ANBI 139 Glossary Exam Study Set
Anthropocene - Answer the proposed geological epoch defined by human influence on
the Earth; no consensus for when it starts (ranges from agricultural revolution to the
first atomic explosion)
Holocene - Answer the current geological epoch, from approximately 11.7 kya (after the
end of the last Ice Age cycle) to the present, that is marked by globally warmer and
more stable climates
Morphology - Answer the shape of an animal, or one of its functions
Genetics - Answer the study of inheritance, DNA, and its functions
Heritable variation - Answer variation biology and behavior that is inherited from one or
both parents
Differential Reproductive Success - Answer the difference between one individual's
lifetime reproductive success and that of the average individual in the population
Population Bottleneck - Answer the dramatic reduction in population size, which often
results in a loss of genetic diversity
Cell - Answer biological unit consisting of a lipid membrane covered by a glycocalyx and
containing DNA and cytoplasm
Organism - Answer living entity that can reproduce and evolve
Genome - Answer the totality of the genetic material in an organism
Nucleic Acids - Answer the molecules of inheritance, DNA, and RNA
Proteins - Answer "building blocks of life" ; consist of chains of connected amino acids
and are directly encoded by genes in the DNA of organisms; most fold and form complex
3-D structures; short=peptides
Glycans - Answer mono-, oligo-, or polysaccharides; unlike proteins, they can be
branched
Lipids - Answer fats consisting of fatty acids and diverse modifications
Soma - Answer "body"; the cells that make up the body of a sexually reproducing
organism
Germ Line - Answer the cells of an organism that give rise to gametes (sperm and eggs)
Phylogenetic Tree - Answer graphic description of lineages of organisms
Phylogeny - Answer the history of lineages or organisms
,Convergent Evolution - Answer independent evolution giving rise to similar
morphologies/adaptations
Horizontal Genetic Exchange - Answer gene flow; genetic exchange across distinct
lineages of organisms (e.g. from bacteria to eukarya)
Disease - Answer a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant,
especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is
not simply a direct result of physical injury
Genetic Cause - Answer disease caused by inherited DNA mutations
Environmental Cause - Answer disease caused by environmental effects (i.e. exposure
to UV light)
Byproducts of Defense - Answer diseases resulting from immune responses
Disease of homeostasis - Answer diseases caused by breakdown of homeostasis
lack of maintenance - Answer diseases of "wear and tear"
stochastic developmental problems - Answer diseases due to mishaps in development
reproductive disease - Answer diseases linked to mother-offspring of father-mother
conflict
parasite - Answer organism that benefits by harming its host
pathogen - Answer organism that causes disease in the host
symbiont - Answer organism that benefits from the host and also benefits the host
protozoan - Answer one-celled organism that cannot photosynthesize
bacteria - Answer one-celled organism without a nucleus and with complex glycan
shields
helminth - Answer worm; multicellular invertebrate animal with tube-like appearance
virus - Answer organism that cannot replicate without hijacking the services of a living
cell
tuberculosis - Answer wide-spread disease caused by the bacterium Myobacterium
tuberculosis that infect approximately 1/3 of all humans but only cause disease in some
hosts
achondroplasia - Answer a developmental growth disorder leading to extremely short
stature
malaria - Answer group of diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Plasmodium;
parasite reproduces in mosquitos and gets transmitted to humans and other mammals
, when mosquitos feed on mammalian blood
Sickle Cell Anemia - Answer a blood disorder caused by mutations that also convey
resistance to malaria
Prion - Answer glycoprotein of unknown function that can miss-fold; the miss-folded
form can cause other prion proteins to miss-fold, leading to brain disease
Cannabis Use Disorder - Answer a newly classified disease of substance abuse
involving cannabis products
Cystic Fibrosis - Answer a genetic disease involving challenges in the ion transport and
causing mucus accumulation and secondary infection in the lungs
obesiity - Answer disease of homeostasis defined as BMI larger than 30
eating disorders - Answer mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that
negatively affect a person's health
hysteria - Answer a non-existing disease that was commonly used as diagnosis for a
range of behavior in women
Drapetomania - Answer a fictitious disease of enslaved people escaping from
plantations
lactose persistence - Answer continued expression of the digestive enzyme lactose,
allowing adult humans to digest the disaccharide lactose in mammalian milk
poliomyelitis - Answer virus infecting humans and other primates through the guy and
affecting the central nervous system, where host immune responses often cause
damage leading to various forms of paralysis
hapliod - Answer containing only a single copy of the genome (sperm and egg)
diploid - Answer containing two copies of the genome (all somatic cells)
chromatin - Answer DNA wrapped around histones; each species of animal has a
characteristic number (humans=46, chimpanzees=48)
karyotype - Answer characteristic number of chromosomes of a species
Gene - Answer functional stretch of DNA
locus - Answer site/location on the DNA
