A Whaaatttt??
If you’re a science major, go ahead and TEST YOURSELF, if you’re not, still, read on. I’ve compiled a list of TEN frequent terms that I’ve recently come across in several scientific journals, that may be unfamiliar or incomprehensible to those who are not in the scientific field. They were all over the research articles that I’ve read this past week, with the expectation that the reader would already know what they were. News flash, we’re lost! So, I’ve placed them here, so that when they are used, we’ll know exactly what is meant by them. The more you know, right?
- Cognition: the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.
- [Beta] Protein Gene: Also, and more properly called, the APP gene, is a gene that provides instructions for making a protein called amyloid precursor protein. This protein is found in many tissues and organs, including the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). Studies suggest that in the brain, it helps direct the movement (migration) of nerve cells (neurons) during early development. Amyloid precursor protein is cut by enzymes to create smaller fragments (peptides), some of which are released outside the cell. Two of these fragments are called soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPP) and amyloid beta (β) peptide. Which is why the term “beta protein gene” is also used. Amyloid β peptide is likely involved in the ability of neurons to change and adapt over time (plasticity).
- Antibodies: a blood protein produced in response to and counteracting a specific antigen (a toxin or other foreign substance, like bacteria and viruses). Antibodies then combine chemically with those substances to fight them off in your immune system.
- Amyliods: are groups of proteins that become folded into a shape that allows many copies of that protein to stick together forming fibrils (a small/slender fibers). Amyloid plaques are sticky buildup which accumulates outside nerve cells, or neurons. For reasons still unknown, in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the protein divides improperly, creating a form called beta amyloid which is toxic to neurons in the brain.
- mRNA (messenger RNA): is a subtype of RNA. An mRNA molecule carries a portion of the DNA code to other parts of the cell for processing. mRNA is created during transcription.
- Autosomal Dominant Gene: is one of several ways that a trait or disorder can be passed down (inherited) through families. In an autosomal dominant disease, if you inherit the abnormal gene from only one parent, you can get the disease. Often, one of the parents may also have the disease. An autosomal recessive disorder means two copies of an abnormal gene must be present in order for the disease or trait to develop.
- Gene Locus: A locus (plural loci) in genetics is the POSITION on a chromosome. Each chromosome carries many genes. There’s 23 chromosomes.
- Synthesized: make (something) by synthesis, especially chemically. Combining (constituent elements) into a single or unified entity.
- Centromere: the region of a chromosome to which the microtubules of the spindle attach, via the kinetochore, during cell division.
- Neurofibrillary Tangles (NFT): are groups of hyperphosphorylated tau protein that are most commonly known as a primary marker of Alzheimer’s disease. They are insoluble twisted fibers found inside the brain’s cells. These tangles consist primarily of a protein called tau, which forms part of a structure called a microtubule. The microtubule helps transport nutrients and other important substances from one part of the nerve cell to another. In Alzheimer’s disease, however, the tau protein is abnormal and the microtubule structures collapse. The neuropathological diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease relies on the presence of both neurofibrillary tangles and senile/amyloid plaques.
[This list may increase over time]
"The Deats!" with Audi 