Alzheimer’s disease: An incurable brain disease that causes confusion, mood changes, and problems with memory, language, behavior, and problem solving. The cause and treatment are unknown.
Amyloid beta: A fragment of a protein that can be built up at high levels in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Over time, this substance can cause local cell death.
Bacteria: (adjective: bacterial) Unicellular organisms. They live almost everywhere on Earth, from the bottom of the ocean to the insides of other living things (such as plants and animals). Bacteria are one of the three realms of life on Earth.
Blood vessels: A tubular structure that carries blood to tissues and organs.
Blood brain barrier: a tightly packed cellular barrier that carefully controls which molecules can and cannot enter the brain. The barrier protects the brain from foreign substances in the blood and helps maintain a constant environment for brain cells.
Cell: (in biology) the smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. They are usually too small to be seen with the naked eye and consist of a watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made up of thousands to trillions of cells.
Diversity: (in biology) various life forms.
DNA: (abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded, helical molecule that is present in most living cells and carries genetic instructions. It is built on a skeleton of phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms. In all living things, from plants and animals to microorganisms, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.
Environment: The sum of everything that exists around an organism, or the processes and conditions produced by those things. Environment can also refer to the weather or ecosystem in which an animal lives, or the temperature and humidity (or the placement of objects near the item of interest).
Family: A taxonomic group consisting of organisms from at least one genus.
Filter: (n.) Something that, based on size or other characteristics, can pass through some substances but not others. (v.) The process of sorting some things out on the basis of their properties, such as size, density, or charge.
Genetic: It has to do with chromosomes, DNA, and the genes contained in DNA. The scientific field that deals with these biological instructions is known as genetics. The people who work in this field are geneticists.
Intestines: An informal term for the gastrointestinal tract, especially the intestines.
Boy: Young, subadult animals. These are older than “babies” or larvae, but are not yet mature enough to be considered adults.
Microorganisms: Abbreviation for microorganism. Organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye and include bacteria, some fungi, and many other organisms such as amoebas. Most are composed of a single cell.
Microbiome: A scientific term for all microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, that reside permanently in the bodies of humans and other animals.
Migratory bird: adjective for a species that migrates long distances each year along fairly regular routes in search of food and more comfortable conditions (such as better weather). Such travel is known as emigration.
Navigate: Finding your way through a landscape using visual cues, sensory information (such as scent), magnetic information (such as a built-in compass), or other techniques.
Nutrients: vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, or proteins that plants, animals, and other living things need as part of their food to survive.
Organ: (in biology) different parts of an organism that perform one or more specific functions. For example, the ovaries are the organs that make eggs, the brain is the organ that understands nerve signals, and the roots of plants are the organs that take in nutrients and water.
Protein: A compound made from a long chain of one or more amino acids. Proteins are an essential part of all living organisms. They form the basis of living cells, muscles, and tissues. They also work inside cells. Antibodies, hemoglobin, and enzymes are all examples of proteins. Drugs often work by adsorbing to proteins.
Salmon: A popular game fish that spends most of its life in the ocean and then enters coastal rivers (and freshwater) to breed and spawn.
Shark: A type of predatory fish that has survived in some form for hundreds of millions of years. The structure of the body is determined by cartilage, not bones. Like skates and rays, sharks belong to a group known as elasmobranchs. They tend to grow and mature slowly and have few children. Some lay eggs, while others give birth to live young.
Skull: The skeleton of a human or animal head.
Organization: The various types of substances that are made up of cells and make up animals, plants, and fungi. Cells within tissues function as units to perform specific functions in living organisms. For example, different organs in the human body are often made from many different types of tissue.
Unique: Something different from others. The only one of its kind.
Source: www.snexplores.org
