Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Recommended Daily Allowance

    Popular name for the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA).

  • Recombinant DNA technology

    A series of procedures that are used to join together (recombine) DNA segments. A recombinant DNA molecule is constructed from segments of two or more different DNA molecules. Under certain conditions, a recombinant DNA molecule can enter a cell and replicate there, either on its own or after it has been integrated into a chromosome.

  • Recombinant

    A person with a new combination of genes, a combination not present in either parent, due to parental recombination of those genes.

  • Recession of medial rectus muscle

    Recession of medial rectus muscle is a type of surgery used to correct certain types of strabismus, or a condition in which the eyes do not properly align with each other. This surgery changes the length or position of the medial rectus muscle, which is one of the muscles that control the side-to-side movement of the eyes.

  • Receptor

    1. In cell biology, a structure on the surface of a cell (or inside a cell) that selectively receives and binds a specific substance. There are many receptors. There is a receptor for (insulin; there is a receptor for low-density lipoproteins (LDL); etc. To take an example, the receptor for substance P, a molecule that acts…

  • Recent memory

    Short-term memory. Also called working memory. Recent memory is a system for temporarily storing and managing the information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. Recent memory is involved in the selection, initiation, and termination of information-processing functions such as encoding, storing, and retrieving data. One test of recent memory is memory span,…

  • Recalcitrant

    Stubborn. For example, a recalcitrant case of pneumonia stubbornly resists treatment.

  • Rebound effect

    The production of increased negative symptoms when the effect of a drug has passed or the patient no longer responds to the drug. If a drug produces a rebound effect, the condition it was used to treat may come back even stronger when the drug is discontinued or loses effectiveness.

  • Reagent

    A substance that is used to produce a chemical reaction that allows researchers to detect, measure, produce, or change other substances.

  • Reabsorption

    Being absorbed again. For example, the kidney selectively reabsorbs substances it has already secreted into the renal tubules, such as glucose, protein, and sodium. These reabsorbed substances are returned to the blood.

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