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The study of the ancestry of an individual or group. Such investigations are particularly important in tracing the inheritance of genetically transmitted conditions or traits. One of the most important collections of genealogical information is in the archives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (i.e., the Mormon Church) in Salt Lake City, Utah.

gene amplification

The duplication of a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence resulting in multiple copies of it on a chromosome.

gene chip


gene expression

The process by which genetic information from the DNA is carried to the RNA and translated into proteins.

gene expression profiling

The determination of the specific genes that a cell (such as a cancer cell) actively produces.

gene family

A group of genes that codes for related proteins.

gene flow

The movement of genes from one group of organisms to another.

gene gun

A device used to inject DNA into cells, membrane-bound organelles, or tissues.

gene knockout

SEE: knockout.

gene mapping

SEE: under mapping.

gene probe

The technique of matching a short segment of DNA or RNA with the matching sequence of bases on a chromosome. Use of this method permits identification of the precise area on a chromosome responsible for the genetic abnormality being investigated. SEE: gene splicing.


(jĕn′ĕr-ă) Plural of genus.


(jen′ĕ-ră-list″) A primary care practitioner with a broad knowledge base, rather than a specialist, who treats patients with a wide variety of diseases and conditions.


(jen″ĕ-răl-ĭ-zā′shŏn) 1. An act, process, or instance of generalizing. 2. The principle or general idea resulting from that act or process. 3. The progression of a seizure from one with focal motor, psychic, or sensory characteristics, to one in which there is complete loss of consciousness with tonic-clonic motor activity. 4. The ability to apply a skill or strategy to a task in an environment that differs from the one in which the task was learned. 5. In research, the ability to project results of a study to a larger percentage of a similar population. SEE: intelligence.


(jen′ĕ-ră-līz″) [L. generalis] 1. To become or render nonspecific. 2. To become systemic or widely distributed, e.g., a rash. generalizable (jen″ĕ-ră-lī′ză-bl), adj. generalizability (jen″ĕ-ră-lī″ză-bil′ĭt-ē), n.

generally recognized as safe

ABBR: GRAS. A food or herbal additive that has not been formally evaluated ...

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