cell line

noun

Definition of cell line

: a cell culture selected for uniformity from a cell population derived from a usually homogeneous tissue source (such as an organ)

a newly established cell line derived from a human endometrial carcinoma
—Biol. Abstracts

Recent Examples of cell line from the Web

These cell lines represent eight presumably unrelated northern whites, Dr. Ryder said.

— New York Times, "Scientists See Promise in Resurrecting These Rhinos That Are Nearly Extinct," 24 May 2018
Those cells became the first human cell line to reproduce outside the body.

— hollie silverman, CNN, "The Smithsonian unveils a portrait of Henrietta Lacks, the black farmer whose cells led to medical miracles," 16 May 2018
With the cell line now the focus, raising money should be easier, says Nancy Kelley, a biotechnology lawyer who is co-leading the effort with Boeke and George Church, a genome scientist at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

— elie dolgin, Scientific American, "Scientists Downsize Bold Plan to Make Human Genome from Scratch," 1 May 2018
The San Diego Zoo has 12 northern white rhino cell lines, and working with them on the gene level can furnish eggs with enormous genetic variety—an insurance policy against future inbreeding and genetic bottlenecks.

— daniel fernandez, Smithsonian, "Can the Northern White Rhino Be Brought Back From the Brink of Extinction?," 22 May 2018
The toxin binds to and kills cells lining the blood vessels of the gut and kidney.

— marie mccullough, Philly.com, "Source of tainted lettuce still mystery as Pa. leads biggest E. coli outbreak since 2006," 27 Apr. 2018
When the effort launched in 2016, the creation of a virus-resistant human cell line was listed as one of several pilot projects that would develop the technology to synthesize the full genome.

— elie dolgin, Scientific American, "Scientists Downsize Bold Plan to Make Human Genome from Scratch," 1 May 2018
Up to 50 people can be contained in the cells lining the walls of the waiting area.

— jacob beltran, San Antonio Express-News, "New Bexar jail intake facility approaches completion," 13 Apr. 2018
To do this genetic trimming, the chromosomes in cells line up in pairs and exchange bits of genetic material before forming an egg or sperm cell.

— National Geographic, "Siblings Can Have Surprisingly Different DNA Ancestry. Here's Why.," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cell line.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of cell line

1940

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

cell line

noun

medical Definition of cell line

: a cell culture selected for uniformity from a cell population derived from a usually homogeneous tissue source (as an organ)

a newly established cell line derived from human endometrial carcinoma
—Biological Abstracts

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