| molecular chaperones | A family of cellular proteins that mediate the correct assembly or disassembly of other polypeptides, and in some cases their assembly into oligomeric structures, but which are not components of those final structures. It is believed that chaperone proteins assist polypeptides to self-assemble by inhibiting alternative assembly pathways that produce nonfunctional structures. Some classes of molecular chaperones are the nucleoplasmins, the chaperonins, the heat-shock proteins 70, and the heat-shock proteins 90. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| molecular clock | This term has two separate uses. 1. <molecular biology> The rate of fixation of mutations in DNA and thus times the rate of genetic diversification. 2. <cell biology> A biological system capable of maintaining up a timing rhythm or pulse. All such clocks are thought to be entrained by a natural oscillator such as the diurnal rhythm. (18 Nov 1997) |
| molecular cloning | <molecular biology> The biological amplification of a specific DNA sequence through mitotic division of a host cell into which it has been transformed or transfected. (09 Oct 1997) |
| molecular conformation | The characteristic three-dimensional shape of a molecule. (12 Dec 1998) |
| molecular disease | A disease in which the manifestations are due to alterations in molecular structure and function. (05 Mar 2000) |
| molecular dispersed solution | A colloidal solution in which the dispersed phase can be concentrated by centrifugation. Synonym: dispersion colloid, molecular dispersed solution. (05 Mar 2000) |
| molecular dispersion | Dispersion in which the dispersed phase consists of individual molecules; if the molecules are of less than colloidal size, the result is a true solution. (05 Mar 2000) |
| molecular dissociation theory | A theory, pertaining to colour vision, that gray is the earliest of colour sensations, from which are derived, by molecular change, two paired substances that, respectively, detect yellow and blue, and that the yellow gives rise to paired substances for detection of red and green. Synonym: Ladd-Franklin theory. (05 Mar 2000) |
| molecular distillation | Distillation in high vacuum, intended to make possible use of low temperatures to minimise damage to thermally labile molecules that would be decomposed by boiling at higher temperatures. (05 Mar 2000) |
| molecular formula | In chemistry, a formula indicating the kind and number of atoms in the molecules of a substance, or its composition, but not the relation of the atoms to each other or the intimate structure of the molecule. Synonym: molecular formula. (05 Mar 2000) |
| molecular genetics | <study> The study of the flow and regulation of genetic information between DNA, RNA, and protein molecules. (09 Oct 1997) |
| molecular heat | The product of the specific heat of a body multiplied by its molecular weight. (05 Mar 2000) |
| molecular layer of cerebellar cortex | The outer lamina of the cortex, containing the cell bodies and dendrites of Purkinje cells, the axons of the granule cells, and the cell bodies, dendrites, and axons of basket cells. Synonym: stratum moleculare cerebelli, molecular layer of cerebellar cortex. (05 Mar 2000) |
| molecular layer of cerebellum | The outer lamina of the cortex, containing the cell bodies and dendrites of Purkinje cells, the axons of the granule cells, and the cell bodies, dendrites, and axons of basket cells. Synonym: stratum moleculare cerebelli, molecular layer of cerebellar cortex. (05 Mar 2000) |
| molecular layer of cerebral cortex | Layer 1 of the cortex cerebri. Synonym: plexiform layer of cerebral cortex. (05 Mar 2000) |