Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Glycogen Definition Glycogen is a large, branched polysaccharide that is the main storage form of glucose in animals and humans. Glycogen is as an important energy reservoir; when energy is required by the body, glycogen in broken down to glucose, which then enters the glycolytic or pentose phosphate pathway or is released into the bloodstream. […]

Glycerol Definition Glycerol is a colorless, odorless liquid with a sweet taste. It is viscous at room temperature and non-toxic in low concentrations. Glycerol was discovered in 1779. It is also called glycyl alcohol, glycerin or glycerine in some literature. Glycerol is seen in biological systems as an intermediate in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism because […]

Gluconeogenesis Definition Gluconeogenesis is the formation of new glucose molecules in the body as opposed to glucose that is broken down from the long storage molecule glycogen. It takes place mostly in the liver, though it can also happen in smaller amounts in the kidney and small intestine. Gluconeogenesis is the opposite process of glycolysis, […]

Gland Definition A gland is a group of cells or a “secreting organ” that excretes a chemical substance. This substance can take the form of hormones, sweat, saliva, mucus, or acids (i.e. HCl acid in gastric glands). Glands are tasked with helping create the substance that they then secrete for further use or total elimination […]

Gibberellin Definition Gibberellin is type of plant and fungal hormone. While its role in fungal development is not as clearly understood, it has been extensively studied in plants. Gibberellin is one of 5 major groups of plant hormones, the others being auxins, cytokinins, ethylene and abscisic acid. Gibberellin was originally purified and identified by Japanese scientists studying a fungal rice […]

Gerontology Definition Gerontology is the study of aging. It comes from the Greek words geron, meaning “old man”, and -ology, a suffix meaning “the study of”. Gerontology is a multidisciplinary field. It involves the scientific study of physical, mental, and social changes that occur in older people, the investigation of societal changes from an economic, historical, and […]

Germination Definition Germination refers to the process by which an organism grows from a seed or a spore. The most common forms of germination include a seed sprouting to form a seedling and the formation of a sporeling from a spore. Thus, germination occurs primarily in plant and fungal species. Germination Process The process of […]

Germ Theory Definition Germ theory of disease is based on the concept that many diseases are caused by infections with microorganisms, typically only visualized under high magnification. Such microorganisms can consist of bacterial, viral, fungal, or protist species. Although the growth and productive replication of microorganisms are the cause of disease, environmental and genetic factors […]

Geriatrics Definition Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a specialty of medicine that focuses on the health care of the elderly. Doctors who practice geriatrics are called geriatricians or geriatric physicians. They work to improve and maintain the health of elderly people by treating and preventing diseases such as dementia, osteoporosis, and heart disease. Geriatrics is […]

Genus Definition A genus is a group of species that are closely related through common decent. A genus represent one of several hierarchical categories called taxa (singular taxongenera (plural of genus) include only a small group of species which evolved from a relatively recent common ancestor. A schematic of the overall hierarchy can be seen below for reference: Although […]