IASNOVA
Bio-accumulation
In an organism, concentration of materials which are not components critical for that organism’s survival. Usually it refers to the accumulation of metals or other compounds (e.g., DDT). Many organisms – plants, fungi, protists, bacteria, etc. – accumulate metals when grown in a solution of them, either as part of their defence mechanism against the poisonous effect of those compounds, or as a side-effect of the chemistry of their cell walls. Bio-accumulation is important as part of the microbial mining cycle (q.v.), removing toxic metals from wastewater, as a purification (bioremediation) process, etc.
It occurs at same level of food chain unlike Bio-magnification.
Biomagnification
Also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, is the increasing concentration of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in the tissues of tolerant organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain.
Bio-assay
A procedure for the assessment of a substance by measuring its effect in living cells or on organisms. Animals have been used extensively in drug research in bio-assays for the pharmacological activity of drugs. However, bio-assays are now usually developed using bacteria or animal or plant cells, as these are usually much easier to handle than whole animals or plants, are cheaper to make and keep, and avoid the ethical problems associated with testing of animals. Sometimes used to detect minute amounts of substances that influence or are essential to growth.
Bio-augmentation
Increasing the activity of bacteria that decompose pollutants; a technique used in bioremediation.
Biocatalysis
Use of enzymes to catalyse chemical reactions.
Biocontrol
The control of living organisms (especially pests) by biological means. Any process using deliberately introduced living organisms to restrain the growth and development of other, very often pathogenic, organisms, such as the use of spider mites to control cassava mealy bug, or the introduction of myxomatosis into Australia to control rabbits. The term also applies to use of disease-resistant crop cultivars. Biotechnology approaches biocontrol in various ways, such as using fungi, viruses or bacteria which are known to attack an insect or weed pest.
Bioconversion
Conversion of one chemical into another by living organisms, as opposed to their conversion by enzymes (which is biotransformation) or by chemical processes. The usefulness of bioconversion is much the same as that of biotransformation – in particular its extreme specificity and ability to work in moderate conditions. However, bioconversion has several other properties, including the possibility of having several chemical steps. A major commercial application is in the manufacture of steroids. The “basic” steroid molecule, often isolated from plants, is itself a very complicated molecule, and not one that is easy to modify by normal chemical means to produce the very specific molecules needed for drug use. However, a particular type of bioconversion that attacks only specific bits of the molecule can be used. Bioconversion is particularly useful for introducing chemical changes at specific points in large, complex molecules.
Bio-energetics
The study of the flow and the transformations of energy that occur in living organisms.
Bio-engineering
The use of artificial tissues, organs and organ components to replace parts of the body that are damaged, lost or malfunctioning.
Bio-enrichment
Adding nutrients or oxygen to increase microbial breakdown of pollutants.
Bio-ethics
The branch of ethics that deals with the life sciences and their potential impact on society. At one extreme, it can be enormously useful in focusing attention on problems that need to be confronted; at the other extreme, it can become a name-calling argument between the “pro-biotechnology” and “anti-biotechnology” schools of thought, which, as it reduces discussion to epithets and clichés, can make better sound bites.
Biofuel
A gaseous, liquid or solid fuel that contains energy derived from a biological source. For example, rapeseed oil or fish liver oil can be used in place of diesel fuel in modified engines. A commercial application is the use of modified rapeseed oil, which – as rapeseed methyl ester (RME) – can be used in modified diesel engines, and is sometimes named bio-diesel. cf biogas.
Biogas
A mixture of methane and carbon dioxide resulting from the anaerobic decomposition of waste such as domestic, industrial and agricultural sewage. a.k.a. gobar.
Biogenesis
The principle that a living organism can only arise from other living organisms similar to itself and can never originate from non-living material.
Bio-informatics
The use and organization of information of biological interest. In particular, it is concerned with organizing bio-molecular databases, in getting useful information out of such databases, in utilizing powerful computers for analysing such information, and in integrating information from disparate biological sources.
Biolistics (from biological + ballistics)
A technique to insert DNA into cells. The DNA is mixed with small metal particles – usually tungsten or gold – a fraction of a micrometre across. These are then fired into a cell at very high speed. They puncture the cell and carry the DNA into the cell. Biolistics has an advantage over transfection, transduction, etc., because it can apply to any cell, or indeed to parts of a cell. Thus use of biolistics has inserted DNA into animal, plant and fungal cells, and into mitochondria inside cells. a.k.a. microprojectile bombardment.
Biological containment
Restricting the movement of (genetically engineered) organisms by arranging barriers to prevent them from growing outside the laboratory. Biological containment can take two forms: making the organism unable to survive in the outside environment, or making the outside environment inhospitable to the organism.
Biomass
- The cell mass produced by a population of living organisms.
- The organic mass that can be used either as a source of energy or for its chemical components.
- All the organic matter that derives from the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy.
Biomass concentration
The amount of biological material in a specific volume.
Bio toilet
It is a type of toilet which disintegrates and decomposes the human waste into water and biogas. The decomposition is carried out by bacteria in the Bio-digestion tank.Methane is end result of decomposition.
Biome
A major ecological community or complex of communities, extending over a large geographical area and characterized by a dominant type of vegetation.
Biometry
The application of statistical methods to the analysis of biological problems.
Biopesticide
A compound that kills organisms by virtue of specific biological effects rather than as a broader chemical poison. Specific types include bio-insecticides and bio-fungicides. Bio-pesticides differ from biocontrol agents in that bio-pesticides are passive agents, whereas biocontrol agents are active, seeking out the pest to be destroyed. There are some extremely attractive anti-pest materials, such as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin, which specifically interferes with the absorption of food from the guts of some insects but is harmless to mammals. The rationale behind developing bio-pesticides is that they are more likely to be biodegradable and are targeted at specific elements of the pest’s metabolism.
Biopolymer
Any large polymeric molecule (protein, nucleic acid, polysaccharide, lipid) produced by a living organism.
Bioprocess
Any process that uses complete living cells or their components (e.g., enzymes, chloroplasts) to effect desired physical or chemical changes.
Bioreactor
A tank in which cells, cell extracts or enzymes carry out a biological reaction. Often refers to a growth chamber (fermenter, fermentation vessel) for cells or micro-organisms.
Bioremediation
A process that uses living organisms to remove contaminants, pollutants or unwanted substances from soil or water. cf bio-augmentation; bio-enrichment.
Biosensor
A device that uses an immobilized agent (such as an enzyme, antibiotic, organelle or whole cell) to detect or measure a chemical compound. A reaction between the immobilized agent and the molecule being analysed is transduced into an electric signal.
Biosynthesis
Synthesis of compounds by living cells, which is the essential feature of anabolism.
Biotransformation
The conversion of one chemical or material into another using a biological catalyst: a near synonym is biocatalysis, and hence the catalyst used is called a biocatalyst. Usually the catalyst is an enzyme, or a whole, dead micro-organism that contains an enzyme or several enzymes.
Biotope
A small habitat in a large community.
Biodegradation
The breakdown by living organisms of a compound to its chemical constituents. Materials that can be easily biodegraded are colloquially termed biodegradable.
