1. Alternate hypothesis
This states any possible outcome in addition to your prediction
2. Amphipathic
a chemical compound possessing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups
3. Anionic
ionic group with a negative charge
4. Annealing
pairing of DNA or RNA by hydrogen bonding to form a complementary double-stranded sequence
5. ANOVA
Analysis of variance is a t test used to measure one or more dependent variables in one or more independent variables, i.e. height, weight, number of leaves in plants which have been grown for a period of time in low light or high light.
6. Atomic Mass
the mass of an atom, expressed in atomic mass units (amu)
7. Atoms
basic unit of matter, a central nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons
8. Barrier filter
filter near eyepiece that blocks light entering system through exciter filter and only permits light being emitted by sample to be viewed
9. Binocular
two ocular lenses
10. Bromophenol blue
blue dye that has a slightly negative charge, and is often included in loading buffers during electrophoresis to indicate the progression of the sample
11. Central dogma of molecular biology
events are ordered from transcription to translation, so that DNA produces RNA, which produces protein
12. Chi squared test
Used to show the estimated similarity between a set of observed data and a random set of expected results values, i.e. the number of red, pink, and white flowers resulting from a cross between a white-flowered plant and a red-flowered plant with the expected results of 1 red:2 pink:1 white.
13. Colony-stimulating factor
secreted proteins that bind to receptors on the surface of hematopoietic stem cells to activate proliferation and differentiation pathways, allowing for a certain lineage of progeny cells
14. Compound
objective and ocular lenses
15. Conclusions
Interpretation of results and acceptance or rejection of stated hypothesis/hypotheses
16. Confidence Interval
The probability that all values will lie within the limits of greater than 5% and less than 95% of all possible outcomes.
17. Control
The untreated sample in the experiment defines a baseline by which treated samples are compared. Positive control insures the experimental method is functional. Negative control eliminates the potential for a false positive.
18. Control of genetic expression
Occurs at genomic level, during transcription, during RNA processing, during translation, and during posttranslational modifications.
19. Cytokine
a term used to describe protein molecules that are secreted by cells (especially in the immune system) that serve as chemical messengers or regulator molecules, a molecule that allows cells to communicate and alter one anothers function
20. Data collection
This requires meticulous documentation of results
21. Denaturing
process of splitting the hydrogen bonds between complementary strands of DNA to form single strands
22. Differentiation
formation of a more specialized cell from a less specialized cell type
23. Dimethylsulfoxide
colorless liquid which can dissolve both polar and nonpolar compounds, and on its own can serve as a signal to induce certain cells to differentiate
24. Dye exclusion test
preparation of cells in a trypan blue solution to determine cell viability; viable cells with intact membranes exclude the blue dye
25. Electrophoresis
method of separation of biological molecules based on their size and charge
26. Exciter filter
filter near illuminator that permits lights through to the sample in order to excite its photons
27. Extending
addition of nucleic acid bases to the oligonucleotide primer by Taq polymerase
28. Extracellular matrix
a protein scaffold existing in the intercellular spaces which connects cells to one another and provides support
29. Fibronectin
an extracellular matrix glycoprotein that binds to the extracellular matrix and to integrins
30. Fluorescence
light emitted during the absorption of a certain smaller wavelength of higher energy
31. Gelatinase
enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of gelatin, a type of collagen molecule often present in the extracellular matrix
32. Genetic expression
production of functional RNA and/or proteins
33. Glycerol
very viscous organic compound used as a thickening agent or mild sweetener
34. Granulocytes
any of several white blood cells with granules in their cytoplasm that help in digestion of bacteria
35. Hemacytometer
specialized slide used to determine the density of cells, which allows for a simple conversion of cells/mL
36. Hematopoietic
pertaining to the formation, development, and differentiation of blood cells
37. HL-60 cell line
human acute promyelocytic leukemia cells growing indefinitely in culture which can be studied as a model system for white blood cell differentiation
38. Human fibronectin
extracellular matrix glycoprotein that binds to integrins at the cell surface to promote adhesion of cells to collagens
39. Hypothesis
Based on your observations and research literature review, propose a plausible outcome.
