CARTA Glossary

A genetic change that decreases an individual’s fitness and increases susceptibility to or causes disease or disorder. Most deleterious mutations are recessive, i.e. selection can only act on them when an individual carries two copies of the same mutation.

A tropical disease caused by the Dengue virus and spread several species of female Aedes mosquitos, especially A. aegypti. Symptoms may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash. Severe infections may develop into Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever or Dengue Shock Syndrome.

A severe form of Dengue Fever in which dangerously low blood pressure occurs.

An extinct hominin population contemporary with Neanderthals that hybridized with ancient humans and Neanderthals. Knowledge of Denisovan morphology is limited to two small fossils found in Siberia and a jaw in Tibet.

The molecule of inheritance, which consists of sequences of the four nucleotide bases: Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine.

An irreversible biological characteristic acquired during growth and development in a stressful environment.

Spreading effects over time across systems or domains of function that result from interactions in dynamic systems and cumulatively alter development.

Psychosocial milestones or accomplishments expected of people of different ages in a given cultural and historical context; Common developmental tasks include bonding with caregivers, walking, talking, learning to read, getting along with other people, and caring for one’s children.

The organs of the body that are involved in the breakdown and absorption of food, and elimination of wastes. This includes the mouth, pharynx (throat), esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and accessory digestive organs such as the salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

Outwardly apparent effects of a disease.

Change in genetic content or phenotype between isolated populations or species.

A process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule. Methylation can change the activity of a DNA segment without changing the sequence. When located in a gene promoter, DNA methylation typically acts to repress gene transcription.

The process of artificial selection by humans for desired traits of plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. This implies the complete control of the reproduction of those species.

A graph showing a pattern of rising problems or undesirable outcomes as the level of trauma, exposure to disaster, or number of cumulative risk factors or ACEs increases.

A chronically relapsing disorder characterized by loss of control and compulsive drug seeking.

The ability to combine and recombine meaningless linguistic elements (sounds in spoken language, or manual features like handshape, palm orientation, movement, etc. in signed language) into meaningful units (words or signs) (Kluender, 2020).

A general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpreting words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.

A sleep schedule therapy hypothesized to relieve peripartum depression by altering melatonin and sleep timing (sleep from 3:00 - 7:00 am).

A rare but serious and often fatal infection of Togavirus that causes encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). The virus is maintained via a bird- to-mosquito cycle, primarily by mosquitos that feed on the blood of birds. Transmission of EEE to mammals (including horses and humans) occurs via “bridge vectors,” mosquito (including those from the Aedes genus) that feed on the blood of both birds and mammals and transfer the virus. Origin: Americas.

The interaction of organisms with their physical environment, along with other organisms.

A class of organs that all develop from the outer layer of the embryo, the ectoderm, through a series of coordinated and reciprocal interactions between the embryonic ectoderm and underlying dermal layer. This class of organs includes, sweat glands, hairs, mammary glands, teeth and nails. A largely shared set of genetic pathways initiate and control the development of this organ class.

The relationship between the work performed to move a certain distance to the energy cost of transport.

The use of individualized machine learning applied to functional MRI data to measure diverse mental states during meditation.

The inner cell mass of the human blastocyst, the rapidly dividing fertilized egg at four to seven days post fertilization. ESCs are pluripotent, meaning they can differentiate into all cell types of the three embryonic tissue layers.

A species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either locally or worldwide.

Substances that interfere with the normal function of the endocrine system. These can be present in the environment (air, soil, or water supply), food sources, personal care products, and manufactured products.

The innermost of the three primary germ layers formed in embryonic development and develops into some of the body’s internal organs, including the gastrointestinal tract, the urinary tract, the respiratory tract, endocrine glands, and the auditory system.

A transcription factor involved in the response to changes in oxygen concentration, such as hypoxia, through the induction of oxygen regulated genes.

Short region of DNA that can be bound by proteins to alter transcription of a gene.

Proteins that catalyze chemical reactions inside and outside cells.

The branch of medicine that studies and analyzes the incidence, distribution, patterns, determinants, and possible control of diseases and other health factors.

A term first coined by the developmental biologist, Conrad Waddington, in 1942 to explain how a singular genotype might produce variations in phenotype across development. He argued that some level of regulation must exists “above” or “over” genes to determine when and where they are expressed. Today the term refers to stable alterations in gene expression without changes to the underlying DNA sequence.

The cell type that lines the surfaces of the body, including skin, mucus membranes (airways, gastrointestinal tract, reproductive tract), urinary tract, and organs to provide protection.

An estrogen steroid hormone and the major female sex hormone that is involved in the regulation of reproductive cycles, the development of female secondary sexual characteristics, the development and maintenance of female reproductive tissues, and has important effects on bone, fat, skin, liver, and the brain. Estradiol also has important roles in males, but is produced in much lower levels.

An intravenous agent used for general anesthesia and sedation for short procedures that suppresses corticosteroid synthesis.

Organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within membranes.

A form of social structure featuring cooperative brood care, overlapping generations of adults, and a reproductive and non-reproductive division of labor. Eusociality is observed in ants, bees, wasps, termites, the naked mole-rats, and some shrimp. Humans may engage in a weak form of eusociality but this is still debated.

The application of modern evolutionary theory to understanding health and disease.

A theoretical approach to psychology that seeks evolutionary connections to human psychological traits such as cognition and language.

Sequences at a locus that encode parts of a protein.

A paired macrostructure in the brain that is involved in reward cognition.

Human-specific (malignant) malaria caused by the protozoan parasite, Plasmodium falciparum.

The ability to recognize that others can have beliefs about the world that are diverging. An important component of Theory of Mind.

The relative numbers of individuals capable of having children. In female-biased situations, males face less competition for mating opportunities. In male-biased situations, these opportunities are lower, thus greater male-male competition for each one.

Replaced all other alleles in a population.

The point in time when a foot (or hand in the forelimb) first touches the ground.

Searching for wild food or provisions as opposed to cultivating food crops or breeding livestock.

A digestive process in which plant materials are fermented in a specialized combination of stomach compartments together called the reticulorumen. In ruminants, the fermented cud of the reticulorumen is regurgitated and chewed again to further break down the plant material, a process called rumination. After rumination, the food is finally digested in other stomach compartments, the omasum and abomsum (true stomach). Foregut fermentation also exists in some species that do not ruminate, such as leaf monkeys.