| africa, southern | The geographical area of africa comprising angola, botswana, lesotho, malawi, mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland, zambia, and zimbabwe. It includes what was formerly called south-west africa or german southwest africa but it was terminated in 1966 by a united nations resolution. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| blot, southern | A common test for checking for a match between DNA molecules. DNA fragments are separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, transferred (blotted) onto membrane filters, and hybridised with complementary radiolabelled probes. The aim is to detect specific base sequenceswith the probes. Lest all of this sound esoteric, note that in the television series The X Files a Southern blot was done (in this case, to learn if some alien virus genome had been integrated into a person's genome). The Southern blot is named after its inventor, the British biologist M.E. Southern. There is also a Northern blot and a Western blot. (12 Dec 1998) |
| blotting, southern | A method (first developed by e.m. Southern) for detection of DNA that has been electrophoretically separated and immobilised by blotting on nitrocellulose or other type of paper or nylon membrane. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Southern | M.E., 20th century British biologist. See: Southern blot analysis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| southern blot | A technique used for searching for a specific DNA fragment. The process is as follows: 1. separate DNA fragments by gel electrophoresis 2. Change pH of gel to basic, thus allowing disruption of H-bonds 3. blot gel with nitrocellulose paper 4. Heat paper so as to fix DNA fragments 5. probe with labelled messenger RNA or cDNA 6. wash Complementary mRNA/cDNA fragments will have hybridised. (09 Oct 1997) |
| Southern blot analysis | A procedure to separate and identify DNA sequences; DNA fragments are separated by electrophoresis on an agarose gel, transferred (blotted) onto a nitrocellulose or nylon membrane, and hybridised with complementary (labelled) nucleic acid probes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Southern blotting | <molecular biology, procedure> General term for the transfer of protein, RNA or DNA molecules from a relatively thick acrylamide or agarose gel or to a paper like membrane (usually nylon or nitrocellulose) by capilliarity or an electric field, preserving the spatial arrangment. Once on the membrane, the molecules are immobilised, typically by baking or by ultra violet irradiation and can then be detected at high sensitivity by hybridisation (in the case of DNA & RNA) or antibody labelling (in the case of protein). RNA blots are called Northern blots, DNA blots, Southern, protein blots, Western. (18 Nov 1997) |
| adolescent medicine | A branch of medicine pertaining to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases occurring during the period beginning with puberty until the cessation of somatic growth. (12 Dec 1998) |
| aerospace medicine | <study> A field of medicine which specialises in the effects of atmospheric and space flight on human physical and psychological well-being. (09 Oct 1997) |
| alternative medicine | A catch-all phrase for a long list of treatments or medicinal systems including traditional systems such as Chinese or Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy, various herbals and other miscellaneous treatments that have not been accepted by the mainstream, or Western, medical establishment. Alternative medicine is also referred to as complementary medicine (see). The designation alternative medicine is not equivalent to holistic medicine, which is a more narrow term. See: Holistic Medicine. (09 Oct 1997) |
| aviation medicine | The study and practice of medicine as it applies to physiologic problems peculiar to aviation. Synonym: aeromedicine. (05 Mar 2000) |
| behavioural medicine | The interdisciplinary field concerned with the development and integration of behavioural and biomedical science, knowledge, and techniques relevant to health and illness and the application of this knowledge and these techniques to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. (12 Dec 1998) |
| bibliography of medicine | A list of works, documents, and other publications on medical subjects and topics of interest to the field of medicine. (12 Dec 1998) |
| geriatric medicine | <specialty> A specialty of medicine that is concerned with the disease and health problems of older people, usually those over 65 years of age. Considered a subspecialty of internal medicine. (05 Mar 2000) |
| veterinary medicine | The medical science concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in animals. (12 Dec 1998) |