CARTA Glossary

A material produced through the dry distillation of birch bark and used as an adhesive for hafting. Neanderthals produced birch tar as early as 200 kya. Compare with Bitumen.

The system comprising the totality of antigens on erythrocytes, endothelial and other cells types, secreted molecules in blood and bodily secretions. (This is why they are also known as histo-blood groups - histo being Greek for “tissue”)

Jewelry designed and manufactured specifically for use in piercings.

1. The act of perforating, or piercing, the tissue of the body, including the ear, and inserting an ornament into the opening. 2. A perforation in the tissue of the body and the wearing of an ornament in the opening. 3. Common usage: The perforation itself. E.g., “I changed the jewelry in my piercing.” 4. Common usage: The ornament that is worn in a perforation of the tissue. More accurately described as piercing jewelry, body piercing jewelry, or body jewelry. E.g., “My piercing fell out.”

One of the two species comprising the genus, Pan, having branched from chimpanzees ~1 million years ago. Sometimes referred to as “pygmy chimpanzee.” Bonobos, compared to chimpanzees, are more gracile, have female social dominance, relatively long legs, pink lips, a dark face, a “tail-tuft” through adulthood, and parted long head hair. The species is omnivorous and inhabits primary and secondary forests, including seasonally inundated swamp forests. The bonobo is found in a 500,000 km² (190,000 sq mi) area of the Congo Basin, only south of the Congo River, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Due to political instability, little field work in their natural habitat has been performed. Most behavioral knowledge is a result of studies of captive bonobos.

An artificially grown in vitro brain model used for investigating brain development and neurological disease. Brain organoids are derived from induced pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells.

A region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere (usually the left) of the human brain with functions linked to speech production.

C₃ Plants: Plants that only use the Calvin-Benson Cycle for fixing CO₂ from the air. Photosynthesis in these plants involves the reaction of CO₂ with C₅ RuBP (ribulose-1,5-biphosphate) to form two C₃ phosphoglyceric acid molecules (3PGA) in the Calvin Cycle, making hexose carbohydrates. C₃ plants originated during the Mesozoic and Paleozoic eras, predating C₄ plants. C₃ plants thrive in moderate sunlight and temperature environments. The ¹²C/¹³C ratio of C₃ plants is unique and can be determined from mass spectrometry. C₃ plants have more ¹²C compared to C₄ Plants, and have less ¹³C in their tissue compared to what naturally occurs in the atmosphere. e.g. Herbaceous plants, cool season grasses, tree leaves, flowers, stems, and fruits.

A natural alkaloid and insecticide produced by several unrelated plant species (coffee, tea, and cacao). It also functions as a central nervous system stimulant that reversibly blocks the action of adenosine on its receptors.

The set of chemical reactions that take place in chloroplasts of plants during photosynthesis. This light-independent process converts carbon atoms from the atmosphere into three-carbon sugars.

A type of cancer that starts in cells that make up the skin or the tissue lining organs, such as the liver or kidneys. Carcinomas are abnormal cells that divide without control and can spread to other parts of the body.

An organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging.

A build-up of mucus in an airway or body cavity caused by inflammation such as that associated with respiratory illnesses.

Intentional burning to the body to create scars.

A subclass of Siglec receptors that rapidly evolved in humans and do not have true orthologues (counterparts identical by descent) in most mammalian species. For the CD33rSiglecs, it has been more difficult to translate studies in animal models to human conditions.

The majority of the nervous system that consists of the brain, spinal cord, retina, optic nerves, and olfactory epithelium. The CNS integrates sensory information and coordinates and influences the activity of the body in bilaterally symmetric animals (all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish).

The largest part of the brain that contains the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfactory bulb.

Proteins located in plasma membranes that form a passageway that can open or close to allow or stop the flow of particular ions across the membrane (see also receptor).

A Mayan city in Yucatan that rose to regional prominence after 800 CE.

A RNA virus that belongs to the genus Alphavirus that is primarily transmitted by two species of Aedes mosquitoes, although the virus can also be transmitted from mother to child during delivery. Before 2013, the virus was found only in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Indian and Pacific islands. In late 2013, outbreaks occurred for the first time in the Americas in the Caribbean Islands. Chikungunya (pronounced “chik-en-gun-ye”) comes from the Kimadonde verb meaning “bent over in pain” or “contorted.”

The green pigment that captures light energy and is essential for photosynthesis in cyanobacteria, algae, and plants.

The idea that the 3D conformation of chromatin and the presence or absence of regulatory proteins (and their chemical modifications) interacting with histone proteins or directly with DNA can impact whether or not, and to what level, gene expression occurs.

Receptors expressed on a cell surface that bind ligands on the same cell surface.

A branching diagram used to show hypothetical relations among groups of organisms and their hypothetical most common ancestors. It is not an evolutionary tree as it does not show how ancestors are related to descendants, nor does it show evolutionary distance or time.

The cutting and removal of all or part of the externally protruding glans of the clitoris. Also called Type 1 female genital modification. See also, excision.

The process by which soluble proteins in blood crosslink to cause a change from liquid to gel, forming a clot. Also known as coagulation.

Models evolution backward in time to infer historical population size, mutation rate, allele age, and allele frequency change by selection and drift.

Collective violence or violence between groups of individuals.

A type of short rod-shaped Gram-negative bacteria. Some species of coccobacillus cause disease in humans.

Drugs that are used to improve memory, increase mental alertness, and concentration, and boost energy levels and wakefulness. E.g., amphetamines; nicotine; caffeine.

A universal property of human language in which a set of basic, distinct units (phonemes, syllables, or hand shapes) can be combined in many different ways.

An illness that is transmittable from an infected person or animal to another person or animal through direct contact or indirectly via contaminated food, water, or a vector.

A phenotypic trait with variability influenced by numerous genes (each with small effects).

A form of ovulation that lacks any exterior signs.

The waking state and awareness of existence.

Infectious diseases that can be spread from organism to organism by direct or indirect contact. Contagious disease is a subset of communicable, infectious, and transmissible.

An evolutionary model in which change occurs gradually over time. Compare with Punctuated Equilibrium.

A social system in which parents and other individuals within the group provide care for offspring.

A member of the large, single-stranded RNA virus family (Coronaviridae) named for their ring (“crown”) shape. They are also characterized by a fatty membrane envelope that is covered with club-shaped spike glycoproteins. Coronaviruses are known to infect many mammals (including us humans) and birds. Different coronaviruses are responsible for causing MERS, SARS, and COVID-19.

A segment of the cerebral cortex that carries out a given function.

A neuropeptide that regulates the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis response, a major neuroendocrine system.

The American crow.

The number of reads for a given locus.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. A method that can mutate a specified locus.

In human culture, the accumulation of cultural modifications over time (“ratchet effect”) resulting from social learning, active teaching, social motivations for conformity, and normative sanctions against non-conformity.

An enzyme encoded by the CMAH gene that modifies sialic acids in most mammals by modifying N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) into N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc). The enzyme modifies sialic acid in its sugar nucleotide form (CMP-Neu5Ac to CMP-Neu5Gc).

A severe immune reaction in which the body releases too many cytokines into the blood too quickly. Signs and symptoms include high fever, inflammation, severe fatigue, and nausea. This may be severe or even life- threatening, leading to multiple organ failure.
 

Total number of calories burned in a day.

A Latin adverb meaning “from the new.” A new genetic variant that is the result of a mutation in a germ cell (egg or sperm) of one of the parents, or a variant that arises in the fertilized egg during embryogenesis. (See Novel)