| dark reactions |
| The photosynthetic process in which food (sugar) molecules are formed from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with the use of ATP; can occur in the dark as long as ATP is present. |
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| death rate |
| The ratio between deaths and individuals in a specified population at a particular time. |
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| deletion |
| A particular kind of mutation: loss of a piece of DNA from a chromosome. Deletion of a gene or part of a gene can lead to a disease or abnormality.
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| dendrites |
| Short, highly branched fibers that carry signals toward the cell body of a neuron. |
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| dendrochronology |
| The process of determining the age of a tree or wood used in structures by counting the number of annual growth rings. |
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| deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) |
| The chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.
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| deoxyribose |
| Five-carbon sugar found in nucleotides of DNA. |
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| depth diversity gradient |
| The increase in species richness with increasing water depth until about 2000 meters below the surface, where species richness begins to decline. |
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| dermal system |
| Plant organ system that provides the covering for the plant. |
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| dermis |
| One of the two layers of skin; a connective tissue layer under the epidermis containing elastic and collagen fibers, capillary networks, and nerve endings. |
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| desert biome |
| Characterized by dry conditions and plants and animals that have adapted to those conditions; found in areas where local or global influences block rainfall. |
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| desmosome |
| A circular region of membrane cemented to an adjacent membrane by a molecular glue made of polysaccharides; found in tissues that undergo stretching. |
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| deuterostomes |
| Animals in which the first opening that appears in the embryo becomes the anus while the mouth appears at the other end of the digestive system. Main groups include chordates and echinoderms. |
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| diabetes mellitus |
| Two types of a highly variable disorder in which abnormalities in the ability to make and/or use the hormone insulin interfere with the process of turning dietary carbohydrates into glucose, the body's fuel. Type I is known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, and type II is known as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.
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| diabetes mellitus, Types I and II |
| A disorder associated with defects in insulin action. Type I diabetes is characterized by inadequate insulin secretion; Type II diabetes is characterized by impaired insulin secretion in response to elevated blood glucose levels or by loss of sensitivity to insulin by target cells. |
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| diaphragm |
| A dome-shaped muscle that separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities. |
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| diastole |
| The filling of the ventricle of the heart with blood. |
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| diatomaceous earth |
| Fossilized deposits of diatoms; used for abrasives, polishes and as a filtering agent. |
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| dicots |
| One of the two main types of flowering plants; characterized by having two cotyledons, floral organs arranged in cycles of four or five, and leaves with reticulate veins; include trees (except conifers) and most ornamental and crop plants. |
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| dictyosomes |
| Organelles in plant cells composed of a series of flattened membrane sacs that sort, chemically modify, and package proteins produced on the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Also known as the Golgi Apparatus. |
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| diencephalon |
| Part of the forebrain; consists of the thalamus and hypothalamus. |
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| diffusion |
| The spontaneous movement of particles from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. |
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| digestion |
| The process of breaking down food into its molecular and chemical components so that these nutrient molecules can cross plasma membranes. |
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| digestive system |
| One of eleven major body organ systems in animals; converts food from the external environment into nutrient molecules that can be used and stored by the body and eliminates solid wastes; involves five functions: movement, secretion, digestion, absorption, and elimination. |
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| dihybrid cross |
| In genetics, a cross that involves two sets of characteristics. |
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| dinoflagellates |
| Single-celled to colonial protistans characterized by two flagella, one girdling the cell and the other trailing the cell. |
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| dinosaurs |
| Any of the Mesozoic reptiles belonging to the groups designated as ornithischians and saurischians. |
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| diploid |
| The number of chromosomes in most cells except the gametes. In humans, the diploid number is 46.
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| directional selection |
| A process of natural selection that tends to favor phenotypes at one extreme of the phenotypic range. |
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| disaccharides |
| 1. Sugars made up of two monosaccharides held together by a covalent bond; e.g., sucrose and lactose. 2. Type of sugar (saccharide) composed of two sugar molecules bonded together with an ester (covalent) bond examples include sucrose, maltose, and lactose. |
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| discontinuous variation |
| Occurs when the phenotypes of traits controlled by a single gene can be sorted into two distinct phenotypic classes. |
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| disruptive selection |
| A process of natural selection that favors individuals at both extremes of a phenotypic range. |
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| distal tubule |
| The section of the renal tubule where tubular secretion occurs. |
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| divergent evolution |
| The divergence of a single interbreeding population or species into two or more descendant species. |
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| divergent plate boundary |
| The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving apart. |
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| diversity |
| The different types of organisms that occur in a community. |
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| DNA hybridization |
| The formation of hybrid DNA molecules that contain a strand of DNA from two different species. The number of complementary sequences in common in the two strands is an indication of the degree of relatedness of the species. |
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| DNA ligase |
| In recombinant DNA technology, an enzyme that seals together two DNA fragments from different sources to form a recombinant DNA molecule. |
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| DNA polymerase |
| In DNA replication, the enzyme that links the complementary nucleotides together to form the newly synthesized strand. |
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| DNA replication |
| The process by which the DNA double helix unwinds and makes an exact copy of itself.
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| DNA sequencing |
| Determining the exact order of the base pairs in a segment of DNA.
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| dominance |
| The property of one of a pair of alleles that suppresses the expression of the other member of the pair in heterozygotes. |
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| dominance hierarchy |
| A social structure among a group of animals in which one is dominant and the others have subordinate nonbreeding positions. |
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| dominant |
| A gene that almost always results in a specific physical characteristic, for example, a disease, even though the patient's genome possesses only one copy. With a dominant gene, the chance of passing on the gene (and therefore the disease) to children is 50-50 in each pregnancy.
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| double fertilization |
| A characteristic of angiosperms in which a pollen tube carries two sperm cells to the female gametophyte in the ovule. One sperm cell fuses with the egg cell and gives rise to a diploid embryo The other sperm cell fuses with the two polar cells to form a triploid cell that develops into the endosperm. 1 2 |
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| double helix |
| The structural arrangement of DNA, which looks something like an immensely long ladder twisted into a helix, or coil. The sides of the "ladder" are formed by a backbone of sugar and phosphate molecules, and the "rungs" consist of nucleotide bases joined weakly in the middle by hydrogen bonds.
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| duodenum |
| The upper part of the small intestine. |
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| duplication |
| A particular kind of mutation: production of one or more copies of any piece of DNA, including a gene or even an entire chromosome.
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