amphibians: A group of animals that includes frogs, salamanders and caecilians. Amphibians have backbones and can breathe through their skin. Unlike reptiles, birds and mammals, unborn or unhatched amphibians do not develop in a special protective sac called an amniotic sac.
biologist: A scientist involved in the study of living things.
cell: (in biology) The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the unaided eye, it consists of a watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made of anywhere from thousands to trillions of cells.
chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O.
chemical reaction: A process that involves the rearrangement of the molecules or structure of a substance, as opposed to a change in physical form (as from a solid to a gas).
diet: (n.) The foods and liquids ingested by an animal to provide the nutrition it needs to grow and maintain health. Sometimes this is a specific food-intake plan.
family: A taxonomic group consisting of at least one genus of organisms.
fluorescent: (v. fluoresce) Adjective for something that is capable of absorbing and reemitting light. That reemitted light is known as fluorescence.
gene: (adj. genetic) A segment of DNA that codes, or holds instructions, for a cell’s production of a protein. Offspring inherit genes from their parents. Genes influence how an organism looks and behaves.
gut: An informal term for the gastrointestinal tract, especially the intestines.
herpetologist: A scientist who works on the biology of reptiles and amphibians.
insect: A type of arthropod that as an adult will have six segmented legs and three body parts: a head, thorax and abdomen. There are hundreds of thousands of insects, which include bees, beetles, flies and moths.
liver: An organ of the body of animals with backbones that performs a number of important functions. It can store fat and sugar as energy, break down harmful substances for excretion by the body, and secrete bile, a greenish fluid released into the gut, where it helps digest fats and neutralize acids.
mammal: A warm-blooded animal distinguished by the possession of hair or fur, the secretion of milk by females for feeding their young, and (typically) the bearing of live young.
marker: (in biomedicine) The presence of some substance — such as the attachment of some stain or molecular flag — that usually signals some disease, pollutant or event. As such, this substance will serve as a sign — or marker — of that related thing.
metabolism: (adj. metabolic) The set of life-sustaining chemical reactions that take place inside cells and bigger structures, such as organs. These reactions enable organisms to grow, reproduce, move and otherwise respond to their environments.
poison dart frog: A type of brightly colored frog (there are more than 100 different species of these) that belong to the Dendrobatidae family. They secrete a potent poison into their skin. Their bright coloring warns predators that they would provide a toxic lunch. The skin of at least one species can hold enough poison to kill up to 20,000 mice — or 10 adult men. They get their name from the fact that some hunters in the Amazon once used these poisons on the tips of their darts to immobilize their prey.
predator: (adjective: predatory) A creature that preys on other animals for most or all of its food.
primary: An adjective meaning major, first or most important.
protein: A compound made from one or more long chains of amino acids. Proteins are an essential part of all living organisms. They form the basis of living cells, muscle and tissues; they also do the work inside of cells. Antibodies, hemoglobin and enzymes are all examples of proteins. Medicines frequently work by latching onto proteins.
species: A group of similar organisms capable of producing offspring that can survive and reproduce.
toxic: Poisonous or able to harm or kill cells, tissues or whole organisms. The measure of risk posed by such a poison is its toxicity.
toxin: A poison produced by living organisms, such as bacteria, algae and certain plants (such as poison ivy). Bees, spiders, snakes and other animals also produce toxins. These are referred to as venoms.
trait: A characteristic feature of something. (in genetics) A quality or characteristic that can be inherited.