Glossary
Acute respiratory distress syndrome - a life-threatening condition where the lungs cannot provide the body's vital organs with enough oxygen, when the lungs become severely inflamed from an infection or injury. The inflammation causes fluid from nearby blood vessels to leak into the tiny air sacs in the lungs, making breathing increasingly difficult.
Antibody - protective protein produced by the immune system in response to the presence of a foreign substance, called an antigen. Antibodies recognise and latch onto antigens in order to remove them from the body.
Antigen - A protein on the surface of a substance which triggers an immune response.
Base - A pair of compounds that are the building blocks of RNA and DNA
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Cardiovascular - Relating to the circulatory system, comprising of the heart and blood vessels. The cardiovascular system carries nutrients and oxygen to the tissues of the body and removes carbon dioxide and other wastes from them.
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Cell membrane - A selectively permeable membrane surrounding the cell and controlling the entry and exit of materials.
DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) It is made up of two long molecules, arranged in a spiral - a double-helix. It carries genetic information.
Droplet Infection - This occurs when a person is in in close contact with someone who has respiratory symptoms (e.g., coughing or sneezing) and is therefore at risk of having their mouth and nose or eyes exposed to potentially infective respiratory droplets.
Electron micrograph - A photo taken through an electron microscope, which is a very high power microscope which takes black and white 3D images.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (EMCO) - a life support machine for people with severe and life-threatening illnesses that stops their heart or lungs from working properly. For example, ECMO is used during life-threatening conditions such as severe lung damage from infection, or shock after a massive heart attack
Genes - a unit of DNA that is usually located on a chromosome and that controls the development of one or more traits and is the basic unit by which genetic information is passed from parent to offspring.
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Genome - an organism’s complete set of genetic instructions. Each genome contains all of the information needed to build that organism and allow it to grow and develop.
GDP- Gross Domestic Product - measures the size of a country's economy by measuring the monetary value of all finished goods and services made within a specific period.
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GWAS - Genome Wide Association Studies - an observational study of a genome-wide set of genetic variants in different individuals to see if any variant is associated with a trait.
Herd immunity - the resistance to the spread of a contagious disease within a population that results if a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune to the disease, especially through vaccination.
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Pandemic - the worldwide spread of a disease
Pneumonia - inflammation of the lungs, usually caused by an infection. Symptoms of pneumonia include a cough, difficulty breathing, a high temperature and chest pain.
Septic shock - the third and most dangerous stage of sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, and is when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs.
Tuberculosis - a bacterial infection spread through inhaling droplets from the coughs or sneezes of someone infected. It is a serious condition, but can be cured with proper treatment.
Viral membrane - the outermost layer of a virus
Virus - An infectious particle made up of a strand of RNA or DNA within a protein shell called a capsid, that reproduces by infecting their host cells and reprogramming them to produce more of the virus. Since viruses cannot reproduce outside a host, they are not considered alive.