Biology Words
- Abdomen The part of the body containing most of your digestive system
- Abiotic factor Any part of an environment or habitat that is non-living
- Acid rain When rain falls and is acidic rather than neutral.
- Active site The region of an enzyme which binds to the substrate
- Active transport The movement of substances across a cell membrane AGAINST a concentration gradient which requires energy
- Adaptation Changes in an organism to help them suit their environment
- Addicted When a person feels that they must take a drug or substance
- ADH A hormone that causes water to be reabsorbed by kidneys
- Adrenal gland The gland that releases adrenaline
- Adrenaline A hormone released as part of the 'fight or flight' response in mammals.
- Aerobic In the presence of oxygen
- Aerobic respiration Respiration in the presence of oxygen
- Alcohol (in Biology) A chemical used as a drug or as a fuel
- Allele A version of a gene
- Alveoli Microscopic air sacs found in the lungs of mammals
- Amino Acid A small molecule which polymerises to form a protein
- Anaerobic In the absence of oxygen
- Anaerobic respiration In the absence of oxygen
- Anaesthetic A drug that stops all pain.
- Antibiotic A group of drugs that kill bacteria only
- Antibody A protein released by white blood cells to bind to and destroy pathogens.
- Antigen A protein found on the outside surface of a pathogen with a specific shape
- Antitoxin A protein released by white blood cells to neutralise harmful toxins that might be released by invading pathogens
- Artery A vessel that carries blood away from the heart
- Artificial selection Reproduction in organisms that is controlled by humans
- Asexual reproduction Reproduction that involves only one parent organism
- Atherosclerosis A condition characterised by a build up of fatty depositis in arteires
- Atrium The smaller chamber of the heart
- Atrium (atria) The smaller chamber of the heart
- Auxin A plant hormone involved in growth
- Axon The extended part of a neurone which electrical impulses travel along
- Bacteria A single celled microorganism
- Benign Describing a non-cancerous tumour that will not spread
- Bile A substance from the liver used to help digest fats
- Binary fission A type of asexual reproduction.
- Biodegrading When a substance is broken down by microorganisms
- Biodiversity The measure of diversity of life within an area.
- Biomass The cellular mass of lliving or recently dead organisms.
- Biotic factor A living organism that affects another living organism
- Bladder Where urine is stored in the body
- Blind trial Drug trial where the patient does not know if they have been given the placebo or not.
- BMI Body Mass Index
- Breathing Taking air in and out of the lungs
- Cancer A disease where cells grow out of control
- Capillary A blood vessel that is only one cell thick
- Carbohydrate A compound containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
- Carbon cycle The recycling of carbon in nature
- Carbon monoxide A poisonous gas
- Cell (in Biology) The smallest independent component of a living organism.
- Cell membrane The structure surrounding every cell that conrols what enters and exits the cell.
- Central nervous system The brain and spinal cord collectively.
- Chlorophyll A green pigment in chloroplasts that helps a plant to photosynthesise
- Chloroplast An organelle in a plant that contains chlorophyll
- Cholesterol A biological molecule made from fats and used in cell membranes
- Chromosome A long strand of coiled up DNA.
- Cilia Microscopic hair-like structures that are found on ciliated cells.
- Clone An organism that is genetically identical to its parent or siblings
- Competition What occurs between organisms for natural resources.
- Cones Receptor cells in the eye
- Conservation The act of protecting an ecosystem or species
- Coronary artery An artery that delivers blood to the heart
- Cross pollination When pollen from one plant fertilises the ovum from another plant.
- Cystic fibrosis An inherited disease causing excess mucus build up in the lungs, resulting from inhertance of two recessive alleles.
- Daughter cells The cells produced from cell division
- Decay To rot or break down
- Decomposer A microorganism that causes decay
- Deficiency A shortage of something
- Denatured What happens to an enzyme when it looses the specific shape of its active site
- Deoxygenated Refering to blood that does not have oxygen bound to it
- Diabetes A disease that affects someone's ability to control their blood sugar levels
- Diet Describing all of the different foods eaten by an organism.
- Diffusion The random movement of gas or liquid particles from an area of high concentration to low
- Diploid Having two copies of each chromosome
- Disease A general name for a condition that causes your body to not work as well as it should
- DNA The molecule found in all living organisms that stores the information on how to make that organism.
- DNA fingerprinting The process of comparing DNA samples to identify individuals
- Dominant Referring to an allele that will be expressed when only one copy is inherited
- Double blind trial A medical experiment where neither the patient or the doctor knows who has the active drug and who has the placebo.
- Double helix The structural shape of a molecule of DNA
- Down's Syndrome A disorder caused by having an extra chromosome
- Drug A substance that affects how your body works
- Drug testing The process through which a drug is tested for safety and suitability
- Ecosystem All of the living things in one area or environment
- Effector A muscle or gland stimulated by a motor neurone
- Embryo transfer A procedure that implants fertilised embryos into other organisms to increase the number of identical offspring
- Environmental variation Differences between individuals that are a result of their environment
- Enzyme A biological catalyst that speeds up the rate of metabolic reactions
- Epidermis The outermost tissue layer on a plant leaf
- Ethene A plant hormone that speeds up ripening of fruit
- Eukaryotic A type of cell that has the genetic material in a nucleus
- Eutrophication When microcopic plants grow to excessive amounts within water as a result of excess nutrients
- Evolution The process that causes organisms to change from one species to another over a long time
- Excretion The removal of waste products of chemical reactions from an organism
- Extremophile An organism that can survive in extreme conditions
- Fat A part of a balanced diet used as a store of energy
- Fatty acids Produced by the digestion of fats by bile
- Fertilisation The process of a male sex cell joining with a female sex cell
- Fertilisers A chemical that helps plants grow
- Flaccid When a plant cell has lost water.
- Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) A hormone that is involved in the mestrual cycle in females