Basic Local Alignment Search Tool
Basic Local Alignment Search Tool: Abbreviated BLAST. A computer program that identifies homologous genes in different organisms (such as worms, the fruit fly, mice, and humans). Homologous genes are genes in different species that share similar structures and functions.
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- Basilar
Basilar: Located at or near the base of a structure, especially the base of the skull. For example, a basilar fracture is a break in the bone at the base of the skull and can be life-threatening.
- Basilar fracture
Basilar fracture: A break in bone at the base of the skull. About a half of basilar fractures are caused by bicycle or motor vehicle accidents, about a quarter by falls, and a tenth by recreational activities, particularly by diving accidents. The balance are due to other causes. No matter what cause, the risk of […]
- Baskerville effect
Baskerville effect: A fatal heart attack triggered by extreme psychological stress. The effect is named after Charles Baskerville, a character in the Arthur Conan Doyle story “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” who suffers a fatal heart attack due to extreme psychological stress. The term “Baskerville effect” was coined in 2001 in the course of a […]
- Basophil
Basophil: A type of white blood cell (leukocyte) with coarse, bluish-black granules of uniform size within the cytoplasm. Basophils are so named because their cytoplasmic granules stain with basic dyes. Basophils normally constitute 0.5 to 3 percent of the peripheral blood leukocytes, and contain histamine and serotonin. Also known as a basophilic leukocyte.
- Bather's eruption
Bather’s eruption: An intensely itchy rash due to contact with the tiny thimble jellyfish (Linuche unguiculata). These jellyfish are common between March and August in the waters off of Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. There may be no adult jellyfish around as a warning. The jellyfish larvae look like […]