Definitions Flashcards
(24 cards)
Why do scientists use a double blind trial?
To see just how effective a new medicine is.
Placebo?
Things used in medical trials which contain no drug or medicine.
Drug?
Substance that affects chemical reactions in the body.
Addiction?
When a drug changes chemical processes in your body, so that you become dependant and cannot manage without them.
What do anabolic steroids do?
Help build up muscle mass.
Effectors?
Muscles or glands which respond to the arrival of impulses by contracting or secreting chemical substances.
Reflexes?
Automatic responses that help you avoid danger and harm.
Hormones?
Chemical messenger which travel in the blood to activate target cells.
Homeostasis?
Processes inside your body which aim to keep everything as constant as possible.
Phototropism?
The response of a plant to light.
Gravitropism?
The response of a plant to gravity.
What does the body use carbohydrates, proteins and fats for?
To release energy you need to live and to build new cells.
Metabolic rate?
The rate at which chemical reactions in your cells occur.
Bacteria?
Single-celled living organisms that cause disease.
Pathogens?
Microorganisms which cause disease.
Viruses?
Pathogens which cause disease in every type of living organisms.
Antibiotics?
Medicines that work inside the body to kill bacteria which cause disease.
Antigen?
A unique protein on the surface of every cell.
Vaccine?
A method of immunisation which involves injecting a weak or dead pathogen into the body.
Biomass?
Mass of material in living organisms.
Natural selection?
The process by which evolution takes place.
DNA?
A long molecule made up of 2 strands that are twisted together to form a double helix. Material of inheritance.
Clone?
An individual that has been produced asexually and is genetically identical to the parent.
Extremophile?
A microorganism which lives in extreme environments. For example a very hot climate or a very cold climate.
