Lecture Notes Review

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes to help review key terms and concepts related to practical exams, DNA structure, gene access, cell division processes like mitosis and meiosis, and cellular components mentioned in the lecture.

Organelle Function

The specific task performed by a cellular component, such as the majority of ATP being made in a certain structure.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid, composed of sugar (deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Deoxyribose

The sugar part of DNA, specifically from 'deoxyribose nucleic acid'.

Phosphate Group

A key component of DNA structure.

Nitrogenous Base

A key component of DNA, including A, T, C, and G.

Purines

A group of nitrogenous bases, specifically A (Adenine) and G (Guanine).

Pyrimidines

A group of nitrogenous bases, specifically C (Cytosine), T (Thymine), and U (Uracil in RNA).

Regulatory Channels

Structures that provide access to genes, enabling them to be turned on or off.

Prolactin

A hormone that acts as a receptor to activate genes for producing milk in mammary glands, for example, in a breastfeeding mother.

Ribose

The sugar forming the backbone of RNA.

Base Triplet

A sequence of three DNA nucleotides that codes for one amino acid.

Stop Codons

Basically sets of instructions that signify the end, telling the cellular machinery not to go any further.

Identical Genes

The principle that all body cells (except sex cells and some immune cells) contain the same complete set of genes.

Activated Genes

Genes that are currently being used or are functional in a particular cell, as different cells activate different subsets of genes.

DNA Replication

The process where DNA starts to make copies of itself within the cell, in preparation for cell division like mitosis.

Four Steps of DNA Replication

A specific sequence of events in DNA synthesis that the instructor requires knowing.

DNA Polymerase

An enzyme that reads exposed bases and synthesizes complementary DNA strands.

Cell Cycle

The entire sequence of events from when a new cell is born until it divides, encompassing all phases of the cell's life, not just mitosis.

Mitosis

The process of taking one cell and creating two exact, identical copies of that cell, essentially cloning it.

Meiosis

A type of cell division associated with sexual reproduction, resulting in cells that have half of the chromosomes from each parent.

Spindle Fibers

Fibers that push centrioles apart, shoot out from them, and grab chromosomes during cell division.

Centrioles

Organelles from which spindle fibers emerge and extend, forming the mitotic spindle.

Kinetochores

Attachment points on chromosomes where spindle fibers grab, described as 'tacky tape in the middle'.

Metaphase

A stage of mitosis where all chromosomes line up perfectly down the middle of the cell prior to separation.

Anaphase

A stage of mitosis where an enzyme cleaves the two sister chromatids apart from the centromere, and they are pulled to opposite poles.

Sister Chromatids

Two identical copies of a chromosome that are joined together at the centromere, and are pulled apart during anaphase.

Centromere

The region where two sister chromatids are joined, and from which they are cleaved apart during anaphase.

Cytokinesis

The process of cytoplasmic division that begins during later stages of mitosis (like anaphase) and involves the thickening of cytosol and eventual formation of two separate cells.