Category: Am-Am

One of the20 building blocks from which proteins are assembled. Isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine are deemed ‘essential’ amino acids because the human body cannot make them and they must be obtained in the diet. Amino acids are sometimes taken orally in supplement form.

Iranian-born American psychiatrist (1930-2004), at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), known for using science to study the phenomenon of love. In his work, Amini explained “how lingering but forgotten impressions, like a smell or sound associated with a person or a positive experience, become embedded in the mind’s memory banks, where neurons constantly…

Amini, Fariborz.

A chemical compound containing nitrogen. Amines are derived from ammonia.

Acute myocardial infarction. A heart attack. The term “myocardial infarction” focuses on the heart muscle, which is called the myocardium,and the changes that occur in it due to the sudden deprivation of circulating blood. This is usually caused by arteriosclerosis with narrowing of the coronary arteries, the culminating event being a thrombosis (clot). The main change is death (necrosis) of myocardial…

American biochemist and geneticist (1928-) who developed the Ames test for chemical mutagens. Ames attended Cornell University from 1946 to 1950, receiving his B.A. degree in chemistry/biochemistry. He then moved to the California Institute of Technology for his graduate study under Herschel K. Mitchell, a former postdoctoral fellow of George Beadle, in the biology department.…

A test developed in 1974 by Bruce N. Ames for identifying possible carcinogens by studying their mutagenic effect on bacteria. The Ames test is widely used test to detect possible chemical carcinogens. It is based on mutagenicity in Salmonella bacteria.

Symbol: Am. A man-made metallic element whose isotopes Am-237 through Am-246 are all radioactive. Americium must be handled with great care to avoid personal contamination. Trace quantities of americium are widely used in smoke detectors. It is also used in bone mineral analysis and as a radiation source for radiotherapy. Americium was discovered in 1944 at the…

Although little known to the general public, the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) is a key resource for medical research. It is the world’s premier biological culture repository. The ATCC assures medical and other biological scientists a reliable source of over 60,000 authenticated, viable cultures of: Algae & Protozoa Bacteria & Bacteriophages Cultured Cell Lines…

 An infection caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Also called American trypanosomiasis. Transmitted by reduviid bugs, or kissing bugs, that live in cracks and holes of substandard housing primarily found in South and Central America. These insects become infected after biting an animal or person who already has Chagas disease. Infection is spread to humans when…