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Glossary of terms used on this site

Glossary of biology.

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Glossaries

Term Main definition
life cycle
Glossaries - Biology glossary

the sequence of events in the development of an organism and the production of cells that produce offspring

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