| alternative hypothesis | In Neyman-Pearson testing of a hypothesis, the hypothesis or family of hypotheses about the numerical value of a parameter if and only if the null hypothesis is rejected as untenable. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| alternative | Available in place of something else. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| alternative inheritance | Galton's term for an assumed form in which all the characters are derived from one parent. (05 Mar 2000) |
| 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) |
| alternative mRNA splicing | Splicing different exons in or out of messenger RNA to form different mRNA transcripts. (09 Oct 1997) |
| alternative oxidase | <enzyme> The terminal oxidase in alternative pathway respiration, as seen in plants like sauromatum guttatum (voodoo lily); amino acid sequence for tobacco alternative oxidase (aox1) in first source Registry number: EC 1.- Synonym: aox1 gene product, aox2 gene product, aox3 gene product (26 Jun 1999) |
| alternative oxidase pathway | Pathway of mitochondrial electron transport in higher plants, particularly in fruits and seeds, that does not involve cytochrome oxidase and thus is resistant to cyanide. (18 Nov 1997) |
| alternative pathway | See: complement activation. (18 Nov 1997) |
| alternative splicing | A process whereby multiple protein isoforms are generated from a single gene. Alternative splicing involves the splicing together of nonconsecutive exons during the processing of some, but not all, transcripts of the gene. Thus a particular exon may be connected to any one of several alternative exons to form messenger RNA. The alternative forms produce proteins in which one part is common while the other part is different. (12 Dec 1998) |
| alternative therapy | A term given to nonconventional therapy usually given by persons who do not have a medical qualification. (16 Dec 1997) |
| alternative tremor | A coarse, low frequency (3-8 Hz) pathologic tremor produced by alternating contraction of muscles and their antagonists; seen with Parkinson disease and kinetic predominant action tremor. (05 Mar 2000) |
| complement pathway, alternative | The complement activation sequence initiated by the activation of complement factor c3, which is triggered by the interaction of microbial polysaccharides and properdin without participation of an antigen-antibody reaction. (12 Dec 1998) |
| adaptor hypothesis | A hypothesis, proposed by F.H.C. Crick, that an adaptor molecule must be present between the information-containing DNA and the protein being synthesised. (05 Mar 2000) |
| altered self hypothesis | The hypothesis that the T-cell receptor in MHC mediated phenomena recognises a syngeneic MHC Class I or Class II molecule after modification by a virus or certain chemicals. See: MHC restriction. (18 Nov 1997) |
| autocrine hypothesis | That tumour cells containing viral oncogenes may have encoded a growth factor, normally produced by other cell types, and thereby produce the factor autonomously, leading to uncontrolled proliferation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Avogadro's hypothesis | <physics> The hypothesis that equal volumes of two different gases at the same temperature and pressure contain the same number of molecules. (02 Jan 1998) |