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HOSA Biomedical Laboratory Test
1.Antibodies: proteins developed by the immune system that
recognize specific molecules (antigens)
2.Applied science: the practice of utilizing scientific knowledge for
practical pur- poses, including the manufacture of a product
3.Bioethics: the study of decision-making as it applies to moral
decisions that have to be made because of advances in biology, medicine, and technology
4.Biotechnology: the study and manipulation of living things or their
component molecules, cells, tissues, or organs
5.CDC: abbreviation for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
national research center for developing and applying disease prevention and control, envi- ronmental health, and health promotion 1 / 4
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and education activities to improve public health
6.Control: experimental trial added to an experiment to ensure that
the experi- ment was run properly; see positive control and negative control
7.Cystic fibrosis (CF): genetic disorder that clogs the respiratory and
digestive systems with mucus
8.DNA ligase: an enzyme that binds together disconnected strands
of a DNA molecule
9.E. coli: a rod-shaped bacterium native to the intestines of mammals;
commonly used in genetics and biotechnology
10.EPA: abbreviation for the Environmental Protection Agency; the
federal agency that enforces environmental laws including the use and production of microorgan- isms, herbicides, pesticides, and genetically modified microorganisms
11.FDA: abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration; the
federal agency that regulates the use and production of food, feed, 2 / 4
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food additives, veterinary drugs, human drugs, and medical devices
12.Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): organisms that contain DNA
from another organism and produce new proteins encoded on the acquired DNA
13.Hypothesis: an educated guess to answer a scientific question;
should be testable
14.Molecular biology: the study of molecules that are found in cells
15.Moral: a conviction or justifiable position, having to do with whether
something is considered right or wrong 3 / 4
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16.Negative control: a group of data lacking what is being tested so as
to give expected negative results
17.NIH: abbreviation for National Institutes of Health; the federal
agency that funds and conducts biomedical research
18.Pharmaceutical: relating to drugs developed for medical use
19.Polymerase chain reaction (PCR): a technique that involves copying
short pieces of DNA and then making millions of copies in a short time
20.Positive control: a group of data that will give predictable positive
results
21.Proteases: proteins whose function is to break down other proteins
22.Pure science: scientific research whose main purpose is to enrich
the scien- tific knowledge base
23.Reagent: chemical used in an experiment
24.Recombinant DNA (rDNA): DNA created by combining DNA from two
or more sources
25.Recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology: cutting and recombining DNA
mole- cules
26.Research and development (R&D): refers to the early stages in
product development that include discovery of the structure and function of a potential product and initial small-scale production 27.Therapeutic: an agent that is used to treat diseases or disorders
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