Our glossary page provides more detailed definitions of terminology used throughout our website. It will help you build your knowledge base, making it easier to engage with the science and ethics of genetic engineering. 

Allele: Alternate forms of a gene at a particular locus- the gene governing ABO blood type, for example- or any alternative DNA sequence at a particular chromosome location.

Amino Acids: small molecules that can be linked together to make proteins, which are large, complex biological molecules.

Bioethics: the study of ethical, social, and legal issues that arise in biomedicine and biomedical research. This includes medical ethics, environmental ethics, and public health ethics.

Bioscience: a diverse field of research relating to the study of life sciences which includes human biology, bioinformatics, botany, zoology, genetics, microbiology and biochemistry

Biotechnology: the industrial application of biological processes, particularly DNA technology and genetic engineering

CRISPR/CAS-9: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated protein 9(CAS-9) are a naturally occurring genome editing system found within bacteria. Cas9 makes a double-stranded break at a specific location in the genome, directed by a guide RNA.

Designer Babies: a baby genetically engineered in vitro for specially selected traits, which can vary from lowered disease-risk to gender selection

DNA: the molecule that encodes genetic information. It contains four different chemicals, or bases, known as A, C, G and T. Genes are made of DNA.

Eugenics: the science of changing a population, through the application of genetics, to increase the occurrence of chosen desirable heritable characteristics.

Gene: a basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Genes are made up of DNA and some act as instructions to make molecules called proteins. Other genes may make molecules that control gene activity.

Gene Editing: a group of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organism's DNA through the addition, removal, or alteration of genetic material at particular locations in the genome.

Genetics: the study of heredity and variation of inherited characteristics

Genetic Modification/Engineering: making changes to a living thing’s genetic information that would otherwise not occur by natural mating or reproduction by using methods of biotechnology, such as “recombinant DNA,” “gene targeting”, or “genome editing” to add, delete or otherwise change an organism’s DNA. It may also involve moving genetic material between species. Traditionally, the term has referred only to alterations involving the introduction of transgenic (foreign) DNA.

Genetic Sequence: the order of the chemical units (bases) along a piece of DNA or RNA.

Genome: the complete genetic material in an organism present in almost every cell in the human body

Genome Editing: making deliberate alterations to the DNA sequence at targeted locations in the genome. This can include deleting, inserting or replacing sections of DNA. Several approaches are used to achieve these changes, including zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), TALENs, CRISPR/Cas and base editing.

Genotype: the specific DNA sequence present at a particular chromosome location.

Germline: relating to parts of our biology that can be inherited by the next generation (the DNA in egg and sperm cells, and their precursors).

Heritability: the extent to which a particular trait is inherited. Studies of heritability typically estimate the proportion of observed variation in a particular trait (for example, height) that can be attributed to inherited genetic factors in contrast to environmental ones.

Human Genome Project: an international scientific research project with the goal of determining and decoding the total sequence of human DNA. It was declared complete in 2003.

In vitro: latin for 'within the glass'. Refers to experiments performed in a controlled environment like a test tube or culture media, rather than inside a living organism or cells.

In vivo: latin for 'within the living', referring to processes taking place within a living organism.

Loci: (plural) locations on a chromosome. A variant in the DNA sequence at a particular locus is called a gene allele.

Mutation: A change in the sequence of DNA. Mutations occurring in genes may prevent them from working properly, which might result in disease (a genetic disorder). Mutations occur naturally at a low rate, but can also be induced by radiation and some chemicals.

National Genomic Database: a database which holds genomic sequences of requested samples within a country/nation.

Nucleotide: building blocks that make up DNA and RNA molecules. A single nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base (adenosine, cytosine, guanine, or thymine in DNA), a phosphate group, and a sugar molecule.

Nucleus: the structure within a cell that contains the vast majority of its genetic information.

Phenotype: the physical characteristics of an organism, as distinguished from its genetic make up (genotype).

Protein: a large biological molecule made up of a string of subunits called amino acids. There are thousands of different proteins in the human body, each with a particular job. For example, haemoglobin carries oxygen around the blood.

Recombinant DNA Technology: the creation of new DNA molecules using fragments of DNA from different sources, which can be used to make genetically modified organisms.

Recombination: the process by which two DNA molecules exchange genetic information. In meiosis exchange can take place between maternal and paternal chromosomes leading to a novel combination of genetic material in the egg or sperm.

UK BioBank: government-funded project to collect DNA samples and medical records from 500,000 British volunteers aged 45-60, to study the effects of genetic and environmental factors on health.

Whole Genome Sequencing: determines the order of every base in an organism's genome. Differs from genotyping, which only looks at a specific subset of bases.