Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering

A series of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts related to biotechnology, genetic engineering, and immunology.

Plasmids

Small, circular DNA molecules found in bacteria that can carry genes for antibiotic resistance and traits not contained in chromosomes.

Restriction enzymes

Enzymes used by genetic engineers to cut DNA at specific sequences, allowing for insertion of new genes.

Gene therapy

A technique that modifies a person's genes to treat or prevent diseases, often by inserting a normal gene into a patient's cells.

Monoclonal antibodies

Laboratory-made molecules that can mimic the immune system's ability to fight off harmful pathogens, created by fusing B cells with tumor cells.

Antigen

A molecule that triggers an immune response, typically by being recognized by antibodies.

CAR T-cell therapy

A treatment that modifies a patient's T cells to seek and destroy cancer cells by using a chimeric antigen receptor.

Biosimilars

Biological products that are highly similar to, and have no clinically meaningful differences from, an existing FDA-approved biological product.

Vectorless methods

Gene insertion methods that do not require an intermediate organism to deliver the DNA, such as electroporation.

Clinical trials

Research studies that test how well new medical approaches work in people, involving multiple stages.

Immunogenicity

The ability of a substance, such as a protein, to provoke an immune response in the body.

Recombinant insulin

Insulin that is produced using genetically engineered bacteria containing the insulin gene.

Antibiotics resistance

A trait carried by some plasmids that allows bacteria to survive exposure to antibiotics.

Chimeric antibodies

Antibodies that have been genetically engineered to contain parts from more than one species, often to make them less immunogenic in humans.

mRNA vaccines

Vaccines that use messenger RNA to instruct cells to produce a protein that triggers an immune response.

Heavy chain and light chain

The two types of chains that make up an antibody; heavy chains are larger and form the main body, while light chains are smaller and attached at the ends.

Antibody response

The process by which the immune system produces antibodies in response to an antigen.