| auxano- | Auxo-aux- Increase, e.g., in size, intensity, speed. Origin: G. Auxano, to increase (05 Mar 2000) |
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| auxanogram | A plate culture of bacteria in which variable conditions are provided in order to determine the effect of these conditions on the growth of the bacteria. Origin: auxano-+ G. Gramma, something written (05 Mar 2000) |
| auxanographic | Pertaining to auxanogram or auxanography. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auxanographic method | A method for the study of bacterial enzymes in which agar is mixed with the material (e.g., starch or milk) which is to serve as an indicator of the enzyme action and is inoculated and plated; if the bacteria produce enzymes digesting the admixed material, there will be a zone of clearing in the medium about each colony. Synonym: diffusion method. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auxanography | The study, using auxanograms, of the effects of different conditions on the growth of bacteria. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auxanology | The study of growth. Origin: auxano-+ G. Logos, study (05 Mar 2000) |
| auxanometer | An instrument to measure the growth of plants. Origin: Gr. To cause to increase. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| auxesis | <cell biology> Growth by increase in cell size rather than by increasing cell numbers. (02 Jan 1998) |
| auxetic growth | Growth by increase in the size of component cells. Synonym: intussusceptive growth. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auxiliary | 1. A helper; an assistant; a confederate in some action or enterprise. 2. Foreign troops in the service of a nation at war; (rarely in), a member of the allied or subsidiary force. 3. A verb which helps to form the voices, modes, and tenses of other verbs; called, also, an auxiliary verb; as, have, be, may, can, do, must, shall, and will, in English; etre and avoir, in French; avere and essere, in Italian; estar and haber, in Spanish. 4. <mathematics> A quantity introduced for the purpose of simplifying or facilitating some operation, as in equations or trigonometrical formulae. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| auxiliary abutment | A tooth other than the one supporting the direct retainer, assisting in the overall support of a removable partial denture. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auxilin | <protein> A novel adaptin found associated with the coated vesicles isolated from brain cells. (18 Nov 1997) |
| auxiliomotor | Aiding motion. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auxilytic | Increasing the destructive power of a lysin, or favouring lysis. Origin: G. Auxo, to increase, + lysis, dissolution (05 Mar 2000) |
| auxin | <plant biology> A group of plant growth substances (often called phytohormones or plant hormones), the most common example being indole acetic acid (IAA), responsible for raising the pH around cells, making the cell wall less rigid and allowing elongation. Auxins include indoleacetic acid, phenylacetic acid, and 4-chloro-indoleacetic acid. Commercially, auxins are used to promote root growth, to promote uniform flowering, and to set fruit and prevent premature fruit drop. Synthetic auxins such as 2, 4-D and 2, 4, 5-T have been used as herbicides, broad-leaved weeds like dandelions are much more susceptible to auxins than narrow-leaved plants like grass and cereal crops. The defoliant Agent Orange was a mix of 2, 4-D and 2, 4, 5-T. 2, 4-D is still in use and is thought to be safe, but 2, 4, 5-T was more or less banned by the EPA in 1979. The dioxin TCDD is an unavoidable contaminant produced in the manufacture of 2, 4, 5-T, as a result of the integral dioxin contamination, 2, 4, 5-T has been implicated in leukaemia, miscarriages, birth defects, liver damage, and other diseases. (13 Oct 1997) |