CARTA Glossary

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

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

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 illnesses 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.

Capability for effective function in the environment, potential or manifested.

The principle governing the combination of meaningful linguistic elements into higher order units of meaning. Compositionality guarantees that the meaning of the whole will be determined by the meaning of its parts and rules used to combine them (Kluender, 2020).

Members of the same species.

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.

Blockage of blood flow to the heart, caused by atherosclerosis and blood clotting in a coronary artery. The most common kind of heart attack.

An infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and then spread globally, resulting in a pandemic. Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, sputum production, and muscle and joint pains, and loss of smell and taste. Severe cases may progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multi-organ failure, septic shock, and blood clots. Spread of the virus occurs between people during close contact, most often via small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, and talking. Less commonly, people may become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face.

The family of stout-billed passerine birds (an order of birds characterized by an arrangement of toes with three forward and one backward to facilitate perching) including the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers.

The number of reads for a given locus.

Behavior and norms that are shared, learned, and socially transmitted.

An enzyme that is encoded by the CMAH gene. In most mammals, this enzyme modifies sialic acids [it modifies N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) into N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc)]. The human lineage lost the function of the CMAH gene over 2 million years ago causing human cells to lack Neu5Gc and be coated with an excess of Neu5Ac.

A broad and loose category of small proteins secreted by certain cells of the immune system and are important in cell signaling and have an effect on other cells.

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)

A tropical disease caused by the Dengue virus and spread several species of female Aedes mosquitos, especially A. aegypti. Symptoms may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash. Severe infections may develop into Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever or Dengue Shock Syndrome.

A severe form of Dengue Fever in which dangerously low blood pressure occurs.

An extinct hominin population contemporary with Neanderthals that hybridized with ancient humans and Neanderthals. Knowledge of Denisovan morphology is limited to two small fossils found in Siberia and a jaw in Tibet.

Variants arising since last common ancestor.

A selective disorder characterized by marked impairment in episodic memory despite relatively preserved semantic memory.

Psychosocial milestones or accomplishments expected of people of different ages in a given cultural and historical context; Common developmental tasks include bonding with caregivers, walking, talking, learning to read, getting along with other people, and caring for one’s children.

Organisms with two sets of each chromosome except for XY sex chromosomes in male mammals.

The ability to refer to entities, properties, and events at some spatial and/or temporal remove from the immediate communicative situation (Kluender, 2020).

Northern Chad.  A fossil rich desert that is most famous for the discovery of Sahelenthropous tchadensis (Toumai) in 2001. 

A process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule. Methylation can change the activity of a DNA segment without changing the sequence. When located in a gene promoter, DNA methylation typically acts to repress gene transcription.

A graph showing a pattern of rising problems or undesirable outcomes as the level of trauma, exposure to disaster, or number of cumulative risk factors or ACEs increases.

The ability to combine and recombine meaningless linguistic elements (sounds in spoken language, or manual features like handshape, palm orientation, movement, etc. in signed language) into meaningful units (words or signs) (Kluender, 2020).

A rare but serious and often fatal infection of Togavirus that causes encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). The virus is maintained via a bird- to-mosquito cycle, primarily by mosquitos that feed on the blood of birds. Transmission of EEE to mammals (including horses and humans) occurs via “bridge vectors,” mosquito (including those from the Aedes genus) that feed on the blood of both birds and mammals and transfer the virus. Origin: Americas.

The size of an idealized population (random mating, no selection, mutation or migration) with the same rate of genetic drift as the study population.

In epidemiology, an infection that is constantly maintained at a baseline level in a population in a geographic area without external inputs.

The rapid spread of a disease to a significant percent of a given population.

Biological information not encoded directly in DNA.

Molecular modifications of the DNA and its associated histone proteins, affecting its function.

Organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within membranes. (see Prokaryotes)

The application of modern evolutionary theory to understanding health and disease.

Human-specific (malignant) malaria caused by the protozoan parasite, Plasmodium falciparum.

The ability to recognize that others can have beliefs about the world that are diverging. An important component of Theory of Mind.

The relative likelihood that an allele will be represented in future generations (relative to other alleles in the same population). Compare with Reproductive Success.

Inanimate objects (clothes, furniture, door handles, etc.) that when contaminated can transfer disease.

A protein that is rapidly synthesized in neurons when they become active and therefore is used as a marker of neuron activity and is involved in regulating gene expression.

A measure of abnormal mothering in rodents. Fragmentation score reflects disruptions in the temporal pattern of care typically displayed by rodents. High fragmentation scores indicate shorter nursing bouts and generally erratic behavior.

Human frontal and parietal lobes form a network that is crucially involved in the selection of sensory contents by attention.

A neuroimaging technique for measuring and mapping brain activity that is noninvasive and safe. The phenomenon of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is used to generate a signal that can be mapped and turned into an image of brain activity.

A number of species of prosimians that are small, nocturnal, and native to continental Africa. Also known as bushbabies. Galagos often nest in tree hollows during the day. Chimpanzees have been observed hunting with “spears” for nested galagos, and they are also hunted by Hadza hunter-gatherers.

A facultatively anaerobic Gram-variable rod that is involved, together with many other bacteria, in bacterial vaginosis in some women as a result of a disruption in the normal vaginal microflora.

DNA sequence which encodes a specific function.