| transform | To be changed in form; to be metamorphosed. "His hair transforms to down." (Addison) 1. To change the form of; to change in shape or appearance; to metamorphose; as, a caterpillar is ultimately transformed into a butterfly. "Love may transform me to an oyster." (Shak) 2. To change into another substance; to transmute; as, the alchemists sought to transform lead into gold. 3. To change in nature, disposition, heart, character, or the like; to convert. "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Rom. Xii. 2) 4. <mathematics> To change, as an algebraic expression or geometrical figure, into another from without altering its value. Origin: L. Transformare, transformatum; trans across, over + formare to from: cf. F. Transformer. See Form. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| transformant | In prokaryotes, a cell that has been genetically altered through the uptake of foreign DNA. In higher eukaryotes, a cultured cell that has acquired a malignant phenotype. (09 Oct 1997) |
| transformasome | <cell biology> Membranous extension responsible for binding and uptake of DNA, found on the surface of transformation competent Haemophilus influenzae bacteria. Origin: Gr. Soma = body (18 Nov 1997) |
| transformation | <chemistry> The change of form or structure, conversion from one form to another. <oncology> The change that a normal cell undergoes as it becomes malignant. In eukaryotes, the conversion of normal cells to malignant cells in cell culture. Origin: L. Formatio = formation (18 Nov 1997) |
| transformation constant | <physics, radiobiology> The fraction of the amount of a radionuclide that undergoes transition per unit time. Formally: Lamda=dP/dt Where dP is the probability of a given nucleus undergoing spontaneous nuclear transition in the time interval dt. (16 Dec 1997) |
| transformation efficiency | The number of bacterial cells that uptake and express plasmid DNA divided by the mass of plasmid used (in transformants/microgram). (09 Oct 1997) |
| transformation zone | Zone on the cervix at which squamous epithelium and columnar epithelium meet; changes location in response to a woman's hormonal status. (05 Mar 2000) |
| transformation, bacterial | The heritable modification of the properties of a competent bacterium by DNA from another bacterial strain. (12 Dec 1998) |
| transformation, genetic | The unidirectional transfer and incorporation of foreign DNA by prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells and the subsequent recombination of part or all of that DNA into the cell's genome. (glossary of genetics: classical and molecular, 5th ed) (12 Dec 1998) |
| transformed cell | <chemistry> The change of form or structure, conversion from one form to another. <oncology> The change that a normal cell undergoes as it becomes malignant. In eukaryotes, the conversion of normal cells to malignant cells in cell culture. Origin: L. Formatio = formation (18 Nov 1997) |
| transformed lymphocyte | See: lymphocyte transformation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| transformer | One who, or that which, transforms. Specif. <physics> An apparatus for producing from a given electrical current another current of different voltage. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| transforming agent | A substance which is able to induce mitosis of certain eukaryotic cells. (09 Oct 1997) |
| transforming factor | The DNA responsible for bacterial transformation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| transforming gene | <molecular biology> Genes, originally of tumour viruses, responsible for their ability to transform cells. The term now serves as an operational definition of oncogenes. (18 Nov 1997) |
| rotational transform | <radiobiology> \iota = 2PI/q) Due to the combination of applied toroidal field and induced poloidal field, the magnetic field lines wind helically around the torus (and on most flux surfaces they fill the surface ergodically). The rotational transform is a measure of this helicity, and is defined as the average angle the field line shifts in the poloidal direction per complete circuit in the toroidal direction. The quantity q = 2\pi / \iota is known as the "safety factor'' because of its role in stability theory. A magnetic field configuration is said to posses rotational transform if the lines of force, after one complete circuit around the configuration (for example, a torus) do not simply close exactly on themselves, but are instead rotated through some angle about the magnetic axies. (13 Nov 1997) |
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| spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared | A spectroscopic technique in which a range of wavelengths is presented simultaneously with an interferometer and the spectrum is mathematically derived from the pattern thus obtained. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Fourier transform | Analysis based on the mathematical function first formulated by jean-baptiste-joseph fourier in 1807. The function, known as the fourier transform, describes the sinusoidal pattern of any fluctuating pattern in the physical world in terms of its amplitude and its phase. It has broad applications in biomedicine, e.g., analysis of the X-ray crystallography data pivotal in identifying the double helical nature of DNA and in analysis of other molecules, including viruses, and the modified back-projection algorithm universally used in computerised tomography imaging, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |