FungicideFungicides are pesticides used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. They are most commonly chemical compounds, but may include biocontrols and fungistatics. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality, and profit. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals. Fungicides are also used to control oomycetes, which are not taxonomically/genetically fungi, although sharing similar methods of infecting plants.
Viral vectorViral vectors are tools commonly used by molecular biologists to deliver genetic material into cells. This process can be performed inside a living organism (in vivo) or in cell culture (in vitro). Viruses have evolved specialized molecular mechanisms to efficiently transport their genomes inside the cells they infect. Delivery of genes or other genetic material by a vector is termed transduction and the infected cells are described as transduced. Molecular biologists first harnessed this machinery in the 1970s.
E. coli long-term evolution experimentThe E. coli long-term evolution experiment (LTEE''') is an ongoing study in experimental evolution begun by Richard Lenski at the University of California, Irvine, carried on by Lenski and colleagues at Michigan State University, and currently overseen by Jeffrey E. Barrick at the University of Texas at Austin. It has been tracking genetic changes in 12 initially identical populations of asexual Escherichia coli bacteria since 24 February 1988. Lenski performed the 10,000th transfer of the experiment on March 13, 2017.
BRCA mutationA BRCA mutation is a mutation in either of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are tumour suppressor genes. Hundreds of different types of mutations in these genes have been identified, some of which have been determined to be harmful, while others have no proven impact. Harmful mutations in these genes may produce a hereditary breast–ovarian cancer syndrome in affected persons. Only 5–10% of breast cancer cases in women are attributed to BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations (with BRCA1 mutations being slightly more common than BRCA2 mutations), but the impact on women with the gene mutation is more profound.
Quasispecies modelThe quasispecies model is a description of the process of the Darwinian evolution of certain self-replicating entities within the framework of physical chemistry. A quasispecies is a large group or "cloud" of related genotypes that exist in an environment of high mutation rate (at stationary state), where a large fraction of offspring are expected to contain one or more mutations relative to the parent. This is in contrast to a species, which from an evolutionary perspective is a more-or-less stable single genotype, most of the offspring of which will be genetically accurate copies.
Subculture (biology)In biology, a subculture is either a new cell culture or a microbiological culture made by transferring some or all cells from a previous culture to fresh growth medium. This action is called subculturing or passaging the cells. Subculturing is used to prolong the lifespan and/or increase the number of cells or microorganisms in the culture. Cell lines and microorganisms cannot be held in culture indefinitely due to the gradual rise in toxic metabolites, use of nutrients and increase in cell number due to growth.
Clostridioides difficileClostridioides difficile (syn. Clostridium difficile) is a bacterium that is well known for causing serious diarrheal infections, and may also cause colon cancer. It is known also as C. difficile, or C. diff (siː_dɪf), and is a Gram-positive species of spore-forming bacteria. Clostridioides spp. are anaerobic, motile bacteria, ubiquitous in nature and especially prevalent in soil. Its vegetative cells are rod-shaped, pleomorphic, and occur in pairs or short chains.
RabiesRabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") due to the symptom of panic when presented with liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, fear of water, an inability to move parts of the body, confusion, and loss of consciousness.
Jewish views on evolutionJewish views on evolution includes a continuum of views about the theory of evolution, experimental evolution, the origin of life, age of the universe, evolutionary creationism, and theistic evolution. Today, many Jewish people accept the theory of evolution and do not see it as incompatible with traditional Judaism, reflecting the emphasis of prominent rabbis such as the Vilna Gaon and Maimonides on the ethical rather than factual significance of scripture. Biblical chronology indicates that God completed the creation of the world close to 6,000 years ago.
Post-exposure prophylaxisPost-exposure prophylaxis, also known as post-exposure prevention (PEP), is any preventive medical treatment started after exposure to a pathogen in order to prevent the infection from occurring. In 2021, the FDA has approved bamlanivimab/etesevimab for post-exposure prophylaxis against COVID-19. PEP is commonly and very effectively used to prevent the onset of rabies after a bite by a suspected-rabid animal, since diagnostic tools are not available to detect rabies infection prior to the onset of the nearly always-fatal disease.