40. Immortal cell line
cells growing in culture that can continue to divide indefinitely
41. In vitro model system
an artificial environment outside of the living organism
42. Integrin
cell surface receptors that interact with the extracellular matrix and act as cell-adhesion receptors
43. Integrin receptors
transmembrane proteins that mediate attachment of a cell to the tissues around it and can also act as a cellular receptor
44. Limit of resolution/Resolution
the least separation of two images so that they are seen as separate when viewed through a microscope
45. Literature research
Rely only on peer-reviewed scientific publications
46. Magnification
the ratio of the size of an image to the size of the object
47. Matrix Metalloproteinases
a group of enzymes that can break down proteins that are found in the extracellular matrix (such a collagen, gelatin, etc), to allow for processes such as migration, metastasis, and angiogenesis
48. Mean
The sum of the observed data values divided by the number of observations.
49. Median
The middle value of a data set when there is an odd number of values or the average of the two middle values when the number of values is even.
50. Metric system
standardized system of measurement in which all units are evenly divisible by 10
51. Micropipette
accurately measures and dispenses liquid volumes less than one milliliter
P20- micropipette that measures and dispenses 1-20 microliters of liquid
P200- micropipette that measures and dispenses 20-200 microliters of liquid
P1000- micropipette that measures and dispenses 200-1000 microliters of liquid
52. Molarity
the number of moles of a molecule per liter of water in a given solution
53. Mole
equal to 6.02 x 1023 molecules (Avogadro's Number) and is also equal to the molecular weight of the molecule in grams
54. Monocytes
the largest white blood cell, able to move outside of the vasculature in pursuit of invading pathogens
55. Multipotent
stem cells that are only capable of giving rise to a cells in a certain family of cell types (in the way that blood stem cells give rise to all blood cell types)
56. Neutrons
subatomic particle located in the nucleus, with a charge of 0
57. Null hypothesis
A statement within the context of the experiment that demonstrates no statistically significant difference among variables
58. Observation
This may be anything based on your previous lab experience and/or preexisting knowledge
59. Oligonucleotide
a short single-stranded nucleic acid of fewer than 20 bases
60. Paired t-test
t tests usually are used to compare the means between two samples; paired t tests compare one dependent variable in an independent variable, i.e. growth measured in individuals in untreated controls compared to treated individuals. The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher, and the dependent variable is the response measured.
61. Paracentral
object remains in the center of the line of view when the magnification is changed
62. Parfocal
This means that once the object is in focus, it will stay focused as the magnification is increased.
63. pH
the negative log (base 10) of the molar concentration of dissolved hydrogen ions in a solution
64. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate
activates enzyme protein kinase C, can act as a potent tumor promoter, and induces differentiation of human leukemia cells
65. Polyacrylamide gels
separation matrix that provides a greater resolution than agarose matrix, allowing for separation of proteins or very small DNA molecules
66. Primer
small single-stranded nucleic acid molecule required for the initiation of DNA replication
67. Protons
subatomic particle located in the nucleus, with a charge of +1e
68. SDS-PAGE
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is utilizing SDS denaturation of proteins
69. Signal transduction
intermolecular reactions involved in transferring and amplifying extracellular signals detected by the cell
70. Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate
SDS an anionic and amphipathic molecule that binds to hydrophic and hydrophilic portions of proteins in order to impart an overall negative charge
71. ß-Mercaptoethanol
chemical that cleaves disulfide bonds to disrupt tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins
72. Standard Deviation
Shows the amount of difference among the data values. The standard deviation is small when the values are close to the mean; and large when there is a wide range of variation in the data.
73. Standard Error
The measure of how far a random variable (all possible outcomes of an experiment) is likely to be from its expected value.
74. statistical tests
Descriptive statistics include mean, medium, mode, standard deviation, standard error, confidence interval; Comparative statistics include paired and unpaired t-tests, ANOVA; Frequency statistics include Chi-squared tests.
75. Substrates
the molecule upon which an enzyme acts
76. Total magnification
the power of the objective lens (4x, 10x, 40x, etc) multiplied by the power of the eyepiece, usually 10x
77. Transcription
DNA sequence is copied into mRNA
78. Translation
mRNA directs the formation of a specific protein at a ribosome in the cytoplasm
79. Transmission EM
a high-energy beam of electrons is transmitted through a very thin sample to generate image
80. Tumor Necrosis Factor
an inflammatory cytokine that is produced by white blood cells (monocytes/macrophages), a cytokine that causes inflammation, apoptosis, inhibit tumorigenesis, and inhibit viral replication
81. Zymography
type of SDS-PAGE that includes a substrate copolymerized with the polyacrylamide to detect the level of enzymatic activity of certain proteins