Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The genome of the cow (Bos taurus). The bovine genome is similar in size to the genomes of humans and other mammals, containing approximately 3 billion DNA base pairs. The breed of cattle selected for initial sequencing was Hereford, which is used in beef production. Sequencing began in December 2003 and a first draft was completed in…

Having to do with cows and cattle, as in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), bovine tuberculosis, and bovine growth hormone.

Fievre boutonneuse or African tick typhus, one of the tick-borne rickettsial diseases of the eastern hemisphere, similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but less severe, with fever, a small ulcer (tache noire) at the site of the tick bite, swollen glands nearby (satellite lymphadenopathy), and a red raised (maculopapular) rash. The French word “boutonneuse” means pimply. Also called Conor and Bruch’s disease.

A procedure involving the use of a bougie. A bougie is a thin cylinder of rubber, plastic, metal or another material that a physician inserts into or though a body passageway, such as the esophagus, to widen the passageway, guide another instrument into a passageway, or dislodge an object. An alternate spelling of “bougienage” is “bouginage.” Bougies…

A thin cylinder of rubber, plastic, metal or another material that a physician inserts into or through a body passageway, such as the esophagus, to diagnose or treat a condition. A bougie may be used to widen a passageway, guide another instrument into a passageway, or dislodge an object. Bougies are available in a wide range of…

An uncommon, but potentially very serious illness, a type of food poisoning, that produces paralysis of muscles via a nerve toxin called botulinum toxin (“botox”) that is manufactured by bacteria named Clostridium botulinum. There are various types of botulism, including: Food-borne botulism — from eating food that contains the botulinum toxin. Wound botulism — caused by the toxin produced in a wound…

A toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum that is the most poisonous biological substance known. Botulinum toxin acts as a neurotoxin. It binds to the nerve ending at the point where the nerve joins a muscle, blocking the release by the nerve of the chemical acetylcholine (the principal neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction), preventing the muscle…

The practice of feeding an infant a substitute for breast milk. Pediatricians generally advise exclusively breastfeeding (that is, breastfeeding with no supplementary formula) for all full-term, healthy infants for the first 6 months of life. However, many infants are bottlefed today, at least in part. For infants to achieve normal growth and maintain normal health, infant formulas must include proper…

A highly purified preparation of botulinum toxin A, a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Botox is injected, in very small amounts, into specific muscles, as a treatment. It acts by blocking the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles and so paralyzes (relaxes) the muscles. Botox treatment has found a growing number of uses from easing muscle…

An extremely rare congenital condition causing birth defects, with less than 100 reported individuals affected worldwide. It is characterized by underdevelopment of the eyes (microphthalmia), absence of the nose (arrhinia), and absent sexual maturation. The degree of severity of the defects can vary. Affected people typically have normal intelligence and can lead productive lives with surgical…