Title: Unit 11 Key Terms
Course: SAT 170 Introductory Biotechnology > Section: SAT 170 Introductory Biotechnology

Unit 11 Key Terms

Terms

Term | Definitions
Antibody | a substance produced by immune cells in response to the presence of an antigen to protect the body against that antigen
Antigen | a substance which can elicit an immune response and the production of antibodies
Antisera | blood serum which contains antibodies for one or more antigens
Biodiagnostics | the identification of biomarkers or gene variants to detect diseases and disorders
Biomarkers | a measurable characteristic that is used as an indicator of a biological process
Biopharmaceuticals | medical drugs which are produced using biotechnology
Gene therapy | a therapeutic technique which aims to introduce healthy, normal genes into individuals who carry abnormal, unhealthy versions of those genes
Genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) | organisms which have been given a gene from a different organism so that they may exhibit a characteristic that they would not otherwise possess; often referred to as transgenic organisms
Haplotype | a group or cluster of SNPs on a particular chromosome
Homologue | a similar structure found in different species; often refers to an organ, structure or even a gene
Hybridoma | a cell which results from the fusion of a specific antibody producing cell with a myeloma cell
Karyotype | the shape, appearance and number of chromosomes in an individual’s cells
Knockout | a genetically engineered organism which has had one or more genes inactivated
Myeloma | a cancer of plasma cells (which are white blood cells that are responsible for making antibodies)
Nanomedicine | applications of nanotechnology in the field of medicine
Nanotechnology | the manipulation (designing, building, using) of matter on the nanometer scale
Pharmacogenomics | a field which evaluates how the genetic make-up of an individual can influence that individuals response to drug therapy
Polymerase Chain Reaction | a technique which is used to amplify the number of copies of a particular segment of DNA
Protein therapy | a therapeutic technique which provides individuals with normal, functional proteins to replace their own non-functional or missing proteins
Regenerative medicine | a field of medicine which aims to replace or regenerate human cells, tissues, and organs
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs | differences in the number and type of restriction sites within different DNA samples
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) | single nucleotide variations that exist within different DNA samples
Xenotransplantation | the transplantation of cells, tissues or organs from one species to another species