| public opinion | The attitude of a significant portion of a population toward any given proposition, based upon a measurable amount of factual evidence, and involving some degree of reflection, analysis, and reasoning. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| expert system | Expert systems are computer programs designed to simulate the problem-solving behaviour of human experts within very narrow domains or scientific disciplines (entomology, plant pathology, etc.). This discipline is a sub-set of Artificial Intelligence. See: artificial intelligence. Synonym: knowledge-based systems (13 Jan 1998) |
| expert systems | Computer programs based on knowledge developed from consultation with experts on a problem, and the processing and/or formalizing of this knowledge using these programs in such a manner that the problems may be solved. (12 Dec 1998) |
| expert testimony | Presentation of pertinent medical data by a qualified medical specialist before a court. (12 Dec 1998) |
| biological therapy | <oncology> Treatment with substances that can stimulate the immune system to fight disease more effectively. Synonym: immunotherapy. (16 Dec 1997) |
| biological | Pertaining to biology. (18 Nov 1997) |
| biological agent | <microbiology> A disease-causing microorganism or virus, or other toxic biological matter, which is used as a weapon during war. (21 Mar 1998) |
| biological assay | <technique> Once a pharmaceutical protein is isolated from the cells in which it was grown, researchers perform tests to measure the protein's biological activity. It must maintain a certain minimal level of biological activity to be used for animal or clinical testing or, later, for market. Researchers also test to confirm that the isolated protein is identical to the desired protein. (21 Mar 1998) |
| biological assessment | A specific process required as part of an environmental assessment. An evaluation of potential effects of a proposed project on proposed, endangered, threatened, and sensitive animal and plant species and their habitats. (05 Dec 1998) |
| biological availability | The extent to which the active ingredient of a drug dosage form becomes available at the site of drug action or in a biological medium believed to reflect accessibility to a site of action. (12 Dec 1998) |
| biological chemistry | The scientific study of the chemistry of living cells, tissues, organs and organisms. (09 Oct 1997) |
| biological clock | <biology, physiology> An internal biological mechanism which controls certain biological rhythms and biocycles, such as metabolism, sleep cycles, photosynthesis. (21 Mar 1998) |
| biological clocks | The physiological mechanisms that govern the rhythmic occurrence of certain biochemical, physiological, and behavioural phenomena in plants and animals. The pineal gland, which receives input from the optic nerves and connects to the hypothalamus, may be the biological clock in humans. (12 Dec 1998) |
| biological coefficient | Rarely used term denoting the energy expended by the body at rest. (05 Mar 2000) |
| biological containment | <molecular biology> Refers to any number of methods to contain genetically engineered organisms by creating biochemical barriers to prevent them from growing outside the laboratory. In the case of bacteria and yeasts, genes in the organisms may be altered so that they need to have a supply of a nutrient that is normally found only in the laboratory. (21 Mar 1998) |