Common Terms

Some of these definitions were taken from Wikipedia, some from the dictionary, and some from general knowledge of biology and chemistry. Links to further descriptions are given when necessary.

Terms to be added: Astrocyte, astrocyte progenitor cell, glia, oligodendrocyte, oligodendrocyte progenitor cell, neuron, neuron progenitor cell, induced pluripotent stem cell, multipotent stem cell, pluripotent stem cell, Temple(-), quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, dielectrophoresis, cell adhesion, neurogenesis, gliogenesis, astrogenesis, cell fate, electrophysiology, capacitance, conductance, resistance, neurogenic, gliogenic, astrogenic, monolayer, seeding, , passage, E1/2/3/etc, SC1/2/3/etc., basal media

Differentiate: The process by which a cell changes from one type to another, typically from a stem cell into a progenitor cell or a progenitor cell into a fully differentiated cell.

Embryo: The developmental stage of many organisms.

Embryonic Stem Cell: A stem cell that has been isolated from an embryo, typically of animal origin.

Gel: A jellylike substance.

Media: A solution or gel designed specifically to grow or sustain cells. Media can be liquid or semi-solid.

Pasteur Pipette: See link.

Pipette: A tool used to transport a specific volume of liquid. In cell culturing the most commonly used pipettes are micropipettes (synonomous with upipettes), and Pasteur pipettes.

Progenitor Cell: Similar to a stem cell in that it can continue to proliferate, but is restricted to a certain cell lineage (i.e. neuron progenitor cells can only differentiate to become a type of neuron).

Proliferation: The process by which cells grow and divide to create a larger amount of cells. Not all cells are capable of proliferation.

Solution: A liquid mixture in which the minor component (the solute) is uniformly distributed within the major component (the solvent).

Substance: Here this word will be used as a general term for a solid, liquid, or gas mixture that encompasses pretty much everything.

Stem Cells: Cells that are capable of proliferating, sometimes indefinitely, in addition to cells that have the ability to differentiate into different types of cells.

Temple(+): A specific formulation of media that contains growth factors necessary for neural stem cell proliferation.