood cells are the red cells (erythrocytes), which…

The iron-containing, oxygen-carrying protein molecule of red blood cells. The protein hemoglobin (Fig. 1), which carries oxygen and contains iron, represents more than 95% of the solid constituents of the red blood cell. It is found in almost all…

A vacant electron energy state near the top of an energy band in a solid. A hole, or more formally an electron hole, represents the absence of an electron where one could exist as part of an atom or within a crystal structure (an atomic lattice)…

Any of the chemical messengers produced chiefly by endocrine glands, whose secretions are liberated directly into the bloodstream and transported to a distant part or parts of the body, where they exert a specific effect for the benefit of the body…

A metamorphic rock that has been subjected to heating during contact metamorphism around intrusive igneous rocks. Hornfels is typically fine-grained, although where it is subjected to high temperatures, large crystals called porphyroblasts can form.…

An applied science and technology concerned with the mechanical properties and practical uses of liquids. The physical description of fluids in motion is based upon the conservation laws of mass, momentum, and energy. The mathematical statement of…

A mature cell that has been reprogrammed genetically to an embryonic-like state that then can give rise to one of many different cell types. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells; Fig. 1) represent a major breakthrough in stem cell research.…

The entrance, growth, and multiplication of a microorganism or pathogen in the body of a host. Infection may or may not result in the establishment of a disease process, depending on many variables including the pathogen involved, the health of the…

A protein that spans cellular membranes and mediates the passage of electrolytes across the hydrophobic barrier that maintains the integrity of the cell and interior compartments. Ion channels are found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes and their…

Fundamental laws dealing with electric currents at junctions and voltages around any loop within a network. Also known as Kirchhoff's circuit laws, the laws were first described by German physicist Gustav Kirchhoff in 1845. The laws are divided into…

A salt or ester of lactic acid (CH3CHOHCOOH). In lactates, the acidic hydrogen of the carboxyl group has been replaced by a metal or an organic radical. Lactates are optically active, with a chiral center at carbon 2. The two optical isomers of a…

The physiologic and metabolic processes involved in the assimilation of dietary lipids and in the synthesis and degradation of lipids. Lipids (Fig. 1) form a class of compounds composed of neutral fats (triglycerides), phospholipids, glycolipids,…

The inverse function of an exponential function in mathematics. Stated less technically, a logarithm is the opposite of an exponent. Logarithms are used to solve equations in which the variable is an exponent. Historically, tables of logarithms…

The process of exploring the deep seabed and recovering minerals from seawater and from deposits on and under the seabed. While the world's demand for mineral commodities is increasing at a rapid rate, most of the developed countries have been…

The mental ability to store and access information that has been acquired through experience. Memory (Fig. 1) is a critical component of practically all aspects of human thinking, including perception, learning, language, and problem solving.…

A device that is capable of converting chemical energy into electrical energy with the use of whole bacterial cells as the catalyst. Fuels that are produced biologically are known as biofuels. Biofuel cells convert chemical energy from organic…

A portion of the nervous system that regulates and controls the contractile activity of muscles and the secretory activity of glands. The motor systems of the body are highly complex networks responsible for muscular movements and gland secretions.…

An autoimmune disease resulting from an abnormality in neuromuscular transmission, characterized by a fluctuating degree of muscle weakness. Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disorder (see illustration) characterized by varying…

The functional unit of a kidney, consisting of a glomerulus with its capsule and a renal tubule. The kidney is an organ responsible for filtering the blood and creating urine. Blood enters the kidney via the renal artery and makes its way through a…

A nerve cell; the functional unit of the nervous system. A neuron is a specialized, basic nerve cell that transmits and receives information, in the form of electrical impulses, throughout the body. With the exceptions of sponges and placozoa, the…

The relationship stating that the magnitude of the electrical current in a circuit is directly proportional to the applied voltage and inversely proportional to the circuit's resistance. One of the simplest and most intuitive electrical laws, Ohm's…

A naturally occurring geologic body that may contain one or more metals. The metals may be present as native elements, or, more commonly, as oxides, sulfides, sulfates, silicates, or other compounds. The term ore is often used loosely to include…

Substances applied to other materials to change the surface properties, such as color, wear, and chemical or scratch resistance, without changing the bulk properties. The terms paint and coatings often are used interchangeably. However, it has…

