Glossary 

Allele
One of a few possible forms of a same gene, located at a certain place on a chromosome, called locus.
http://www.onkologie.de

Autoclave
An autoclave is an air and vapour impermeable pressure tank. For different applications it is used in different, adjusted types. Used for sterilization it can kill spores and bacteria. http://infos.aus-germanien.de/Autoklav

Chemotherapy
Medical treatment with substances (cytostatics) that stop the growth of cells and therefore of tumours.

Dihydropyrimidin-Dehydrogenase (DPD)
The enzyme Dihydropyrimidin-Dehydrogenase (DPD) catalyses the main step of decomposing 5-FU into inactive decomposition products in the liver.

DNA/DNS
DesoxyriboNuclein Acid; composes genetic material (genotype) of most organisms, located in the cell nucleus and chromosomes. It contains the entire genetic information of an organism.
www.krebsinformation.de

Electrophorese
separation of charged molecules in an electric field. According to their electric charges and sizes, molecules move with different speeds in an electric field and can be defined as bands after staining with a special dye.
www.krebsinformation.de

Enzyme
Protein, that catalyses chemical reactions in cells of organisms.
http://www.gfgenetik.de/

Genotype
complete set of genes of a cell / of an organism.
http://www.gfgenetik.de/

Fluoruracil, 5-Fluoruracil (5-FU)
5 –FU is a cytostatics, inhibiting the synthesis of certain DNA components. Fluoruracil is used for chemotherapy. 5- FU is decomposed by the enzyme DPD.
Gel-Electrophoresis One of the oldest but still most important methods to identify the size of DNA fragments. DNA moves through an electric field that separates DNA fragments according to their different electric charges and weights. A typical pattern of bands can be identified.
http://www.gfgenetik.de/

Gene
A gene is the part of DNA that contains the entire biological information for the synthesis of a certain protein.
http://www.pharmig.or.at/pharmig/gen.htm

Homozygous
two identical alleles of a gene, so to speak identical genes located at their two chromosomes.
http://www.onkologie.de

Carcinoma
Malignant tumour emanating from tissues (epitheliums) such as skin, mucous membranes, tissues of glands. Carcinomas are classified according to cell phenotype and origin (adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma etc.).
www.krebsinformation.de
Mutation
Changes in the sequence of DNA. Mutations can cause changes or the loss of genetic functions and therefore influence the performance of cells.
www.krebsinformation.de

Oncogenes
Genes that may cause or favour cancer.
http://www.pharmig.or.at/pharmig/gen.htm

Oncology
Science of cancer.

Pharmacogenetics
Research about genotypes and their influence on pharmacotherapies. The aim is to adjust a medical treatment according to individual genetic conditions.
http://www.aerztezeitung.de/

Polymerase Chain Reaction/PCR
Key-method in genetic engineering, developed in the 80ies, amplifying extremely small quantities of DNA (single molecules) in a lab. Since the development of the method smallest DNA amounts are sufficient to identify an individual – which is of utmost importance in criminology.
http://www.gfgenetik.de/

Primer
Short DNA or RNA segment. Together with a certain enzyme (polymerase) it is needed to elongate a DNA chain under lab conditions.
http://www.gfgenetik.de/

Protein
Molecules built by amino acids. They are crucial for the structure and functions of organisms. Genetic information is directly transformed into proteins.
http://www.gfgenetik.de/

Point Mutation
the exchange of a single nucleotide.
http://www.pharmig.or.at/

Restriction Enzymes
They cleave DNA at predetermined sequences. The results are DNA fragments of different sizes.Because they cut within a molecule, they are often called restriction endonucleases.
http://www.gfgenetik.de/
Restriction-Fragment-Length-Polymorphism = RFLP Genetic method used to detect sequence variations
http://www.gfgenetik.de/

Tumour
The word “tumour”, used for lump, means – generally speaking -”swelling”. According to their characteristics tumours can be classified into malignant and innocent tumours.
http://www.vitanet.de/

UV-Light
Ultraviolet light is invisible for human beings. Its wave length is shorter than the wave length of visible violet light. Short waved UV light can cause changes to genetic material.
www.krebsinformation.de
Cytostatics
Cytostatics are substances that can stop cell growth and division. They damage mainly quickly growing cells with a high rate of metabolism. Therefore, they are used for cancer therapies.
http://www.gesundheit.de/