Technology: Good or Evil?
Debbie Anholt

Glossary

ON BEING HUMAN

inclined:to be willing to believe a point of view

legitimate: (adj) to be a kind of reasonable, legal, or professional work

manipulation: moving things around and changing parts of them

remarkable: noticeable, unusual, extraordinary

trade-offs: an exchange of one thing for another; sometimes you get a good thing, but you have to accept a bad thing with it.

treading: walking on, sometimes in a dangerous area

GENETIC RESEARCH

accumulate: collect, get more and more

anemia: a condition of the blood with a low oxygen-carrying ability

angle: point, point of view

attain: to gain something you have worked hard for

biochemical: a combination of biology and chemistry

breakthrough: a major achievement or success which allows more progress

chromosomes: in the DNA, they carry the genes

conceive: to form, to develop, to become pregnant

concerned about: worried about

crescent: the figure of an early or late moon, with two points and a narrow curve

defect: an imperfection, a problem, a lack

disorder: an irregularity, something that isn't arranged correctly

epidemic: an outbreak of a disease that spreads quickly to many people

eventually: after a long time and a lot of work

for the sake of argument, assume...: this means, even if you don't really believe it, try to believe it just for this exercise

genes: a unit on a chromosome that controls heredity

guanine, cytosine, adenine, and thymine: parts of the chromosomes

helix: a spiral

horizon: in this case, the future

longrange: long into the future

mechanism: a system or a process to do something

metabolize: when the body breaks down food for energy, or when a body creates other substances

mold: to take a soft object and form it into a new shape

organism: a living being, either plant or animal

shift: to move or change

soul-searching: thinking about what you really believe and deciding what is correct

spherical: round, like a ball

stem: to stop (in this sentence)

valid: true, good

GENETICS CASE STUDY

assess: to decide the good or bad of a plan

capacity: size of the ability

characteristics: qualities, physical or mental, such as red hair, big nose, friendliness, etc.

commercial: business, for making money

control subjects: in an experiment, you always that the things (people) that you are trying to change; in addition, you have some that you don't change, and you compare the two groups at the end. The second group (no change) is the "control group."

convert: change to a different thing

council: a committee, a group of people to discuss an issue

determine: figure out the good or bad of a plan

enforce: to force someone to follow a rule or a law

enhancement: improvement, making something bigger

extent to which: how much

factors: qualities, pieces

fetus: the baby before it is born

fundamental: basic

implication: a necessary result of a plan

inactive: not active, no effect

keep in the back of your mind: remember this always

multidimensional: with many different qualitites, usually good qualities

patent: a license from the government for someone who invented something. It says that nobody else can produce this thing and get money from it.

potential: possible future power or ability

procedure:a process, the steps that you follow to do something

proposes: to suggest a new plan

side effects: in science or medicine, an extra effect in addition to the effect you wanted

trivial: small, not important

Created by: Debbie Anholt
Email: anholt@lclark.edu
Last Updated: May 15, 2002