An electric circuit in which the elements, branches (elements in series), or components are connected between two points, with one of the two ends of each component connected to each point. The illustration shows a simple parallel circuit. In more…

A progressive degenerative disorder of the nervous system belonging to a group of conditions called motor system disorders. Parkinson's disease—more specifically known as idiopathic Parkinson's disease to distinguish it from the four Parkinson-plus…

A regulator of cellular lipid storage and the major surface coat protein of cytoplasmic lipid droplets. Perilipins (derived from the Greek words for “surrounding lipid”) are primary regulators of cellular lipid storage. The perilipins sequester…

One of a class of cyclic compounds in which the parent macrocycle consists of four pyrrole-type units linked together by single carbon bridges. Several porphyrins with selected peripheral substitution and metal coordination carry out vital…

A branch of mathematics involving numerical measures of how likely it is that a particular event will occur. A probability is a number between 0 and 1. An event that will never occur has a probability of zero, and an event that is certain to occur…

Rock formed by the accumulation of fragmental volcanic materials (also called pyroclasts) ejected during explosive eruptions. Pyroclasts can vary widely in origin, fragment size and shape, composition, texture, and structure (such as their…

In medicine and health sciences, a value expected for an individual whose state of health is known and well described, and the interval of values broadly expected for a population, respectively. Results of clinical laboratory tests and other…

Any of the small particles, present in large numbers in every living cell, whose function is to convert stored genetic information into protein molecules. Ribosomes are cellular factories that make proteins and are essential for life in organisms…

A neurological condition in which there are recurrent seizures. Seizure disorders result from periodic disturbances to the electrical (nerve cell) activity of the brain, leading to temporary and uncontrolled brain dysfunction. Seizure conditions are…

A solid crystalline material whose electrical conductivity is intermediate between that of a metal and an insulator. Semiconductors exhibit conduction properties that may be temperature-dependent, permitting their use as thermistors…

The genetic mechanisms by which sex is determined in all living organisms. The mechanisms of sex determination allow individual organisms to develop characteristics that are indicative of a certain sex (male, female, or hermaphrodite) [Fig. 1].…

A family of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)–dependent protein deacetylases (enzymes that remove acetyl groups from protein molecules) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP)–ribosyltransferases (enzymes that catalyze the transfer of the ADP-ribose…

Energy transmitted from the Sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. Solar energy is extensively used to generate electricity as well as to provide heat for space comfort conditioning of buildings and for industrial processes. Solar…

A general term for the somatic sensibilities aroused by stimulation of bodily tissues such as the skin, muscles, tendons, joints, and the viscera. Six primary qualities of somatic sensation are commonly recognized: touch-pressure (including temporal…

The penetration by humans into the reaches of the universe above Earth's atmosphere through the use of crewed vehicles. Human space flight poses significant challenges as an enterprise, given the technical rigors and costs associated with achieving…

A complex physical structure designed specifically to serve as a multipurpose platform in low Earth orbit. A space station contains all the structures and mechanisms to operate and maintain the facility and its life-support systems, such as command…

The portion of the central nervous system within the spinal canal of the vertebral column. In vertebrates, the central nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord (Fig. 1). The spinal cord extends from the foramen magnum at the base of…

The field of knowledge concerned with collecting, analyzing, and presenting data. Statistical methods are regularly used by researchers in the physical, biological, and social sciences, as well as engineers, business managers, government officials…

Any of the cells that have the ability to self-replicate and to give rise to mature cells. The concept of stem cells (Fig. 1) was originally based on renewing tissues. Many adult tissues, including the skin, blood, and intestines, consist of mostly…

The physiologic mechanism by which one nerve cell (neuron) influences the activity of an anatomically adjacent neuron with which it is functionally coupled. Synaptic transmission (Fig. 1) enables a neuron to communicate with a target cell across a…

A management technology involving the interactions of science, an organization, and its environment as well as the information and knowledge that support each. The purpose of systems engineering is to support organizations that desire improved…

A subdiscipline of paleobiology that investigates the processes of preservation and their influence on information in the fossil record. Taphonomy is the study of fossilization and considers the processes at work in the incorporation of living…