biology: The study of living things. The scientists who study them are known as biologists.
cancer: Any of more than 100 different diseases, each characterized by the rapid, uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. The development and growth of cancers, also known as malignancies, can lead to tumors, pain and death.
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. Most organisms, such as yeasts, molds, bacteria and some algae, are composed of only one cell.
chimera: A single organism made from parts of two or more organisms, each having different genes. In mythology, a chimera was a merger of different species, such as a centaur (half-human, half-horse) or mermaid (part-human, part-fish). In modern biology, a chimera can be someone hosting an implanted organ that came from someone else. It also describes tissues with cells hosting genes that came from two fertilized eggs, ones that somehow merged early in development to become not twins but a single individual.
development: (in biology) The growth of an organism from conception through adulthood, often undergoing changes in chemistry, size and sometimes even shape.
DNA: (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded and spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. It is built on a backbone of phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.
egg: A reproductive cell that contains half of the genetic information necessary to form a complete organism. In humans and in many other animals, ovaries produce eggs. When an egg fuses with a sperm, they combine to produce a new cell, called a zygote. This is the first step in the development of a new organism.”
embryo: The early stages of a developing organism, or animal with a backbone, consisting only one or a few cells. As an adjective, the term would be embryonic — and could be used to refer to the early stages or life of a system or technology.
fertilize: (in biology) The merging of a male and a female reproductive cell (egg and sperm) to set in create a new, independent organism.
fruit: A seed-containing reproductive organ in a plant.
fuse: (v.) To merge two things together, often along some seam.
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.
gonads: The reproductive organs that make eggs (in females) and sperm (in males).
life cycle: The succession of stages that occur as an organism grows, develops, reproduces — and then eventually ages and dies. Or the sum of all processes involved in creating a product, starting with the extraction of raw materials and ending with the disposal of the product when it’s no longer useful. Indeed, engineers describe this as the cradle-to-grave life of a product.
marine: Having to do with the ocean world or environment.
molecular biology: The branch of biology that deals with the structure and function of molecules essential to life. Scientists who work in this field are called molecular biologists.
molecule: An electrically neutral group of atoms that represents the smallest possible amount of a chemical compound. Molecules can be made of single types of atoms or of different types. For example, the oxygen in the air is made of two oxygen atoms (O2), but water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H2O).
organ: (in biology) Various parts of an organism that perform one or more particular functions. For instance, an ovary is an organ that makes eggs, the brain is an organ that makes sense of nerve signals and a plant’s roots are organs that take in nutrients and moisture.
organism: Any living thing, from elephants and plants to bacteria and other types of single-celled life.
sponge: Something that sops up liquids or other materials and holds them until squeezed out or removed in some other way. (in biology) A primitive aquatic animal with a soft, porous body.