CARTA Glossary

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

A molecule composed of a long chain of lipid-carboxylic acid, which is either saturated (single bonds between the components of the fatty acid chain) or unsaturated (at least one double bond within the fatty acid chain).

Searching for wild food or provisions as opposed to cultivating crops or livestock.

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.

Movement of alleles between populations.

A branch of theoretical population genetics that models the transmission of genes and cultural traits from one generation to the next, exploring how they interact.

A biological characteristic with a heritable basis that improves reproduction and/or survival and results from evolution by natural selection.

The study of genes and their inheritance.

All DNA in a cell. Also refers to the DNA sequence that typifies an individual or species.

Modification of the genome at the level of DNA (e.g. methylation) or its packaging into chromatin (histone tail modification via phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination or glycosylation).

The two alleles at one or more diploid loci.

A taxonomic family that was once incorrectly used to denote chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans, but not humans.

A prehistoric stone tool with two faces and is usually made from flint, basalt, sandstone, quartzite, or chert.

A set of alleles at distinct positions in the genome which are inherited together.

One of two paired chromosomes is affected by a deletion. The other chromosome is intact. 

Tightly wrapped and inactive chromatin.

The elongated ridges on the floor of each lateral ventricle of the brain, thought to be a center of emotion, memory, and the autonomic nervous system.

A covalent post-translational modification (PTM) to histone proteins which includes methylation, phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitylation, and sumoylation. The PTMs made to histones can impact gene expression by altering chromatin structure or recruiting histone modifiers. 

A relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes.

A classification of species comprising human and extinct relatives (ex. Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Ardipithecus, etc.- not all are ancestral to humans) following the split with the common ancestor with chimpanzees.

An extinct hominin species with fossil evidence from 1.9 million (possibly earlier) to 70 thousand years ago and found from Africa to Indonesia. May have been the first hominin to leave Africa. H. erectus DNA may be retrievable from other species due to archaic admixture. 

Similarity in DNA sequence or phenotype that has evolved independently.

Segments of the human genome that are conserved throughout vertebrate evolution but are strikingly different in humans. They are named according to their degree of difference between humans and chimpanzees (HAR1 showing the largest degree of human-chimpanzee differences).

Breeding among recognized species.

Less than the normal amount of oxygen reaching the tissues; also, low partial pressure of oxygen at high elevations (hypobaric hypoxia).

Long non-coding microRNA

Somatic (body) cells that are artificially reprogrammed to an embryonic-like stem cell state and differentiated into other types of cells.

The period of time between successive births by an individual female.

Transfer of alleles between species.

A thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.

The ratio of non-radiogenic “stable isotopes,” stable radiogenic isotopes, or unstable radioactive isotopes of particular elements in an investigated material.

Non-random inheritance of alleles at different loci (due to low recombination).

Currently the oldest known stone tools consisting of 150 artefact found in Lomekwian, Kenya, close to Lake Turkana. ~3.3 mya

A substance required in relatively large amounts by living organisms: Fats, proteins, carbohydrates in an animal diet or chemical elements such as potassium, magnesium, calcium as required by plants.

A genotypic or phenotypic trait that is (or has become) more harmful than helpful in determining survival and reproductive success (in contrast to an adaptation, which is more helpful than harmful).

A protein kinase, which in humans is encoded by the MTOR gene.

The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information.

A stone tool type consisting of small blades or points, called microliths, that were typically used in composite tools, such as an arrow point fastened to a haft. ~35 kya - 3 kya

The second subdivision of the Paleolithic, or Stone Age and consist of use of prepared cores (Levallois Technique) and hafted tools and weapons. ~300 kya -30 kya.

The element of an individual that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought. 

Fossils or fossil fragments of bacteria, protists, fungi, animals, and plants (e.g.: starch granules) that can only be seen with a microscope.

Maternally inherited DNA found only in the mitochondria.

The sub-discipline of linguistics concerned with the structure and parts of words (stems, root words, prefixes, and suffixes), how words are formed, and their relationship to other words in the same language. Parts of speech, intonation and stress, and contextual pronunciation and meaning are aspects of Morphology.

The part of the cerebral cortex in the brain where the nerve impulses originate that initiate voluntary muscular activity.

A group of genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass.

The pathogenic bacteria that causes tuberculosis.