Acid, nucleic
Acid, nucleic: One of the molecules in the chromosomes of living cells and viruses that plays a central role in the storage and replication of hereditary information and in the expression of this information through protein synthesis. The two chief types of nucleic acids are:
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) which contains the hereditary information in humans and
RNA (ribonucleic acid) which delivers the instructions coded in this information to the cell’s protein manufacturing sites.
History: In 1869 Friedrich Miescher developed ways of isolating intact nuclei from cells and analyzing their chemical content. From the nuclei he extracted substances rich in phosphorus and nitrogen. They came to be known as “nucleic acids.” Miescher predicted that they would someday be considered as important as proteins. The substances turned out to be deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which was found by Avery, MacLeod and McCarty in 1944 to be the genetic material. They proved this clearly by using bacterial DNA to change (transform) the genetic material of other bacteria.
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Acid, pantothenic: Pantothenic acid is vitamin B5. It is one of 8 water soluble B vitamins that enables the body to break down carbohydrates into glucose to produce energy and to make red blood cells. It is present in foods as diverse as poultry, soybeans, yogurt, and sweet potatoes. No naturally occurring disease due to […]
- Acid, trans fatty
Acid, trans fatty: An unhealthy substance, also known as trans fat, made through the chemical process of hydrogenation of oils. Hydrogenation solidifies liquid oils and increases the shelf life and the flavor stability of oils and foods that contain them. Trans fat is found in vegetable shortenings and in some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods […]
- Acid-base balance
Acid-base balance: Acid-base balance refers to the mechanisms the body uses to keep its fluids close to neutral pH (that is, neither basic nor acidic) so that the body can function normally.
- Acidophilus
Acidophilus: Bacteria found in yogurt that can help restore a supportive bacterial environment to an intestinal tract whose normal intestinal bacterial population (“flora”) has been disturbed by disease or antibiotics. Eating yogurt with acidophilus may also be useful in preventing candidiasis (thrush), including in the vagina.
- Acidosis
Acidosis: Too much acid in the body, a distinctly abnormal condition resulting from the accumulation of acid or from the depletion of alkaline reserves. In acidosis, the pH of the blood is abnormally low. Acidosis is associated with diabetic ketoacidosis, lung disease, and severe kidney disease. The opposite of acidosis is alkalosis in which there […]