CARTA Glossary

A tumor mass, either benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer), that is composed of cells that have lost their regulatory checks and multiply without control or do not undergo pre-programmed cell death.

One of the four classes of major biomolecules. The overall name for DNA and RNA, which are composed of nucleotides. DNA is double-stranded and more stable while RNA is single-stranded and less stable.

Exact symbolic quantifier that designates the cardinality of a collection of objects. It is abstract (i.e., it transcends perceptual modalities), relational, and operable. In its most prototypical case it is associated with the familiar counting sequence ‘1, 2, 3, . . . ’

A scale of measurement for evaluating the numerousness of stimuli (e.g., a collection of discriminable objects) utilized especially by psychophysicists in the mid-20th century, and by means of which an experimenter establishes the cardinal attribute of physical collections of objects.

The formation of long-lasting bonds between two individuals.

An organism that lives on or in a host organism at the expense of the host.

The organization of the sounds or signs in language.

Eating ruminants (red meat and dairy) creates special demands on detoxifying metabolism as phytanic acid (lipids) from plants eaten by ruminants can be toxic to humans.

A type of abnormal, pathogenic protein that can cause other, normal, proteins to similarly misfold. Prions are involved in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as “mad cow disease.”

One of the four classes of major biomolecules. Proteins are molecules encoded by DNA sequences and composed of amino acids connected by peptide bonds. These range in size from a few amino acids (short peptides) to large molecules (long polypeptides) comprised of thousands of amino acids.

Pertaining to quantity-related cognition (e.g., subitizing) that is shared by many species and which provides biological evolved preconditions for numerical cognition and arithmetic, but is itself not about number or arithmetic. Quantical processing seems to be about many sensorial dimensions other than number, and does not, by itself, scale up to produce number and arithmetic.

Relating to, measuring, or measured by the quantity of something rather than its quality.

A type of transposable element, or “jumping gene,” that copies and pastes itself into different genomic locations through reverse transcription (converting RNA back into DNA).

Misfolded proteins that cause damage, particularly resulting in neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and mad cow disease. The abnormal shape of these proteins can be triggered by another type of protein, called a prion.

A class of molecular patterns that signal intrinsic inhibitory receptors of immune cells to remain in or return to their baseline, non-activated state.

A type of retrotransposon, or transposable element (“jumping genes”) that are abundant, non-autonomous, non-coding, and are 100 - 700 base pairs in length such as Alu elements.

The extra-cellular, sialic acid binding portion of a Siglec protein fused to another protein domain and transgenically expressed in a cell line. They are used to study Siglec binding.

Established rules or norms that result in stable patterns of behavior within a community.

The common type of cells of stroma, they synthesize the extracellular matrix and collagen, and are also involved in wound healing.

An organism that lives in a symbiosis providing benefits to its host.

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

A type of cell membrane protein that spans the width of the membrane and functions as a gateway for specific substances to enter or leave the cell or as a signaling molecule.

DNA sequence that can change its position within a genome, sometimes creating or reversing mutations and altering the cell’s genetic identity and genome size. They can also be referred to as “jumping genes”. They were discovered by Barbara McClintock and she earned the Nobel Prize in 1983 for that discovery. These sequences can be considered a type of “molecular parasite” within the genome.

The outermost protein domain of Siglec proteins and contains the sialic acid binding site.

Any agent which carries and transmits an infectious pathogen to another living organism. Most agents that act as vectors are living organisms.

An important brain region involved in comprehension of written and spoken language.

One of the two allosomes of the mammalian genome that determine sex. The X-chromosome can be inherited maternally and paternally.