Bio Paper 1 definitions

Monomer

Small unit from which larger molecules are made

Polymer

Molecules made from large numbers of monomers join together

Magnification

Extent to which an object has been enlarged by a microscope

Resolution

Ability to distinguish between points that are very close together

Active immunity

A form of immunity provided by the immune response of the body upon detection of a pathogen

Agglutination

The clumping together of cells

Antibody

A protein found in the blood that is produced by plasma cells

Antigen

Marker molecule that can be detected by antibodies and trigger an immune response

Herd immunity

A type of disease immunity that occurs when a large proportion of a population are vaccinated against a disease which prevents the spread of the disease to unvaccinated individuals

Monoclonal antibodies

Identical antibodies that have been produced by an immune cell that has been cloned from a paren cell

Passive immunity

A form of immunity provided by the introduction of antibodies to a disease into the body

Allele

A version of a gene

Biodiversity

The variety of genes, species and habitats within a particular area

Gene

A length of DNA on a chromosome that. Codes for the production of one or more polypeptide chains

Genetic diveristy

The number of different alleles in a population

Genome

The entire set of genes in a cell

Locus

The position of a gene on a chromosome

Mutagenic agent

An agent that increases the rate of gene mutations

Species

A group of similar organisms that area able to breed with one another to produce living, fertile offspring

Species richness

A measure of the number of different species in a community at a given time

Species diversity

A measure of the number of different species in a given time

Endopeptidase

Hydrolyse peptide bonds within a polypeptide

Proteome

The full range of proteins that a cell can make

Evolution

Change in allele frequency over time

Population

All the organisms of one species in a habitat

Community

All the populations of all the species in a habitat

Index of diversity

Relationship between number of different species in a community and the number of each species