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Table 2 Examples of common verbs with senses specific to the biological sciences

From: BioVerbNet: a large semantic-syntactic classification of verbs in biomedicine

 

Sense

Example

silence

To inactivate expression of a gene.

Eukaryotic cells express small noncoding RNAs to silence target genes

dampen

To suppress the immune response.

Propathogenic cells dampen the early T cell response

scavenge

To combine with and remove reactive oxygen species.

Antioxidant properties of plants scavenge reactive oxygen species

prime

To present antigen to naïve lymphocytes, causing them

These antigens may prime an immune response

 

to differentiate.

 

reprogram

To transform one cell type into a different cell type.

Mash1 and Brn2 reprogram fibroblasts into neurons

imprint

To inactivate expression of a gene through methylation.

A period of stimulation could imprint on a T cell a “biochemical memory”

divide

To undergo cell division into two or more daughter cells.

Cultures of Tetrahymena pyriformis were induced to divide synchronously

isolate

To extract a cell population or substance in a pure form.

We used soft agar to isolate phototrophic bacteria