CARTA Glossary

Microorganisms including bacteria, protozoa, and fungi that are found on or in specific areas of the body.

The first part of the menstrual cycle, including menstruation and the period prior to ovulation.

A situation in which food is plentiful and easily available in a particular area, region, or society.

The distribution of footsteps, relative to one another; some gaits may be defined by footfall sequence.

The front limbs and feet of a quadrupedal animal (also, the upper limbs/arms of a human).

A gene in humans that encodes for a transcription factor protein and is involved in the production of speech.

The act of piercing without the use of forceps.

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

Encodes biological information.
~2% of all DNA: Codes for proteins.
~80% of all DNA: Regulates gene activity.

Intentional, ritualistic disposal of the deceased. May include behaviors such as placement of grave goods (artefacts and/or natural materials such as flowers) and positioning of interred body(ies).

How a person or animal moves; different categories of movement are different gaits (e.g. a run vs. a walk, a trot vs. a gallop).

Mature haploid sex cells that can unite to form a diploid zygote.

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.

A gene that encodes a protein in the GATA family of transcription factors. GATA3 plays an important role in endothelial cell biology and in allergy and immunity against worm infections. In humans, defects in GATA3 cause hypoparathyroidism with sensorineural deafness and renal dysplasia.

Slang term for body jewelry, especially plugs or tunnels worn in stretched ear piercings. 

A DNA sequence which encodes a specific function.

The process by which the information contained within a gene (nucleotide sequence) is used to direct RNA and/or protein synthesis and dictate cell function. Nearly all of the cells in the body contain identical genes, but only a subset of this information is used or expressed at any time. The genes expressed in a cell determine what that cell can do.

The total of all genes and their variants (alleles) of a population of a species.

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. Also known as “biocultural evolution” or “biological enculturation” (feedback between culture and biology).

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

Change in allele frequencies, including fixation and loss, by chance.

A version of a DNA sequence that differs from others found at the same locus. For example, the difference can consist in a single base pair (as in single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNP) or in the deletion/insertion of a DNA base(s). See: indel.

The deliberate, permanent alteration of the male (penis, testicles) or female (vulva) genitals.

The totality of 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 rank used in biological classification of living and fossil organisms to group closely related species. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name plus species name forms the binomial species name (e.g. Homo sapiens).

Non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. Their function is to ensure homeostasis, form myelin sheaths, and provide support and protection for neurons. Glia make up ~50% of our brain cells.

The biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted by fixation (gaseous nitrogen is converted into ammonia, which can be taken up by plants), ammonification (organic nitrogen from decaying animal and plant matter is converted into ammonium by bacteria and fungi), nitrification (ammonium is converted into nitrate by soil bacteria), and denitrification (nitrate is reduced into gaseous nitrogen). This cycle is central to the biogeochemistry of the Earth. Oceans also have an enormous nitrogen cycle.

One of the four classes of major biomolecules. Glycans consist of varying numbers of sugars (monosaccharides) attached to proteins or lipids or secreted as free glycans. Glycans are essential biomolecules whose functions can be divided into three broad categories: structural and modulatory properties (including nutrient storage and sequestration), specific recognition by other molecules, and molecular mimicry of host glycans.

A class of proteins with covalently attached glycans. Glycoproteins play a part in important cellular functions like embryonic development, cell-to-cell recognition, cell adhesion, and immune functions.

The process by which sugar molecules (glycans) are added to proteins, lipids, or other organic molecules. This post-translational modification plays a crucial role in the structure, stability, and function of many biomolecules.

An archeological site in Southeastern Turkey. Göbekli Tepe is a settlement dating to c. 9,500-8,000 BCE and is famous for its “monumental architecture” of large circular structures containing stone pillars (megaliths) decorated with reliefs. The structures were built by hunter-gatherers during the pre-pottery Neolithic and represent one of the first examples of monumental architecture.

One of the explanations for the post-menopausal life stage of human females (and general long lives of humans), a life stage that does not exist in any non-human primate. It is hypothesized that the evolution of grandmothers is an advantage for humans. Grandmothers who invest energy into the offspring of their children reduce the reproductive cost of parenting through social kin-networking. This can further off-set the resource cost of childrearing and brain-building as parents are freed to provision for resources. An increase in resource procurement may reduce the inter-birth interval by allowing for earlier weening and more offspring production.

A taxonomic family denoting the extant chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. This is biologically invalid grouping given that chimpanzees and bonobos are more closely related to humans than to gorillas or orangutans.

The entrapment of heat close to Earth’s surface by greenhouse gas emissions.

The proposed boundary of maximum brain size in hominins that can be supported by an ape-like lifestyle that was crossed by genus Homo through the adoption of cooperative breeding. Described by Isler and van Schaik (2011).

The ecosystem of microbes that live in the intestines.

A ridge on the cerebral cortex that, along with surrounding sulci (furrows) creates the folded appearance of the brain in humans and other mammals.

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

One set of unpaired chromosomes.

A map of informative subsets of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found along a stretch of a chromosome used to identify blocks of genetic variation existing along human chromosomes.

A well-preserved Middle Pleistocene skull dated to approximately 146,000 years ago that was discovered near Harbin City, in Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China. It is large and robust, with a combination of archaic and modern human features. In 2021, researchers proposed that the Harbin cranium represents a new species, Homo longi (“Dragon Man”), which they argued might be a close sister group to modern humans. Others have classified it within the broader Homo heidelbergensis–Denisovan spectrum, seeing it as part of the archaic human diversity in Pleistocene East Asia.

The Harbin cranium was originally found in 1933 by a Chinese laborer working on the construction of a bridge, who hid the skull in a well to prevent it from being seized by occupying Japanese forces. Knowledge of the skull and its location was kept secret for decades until the worker’s family retrieved it shortly before his death. It was donated to the Hebei GEO University in 2018.

Stem cells that can become different types of blood cells.

A form of dietary iron bound within heme groups, found primarily in animal tissues, particularly meat, poultry, and seafood. It is generally absorbed more efficiently and is less affected by other dietary factors than non-heme iron.

A protein complex within red blood cells (RBCs) that binds to oxygen molecules in the lungs for delivery to tissues throughout the body. The same complex also binds carbon dioxide (CO₂) and carries it back to the lungs.

A gene that provides instructions for making beta-globin, a protein component of hemoglobin. Sickle Cell Anemia is a disorder caused by a mutation in the HBB gene.

A statistic used in the fields of breeding and genetics that estimates the degree of variation in a phenotypic trait in a population that is due to genetic variation between individuals in that population.