Glossary of terms

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

The Sixth Framework Programme : financial plan for the years 2002-2006 of EC research funding, playing a key role in the creation of an internal market for science and technology, which constitutes the main objective of the European Research Area (ERA).

Specific Targeted Research Project: a research project designed to gain new knowledge to improve or develop new products, processes or services

CSN's: Cell signaling networks bio-chemical systems of interacting molecules in cells. Typically, these systems take as inputs chemical signals generated within the cell or communicated from outside. These trigger a cascade of chemical reactions that result in changes of the state of the cell and/or generate some (chemical) output. CSNs can, therefore, be regarded as
special purpose computers. In contrast to conventional silicon-based computers, the computation in CSNs is not realized by electronic circuits, but by chemically reacting molecules in the cell. The most important molecular components of CSNs are proteins. There are many di erent proteins, each of which can engage in interactions with other molecules with a high degree of specificity. Their properties are often modified through interaction with other molecules. Often different CSNs are connected to one another through shared components. This is referred to as crosstalk. Crosstalk is an important means of modulating signal pathways according to events in the cell.

Author: : root -- 17.1.2006 2:05:32

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