Term | Definition |
Enzymes | proteins that speed up the rate of chemical reactions in living things |
Respiration | the process by which the chemical bond energy stored in nutrients is released for use in cells |
Synthesis | a life process that involves combining simple substances into more complex substances |
Biochemical process | a chemical process that occurs in a living thing |
Photosynthesis | the process by which some organisms are able to capture light energy and use it to make food from carbon dioxide and water |
Homeostasis | the ability of an organism to maintain a stable internal environment even when the external environment changes |
Glucose | a sugar that is a major source of energy for cells |
ATP | (adenine triphosphate) a compound that stores energy in cells |
Chloroplasts | green organelles that contain chlorophyll; where photosynthesis takes place |
Gas exchange | the process of obtaining oxygen from the environment and releasing carbon dioxide |
Catalyst | a substance that can speed up the rate of a chemical reaction without being changed or used up during the reaction |
pH | a measure of whether a substance is acidic, neutral, or basic |
Dynamic equilibrium | the constant small corrections that normally occur to keep an organism’s internal environment within the limits needed for survival |
Feedback mechanism | a cycle in which the output of a system either modifies or reinforces the first action taken by the system |
Stimulus | any change in the internal or external environment that causes an organism to react |
Pancreas | an endocrine organ that secretes insulin |
Insulin | a hormone that prompts glucose to move from the blood into body cells, |
Guard cells | specialized cells that control the opening and closing of the pores on the surface of a leaf |
Disease | a condition, other than injury, that prevents the body from working as it should |
Pathogen | an organism that invades the body, causing disease |
Virus | a nonliving particle of protein and genetic material that reproduces by invading the cell of a living organism |
Bacterium | any one of many single-celled organisms without a distinct nucleus |
Fungi | the kingdom of organisms that are mostly multicellular, have cell walls made of chitin, and are heterotrophic |
Parasite | an organism that survives by living and feeding on other organisms |
Immune system | the body’s primary defense against disease-causing pathogens |
Antigen | a molecule found on the outer surfaces of cells that the immune system recognizes as either part of the body or an outside invader |
Antibody | a protein, produced by the immune system, that either attacks invading pathogens or marks them for killing |
Microbe | any microscopic organism |
Vaccines | a substance made of weakened, killed, or partial pathogens and designed to protect the body from future invasions of that pathogen |
AIDS | (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) the disease that results when the HIV virus attacks the human immune system |
Allergy | a condition in which a person’s immune system is overly sensitive to environmental substances that are normally harmless |
Cancer | the disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body |
Histamine | a compound that is released by cells in response to injury and in allergic and inflammatory reactions, causing contraction of smooth muscle and dilation of capillaries |
HIV | Human Immunodeficiency Virus weakens your immune system by infect and destroy t-cells, leaving the body vulnerable to disease and infection |
White Blood Cell | Blood cells that work for the immune system |
Macrophage | a large phagocytic cell found in stationary form in the tissues or as a mobile white blood cell, especially at sites of infection |
Memory cell | a long-lived lymphocyte capable of responding to a particular antigen on its reintroduction, long after the exposure that prompted its production |
Plasma cell | a fully differentiated B cell that produces a single type of antibody |
Tumor | a swelling of a part of the body, generally without inflammation, caused by an abnormal growth of tissue, whether benign (safe) or malignant (deadly) |