Glossary

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Methylation: A type of chemical modification that adds a chemical group—a methyl group—to DNA without changing the sequence. Methylation is a type of epigenetic change that can alter gene expression.

MicroRNA: Also known as miRNA, these are small RNA molecules that are transcribed from the genome. They do not encode proteins themselves, but they can prevent messages encoded by other genes from being translated into proteins.

Molecular biology: The branch of biology that involves the study of the interactions and regulation of molecules within a cell, including DNA, RNA, and proteins.

Mutation: A change in DNA sequence, mutations can cause disease by altering the protein code contained within a gene.