104 results found

Search Results for: somatic

Somatic cells

Definition noun, singular: somatic cell The word “somatic” is derived from the Greek word soma, meaning “body”.... Read More

Somatic nervous system

Definition noun The part of the peripheral nervous system that consists of afferent nerves responsible in relaying motor... Read More

Mosaicism

Cells often go through many divisions before they become a part of an organism’s genetic make-up. This leaves room for... Read More

First time! Human blood cell turned into a young sex cell

In essence, our body consists of two major types of cells – one group involved directly in reproducing sexually (called... Read More

Mutagen

Mutagen Definition What is a mutagen? A mutagen is a substance or agent that causes DNA impairment that results in the... Read More

Haploid

In biology, haploid pertains to a condition, a cell, or an organism that has half of the usual complete set of chromosomes... Read More

The Central Nervous System

Myelin Sheath Myelin is a substance that forms the myelin sheath associated with nerve cells. This sheath is a layer of... Read More

Mitosis

Mitosis Definition What is mitosis? In biology, mitosis refers to the cellular process where a single cell divides... Read More

Chromosome

Chromosomes Definition Chromosomes are thread-like structures present in the nucleus of plant and animal cells. Chromosomes... Read More

Diploid

Diploid Definition Let's first understand the meaning of the word - diploid. From the words ‘di’, meaning "two", and... Read More

Pluripotent

Pluripotent Definition What is pluripotent? In biology, the term "pluripotent" means capable of developing into... Read More

Diploidy

Definition noun (genetics) The state of being diploid, that is having two sets of the chromosomes (and therefore two copies... Read More

Haploidy

Definition noun (genetics) The state of being haploid, that is having half of the set of homologous chromosomes in somatic... Read More

Peripheral nervous system

Definition noun The part of the nervous system that relays between the central nervous system and the rest of the body,... Read More

Polyploidy

Reviewed by: Mary Anne Clark, Ph.D. Polyploidy Polyploidy is defined as the state of being polyploid, which... Read More

Ganglion

Ganglia Definition What are ganglia? To simply define ganglia in biology, it is the structure of an oval shape that... Read More

Autosome

Autosomes can be described as the non-sex chromosomes that play diverse roles in the human body like harboring genes for the... Read More

Homologous chromosome

A homologous chromosome pertains to one of a pair of chromosomes with the same gene sequence, loci, chromosomal length, and... Read More

Telophase

Telophase is the stage of cell division characterized by the decondensation of chromosomes, and the nuclear envelope... Read More

Sensory Systems

A sensory system is a part of the nervous system consisting of sensory receptors that receive stimuli from the internal and... Read More

Ganglia

Ganglia Definition What are ganglia? To simply define ganglia in biology, it is the structure of an oval shape that... Read More

Polypoid

Definition noun (genetics) A cell or an organism containing more than two sets of homologous... Read More

Polyploidy

Definition noun (genetics) The state of being polyploid, that is more than two sets of the chromosomes in a... Read More

Chimera

When we learned about the basic genetics of biological life, we came to know that almost all the cells of an individual have... Read More

Voluntary muscle

Definition noun, plural: voluntary muscles A muscle that can be controlled voluntarily Supplement Some of the muscles of the... Read More

Matrix

Bodies of living organisms are organized structures. These are organized in a hierarchy of organ systems, organs, tissues,... Read More

Peritoneum

What is the Peritoneum? The term peritoneum refers to the serous membrane that constitutes the biologically active inner... Read More

The Psychobiology of Hysteria

Editorial Hysteria is often regarded as the archetypal psychodynamic illness. Freud carried out much of his early work on... Read More

Cell

A biological cell is a membrane-bound structure that occurs as a functional independent unit of life (such as in unicellular... Read More

Parthenogenesis

To reproduce, by definition, means to produce new offspring. The process is referred to as reproduction, which is one of the... Read More

Meiosis

What is Meiosis? A simple definition of meiosis would be is this: meiosis is the process of cell division that results in... Read More

Reflex arc

Definition noun, plural: reflex arcs A neural pathway that controls reflex reactions Supplement In physiology, a reflex... Read More

Genome

Genome Definition What is a genome? As defined in biology, a genome is a complete set of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) within... Read More

Apomixis

Apomixis Definition Just like any other organism, the process of reproduction is pivotal to the life cycle of plants. There... Read More

Totipotent

Totipotent Definition What is totipotent? In general terms, totipotency is defined as the ability of a single cell to... Read More

Genetic diversity

Genetic Diversity Definition Each species is composed of individuals with their own set of genes. A gene is the inheritance... Read More

Binary fission

Binary Fission Definition What is binary fission? In biology, binary fission is a type of asexual reproduction where a... Read More

The Conscious & Unconscious Nervous System

The Central Nervous System is arguably the most important part of the body because of the way it controls the biological... Read More

Meiotic spindle

Meiotic Spindle Definition The meiotic spindle refers to the spindle apparatus that forms during meiosis in contrast to... Read More

Cytotoxic T cell

Definition noun, plural: cytotoxic T cells A T cell responsible for inducing death to target cells (e.g. infected somatic... Read More