Glossary
- ACHONDRITE
- A differentiated meteorite.
- ANTICODON
- A triplet of bases in transfer RNA complementary to the codon.
- ARCHAEBACTERIA
- The organisms that make up one of the biological kingdoms.
- ARCHEAN
- The period of Earth's history 3.8 to 2.4 billion years ago.
- AU
- Astronomical Unit, the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun.
- BIOCHEMISTRY
- The study of the chemical constituents of living matter and of their functions and transformations during life processes.
- BIOGENIC ELEMENTS
- The elements which make up the bulk of living organisms.
- CAI
- Calcium-aluminum inclusions found in meteroites.
- CODON
- A triplet code of bases in DNA which specifies an amino acid in protien synthesis.
- D/H
- The Deuterium-to-Hydrogen ratio.
- DNA
- Deoxyribonucleic acid.
- EUBACTERIA
- All bacteria apart from the archaebacteria.
- EUKARYOTE
- Cells with a true nucleus and other internal organelles.
- FISCHER-TROPSCH REACTION
- A process in which carbon monoxide and hydrogen are converted into hydrocarbons and related compounds.
- GENOME
- The complete set of genes in an organism.
- HD/H2
- The ratio of deuterated hydrogen to hydrogen.
- HETROCYCLIC ORGANIC POLYMERS
- Compounds consisting of monomeric units of organic ring molecules in which not all atoms in the ring are alike.
- HETROTROPH
- Organisms requiring organic compounds as a food source.
- IR
- The infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- K
- The Kelvin, a unit of temperature.
- mRNA
- Messenger RNA, which directs the synthesis of proteins.
- NAD
- Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, a coenzyme involved in redox reactions.
- NUCLEOSIDE
- The precursor of nucleic acids, consisting of an organic base and a sugar.
- NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
- The production of elements heavier than hydrogen.
- OLIGONUCLEOTIDE
- Short chains of nucleic acid monomers.
- OLIGOPEPTIDE
- Short chains of amino acids.
- PAH
- Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon.
- PHOSPHOMONOESTERASE
- A hydrolytic emzyme which releases inorganic phosphate.
- PHOTOTROPH
- Organisms that derive their energy from light.
- PLANETESIMAL
- A solar-system body of the order of a kilmetre in size.
- PLANETOID
- A solar-system body of the order of tens to hundreds of kilometres in size.
- PREBIOTIC
- The period before the appearance of life on Earth.
- PRECAMBRIAN
- The period in Earth's history from its formation to 600 million years ago.
- PROKARYOTE
- Organisms lacking a true nucleus.
- PYROLYSIS
- The destruction of organic compounds by combustion.
- REHOLITH
- The surface debris on solar-system objects produced by impacting bodies.
- RIBONUCLEOTIDE
- A monomereric unit of RNA
- RIBOOLIGONUCLEOTIDE
- Short chains of ribonucleotides.
- RIBOSOME
- A cellular partical that is the site of protein synthesis.
- RNA
- Ribonucleic acid.
- RNA polymerase
- The enzyme that polymerizes ribonucleotides.
- RNase P
- tRNA-processing enzyme containing a catalytic RNA subunit.
- rRNA
- Ribosomal RNA which is involved in protein synthesis.
- TEMPLATE
- A molecule that is copied to form its complement in nucleic acid synthesis.
- THIOL-ESTER
- A sulphur-containing ester.
- TRANSLATION
- The process by which the DNA code specifies the sequence of amino acids.
- tRNA
- Transfer RNA, which combines the specific amino acid in protein synthesis.
- UV
- The ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- VAN DER WAALS FORCES
- The weak attractive forces between non-polar molecules.