Glossary of terms used on this site
Glossary of biology.
Glossaries
Term | Main definition |
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life cycle |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
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life history |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
inherited pattern of resource allocation under the influence of natural selection and other evolutionary forces |
life science |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
field of science, such as biology, that studies living things |
life table |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
table showing the life expectancy of a population member based on its age |
ligand |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
molecule produced by a signaling cell that binds with a specific receptor, delivering a signal in the process |
ligase |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
enzyme that catalyzes the formation of a phosphodiester linkage between the 3' OH and 5' phosphate ends of the DNA |
light harvesting complex |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
complex that passes energy from sunlight to the reaction center in each photosystem; it consists of multiple antenna proteins that contain a mixture of 300 to 400 chlorophyll a and b molecules as well as other pigments like carotenoids |
light microscope |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
an instrument that magnifies an object using a beam of visible light that passes and bends through a lens system to visualize a specimen |
light-dependent reaction |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
first stage of photosynthesis where certain wavelengths of the visible light are absorbed to form two energy-carrying molecules (ATP and NADPH) |
light-independent reaction |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
second stage of photosynthesis, through which carbon dioxide is used to build carbohydrate molecules using energy from ATP and NADPH |
lignin |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
complex polymer impermeable to water |
limbic system |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
connected brain areas that process emotion and motivation |
linkage |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
phenomenon in which alleles that are located in close proximity to each other on the same chromosome are more likely to be inherited together |
linkage analysis |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
procedure that analyzes recombining genes to determine if they are linked |
lipase |
Glossaries - Biology glossary
enzyme that chemically breaks down lipids |