Term | Definition |
AIDS | disease caused by HIV virus that attacks the immune system |
allergy | when the immune system is overly sensitive to environmental substances that are normally harmless |
antibiotics | medicine produced by microorganisms used to destroy pathogens |
antibodies | a protein, produced by the immune system (WBC), attacks aspecific pathogen |
antigen | marker (molecule) found on the surfaces of cells that the immune system recognizes as either part of the body ("self") or an outside invader ("non-self") |
ATP | energy that is used by the cells of the body, comes from the chemical energy stored in food |
bacteria | single celled organism, without a nucleus, reproduces asexually using binary fission |
biochemical process | chemical process that occurs in living things |
catalyst | a.k.a. enzyme, type of protein, speeds of the rate of a chemical reaction without being used up or changed during the reaction |
disease | a condition, other than injury, that prevents the body from working properly, disruption in homeostasis |
dynamic equilibrium | constant small corrections that normally occur to keep an organism's internal environment within the limits needed for survival |
feedback mechanism | used to continue or stop an activity of the body EX: blood sugar levels using insulin and glucagon |
insulin | hormone produced by pancreas, lowers blood sugar when too high due to eating a meal |
glucagon | hormone produce by the pancreas, raise blood sugar when too low due to exercise or missing a meal |
gas exchange | process of obtaining oxygen from the environment and releasing carbon dioxide to the environment |
guard cells | specialized cells that control the opening and closing of stomates (pores) on the surface of a leaf to regulate water loss |
parasite | organism that survives by living and feeding on other organisms |
pH | measures how acidic, neutral or basic (alkaline) a substance is |
photosynthesis | process by which producers (autotrophs) are able to capture light energy and use it to make food (glucose) from carbon dioxide and water |
stimuli | any change in the environment that causes an organism to react |
virus | nonliving particle of protein and genetic material that reproduces by invading the cell of a living organism |