Anthropocene - Answer the proposed geological epoch defined by human influence on
the Earth; no consensus for when it starts (ranges from agricultural revolution to the
first atomic explosion)
Holocene - Answer the current geological epoch, from approximately 11.7 kya (after the
end of the last Ice Age cycle) to the present, that is marked by globally warmer and
more stable climates
Morphology - Answer the shape of an animal, or one of its functions
Genetics - Answer the study of inheritance, DNA, and its functions
Heritable variation - Answer variation biology and behavior that is inherited from one or
both parents
Differential Reproductive Success - Answer the difference between one individual's
lifetime reproductive success and that of the average individual in the population
Population Bottleneck - Answer the dramatic reduction in population size, which often
results in a loss of genetic diversity
Cell - Answer biological unit consisting of a lipid membrane covered by a glycocalyx and
containing DNA and cytoplasm
Organism - Answer living entity that can reproduce and evolve
Genome - Answer the totality of the genetic material in an organism
Nucleic Acids - Answer the molecules of inheritance, DNA, and RNA
Proteins - Answer "building blocks of life" ; consist of chains of connected amino acids
and are directly encoded by genes in the DNA of organisms; most fold and form complex
3-D structures; short=peptides
Glycans - Answer mono-, oligo-, or polysaccharides; unlike proteins, they can be
branched
Lipids - Answer fats consisting of fatty acids and diverse modifications
Soma - Answer "body"; the cells that make up the body of a sexually reproducing
organism
Germ Line - Answer the cells of an organism that give rise to gametes (sperm and eggs)
Phylogenetic Tree - Answer graphic description of lineages of organisms
Phylogeny - Answer the history of lineages or organisms
,Convergent Evolution - Answer independent evolution giving rise to similar
morphologies/adaptations
Horizontal Genetic Exchange - Answer gene flow; genetic exchange across distinct
lineages of organisms (e.g. from bacteria to eukarya)
Disease - Answer a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant,
especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is
not simply a direct result of physical injury
Genetic Cause - Answer disease caused by inherited DNA mutations
Environmental Cause - Answer disease caused by environmental effects (i.e. exposure
to UV light)
Byproducts of Defense - Answer diseases resulting from immune responses
Disease of homeostasis - Answer diseases caused by breakdown of homeostasis
lack of maintenance - Answer diseases of "wear and tear"
stochastic developmental problems - Answer diseases due to mishaps in development
reproductive disease - Answer diseases linked to mother-offspring of father-mother
conflict
parasite - Answer organism that benefits by harming its host
pathogen - Answer organism that causes disease in the host
symbiont - Answer organism that benefits from the host and also benefits the host
protozoan - Answer one-celled organism that cannot photosynthesize
bacteria - Answer one-celled organism without a nucleus and with complex glycan
shields
helminth - Answer worm; multicellular invertebrate animal with tube-like appearance
virus - Answer organism that cannot replicate without hijacking the services of a living
cell
tuberculosis - Answer wide-spread disease caused by the bacterium Myobacterium
tuberculosis that infect approximately 1/3 of all humans but only cause disease in some
hosts
achondroplasia - Answer a developmental growth disorder leading to extremely short
stature
malaria - Answer group of diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Plasmodium;
parasite reproduces in mosquitos and gets transmitted to humans and other mammals
, when mosquitos feed on mammalian blood
Sickle Cell Anemia - Answer a blood disorder caused by mutations that also convey
resistance to malaria
Prion - Answer glycoprotein of unknown function that can miss-fold; the miss-folded
form can cause other prion proteins to miss-fold, leading to brain disease
Cannabis Use Disorder - Answer a newly classified disease of substance abuse
involving cannabis products
Cystic Fibrosis - Answer a genetic disease involving challenges in the ion transport and
causing mucus accumulation and secondary infection in the lungs
obesiity - Answer disease of homeostasis defined as BMI larger than 30
eating disorders - Answer mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that
negatively affect a person's health
hysteria - Answer a non-existing disease that was commonly used as diagnosis for a
range of behavior in women
Drapetomania - Answer a fictitious disease of enslaved people escaping from
plantations
lactose persistence - Answer continued expression of the digestive enzyme lactose,
allowing adult humans to digest the disaccharide lactose in mammalian milk
poliomyelitis - Answer virus infecting humans and other primates through the guy and
affecting the central nervous system, where host immune responses often cause
damage leading to various forms of paralysis
hapliod - Answer containing only a single copy of the genome (sperm and egg)
diploid - Answer containing two copies of the genome (all somatic cells)
chromatin - Answer DNA wrapped around histones; each species of animal has a
characteristic number (humans=46, chimpanzees=48)
karyotype - Answer characteristic number of chromosomes of a species
Gene - Answer functional stretch of DNA
locus - Answer site/location on the DNA
