CARTA Glossary

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.

The deliberate removal of healthy teeth for ornamentation, rites of passage, and to signal group affiliation.

The deliberate, permanent alteration of one or more teeth.

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

The study of physical, cognitive, social, intellectual, perceptual, personality, and emotional growth and development over the lifespan.

Neuroimaging of the location, orientation, and anisotropy of the brain’s white matter tracts through MRI.

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. 

The specific order of the nucleotide bases along a strand of DNA.

A neurotransmitter that is involved in reward circuits, motor control, and in the release of various hormones.

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.

A chronically relapsing disorder characterized by loss of control and compulsive drug seeking.

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 general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpreting words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.

A mechanical device, instrument, or system designed for piercing the earlobe.

A sleep schedule therapy hypothesized to relieve peripartum depression by altering melatonin and sleep timing (sleep from 3:00 - 7:00 am).

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 interaction of organisms with their physical environment, along with other organisms.

A class of organs that all develop from the outer layer of the embryo, the ectoderm, through a series of coordinated and reciprocal interactions between the embryonic ectoderm and underlying dermal layer. This class of organs includes, sweat glands, hairs, mammary glands, teeth and nails. A largely shared set of genetic pathways initiate and control the development of this organ class.

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

Large herbivorous mammals recognized by their long trunks, tusks, large ear flaps, and pillar-like legs. Elephants are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and consist of three species, the Africa bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), the African forest elephant (L. cyclotis), and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus).

The development of an embryo after fertilization of an egg cell.

The gradual acquisition of cultural traits (the characteristics and norms of a culture or group) by an individual or another culture.

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

A hormonal system comprising internal glands, such as the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal, that produce, store, and release hormones into the circulatory system to regulate the body’s healthy development and function.

A protein encoding gene for EPAS1. This gene is implicated in high altitude adaptation in humans, specifically in Tibetan populations that admixed with Denisovan archaic hominins and inherited this advantageous gene variant.

The cell type that forms the interior lining of blood and lymphatic vessels, and controls the transfer of materials, including white blood cells, into and out of the bloodstream.

Proteins that catalyze chemical reactions inside and outside cells.

The branch of medicine that studies and analyzes the incidence, distribution, patterns, determinants, and possible control of diseases and other health factors.

The cell type that lines the surfaces of the body, including skin, mucus membranes (airways, gastrointestinal tract, reproductive tract), urinary tract, and organs to provide protection.

The most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate’s principal means of oxygen delivery from lungs or gills to all tissues of the body. Erythrocytes of most mammals do not contain a nucleus with chromosomes.

The category of sex hormones that includes estrone, estradiol, and estriol that are involved in the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics.

A methodological and analytical process by archaeologists for reconstructing features of a prehistoric society and culture that leaves no direct archaeological imprint.

An intravenous agent used for general anesthesia and sedation for short procedures that suppresses corticosteroid synthesis.

Organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within membranes.

A form of social structure featuring cooperative brood care, overlapping generations of adults, and a reproductive and non-reproductive division of labor. Eusociality is observed in ants, bees, wasps, termites, the naked mole-rats, and some shrimp. Humans may engage in a weak form of eusociality but this is still debated.

The study of the evolution and natural history of nervous system structure, functions, and emergent properties.

An archaeological site in Western Galilee, Israel, with evidence for hominin occupation up to 1 million years ago and tools and fire use dating to around 800,000 years ago.

A chemical messenger that increases the likelihood that the neuron will fire an electrical signal (depolarization of the membrane) called an action potential.

A paired macrostructure in the brain that is involved in reward cognition.

Eastern Senegal. Excavations have led to the the discovery of paleolithic occupations from different periods, cultures, and lithic technologies.  

A fibrous connective tissue forming a membrane that covers, supports, and separates muscles. Fascia also unites the skin with underlying tissue.

The probability of achieving a pregnancy within a mentrsual cycle.

A collective term for all non-medically indicated procedures involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs.

Any story where the teller and the listener both know it is untrue and is also not meant to be taken as true. Fiction can be distinguished from true narratives, as well as from myth, lies, mistakes, and unwitting falsehoods. Fiction includes most drama, feature films, comics, and poetry that tells invented stories as well as novels and short stories. But not all fictions need be narratives.

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

Stories, sayings, dances, material culture, and other customs shared by a group of people.

An inanimate object or substance that is capable of transmitting infectious organisms from one individual to another.