SINCE 1828
transcription factor
nounDefinition of transcription factor
: any of various proteins that bind to DNA and play a role in the regulation of gene expression by promoting transcription
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Scientists achieve this transformation by bathing the stem cells in a solution containing the right cocktail of transcription factors, molecules that guide fetal development by regulating how genes are turned on or off. — Bret Stetka, Scientific American, "Lab-Grown “Mini Brains” Can Now Mimic the Neural Activity of a Preterm Infant," 29 Aug. 2019 In 1988, Ueli Schibler, now a professor of molecular biology at the University of Geneva, was studying transcription factors, cellular actors that control the transcription of genes into proteins. — Quanta Magazine, "How the Body’s Trillions of Clocks Keep Time," 15 Sep. 2015 When Wuarin performed the isolation, the transcription factor had failed to appear. — Quanta Magazine, "How the Body’s Trillions of Clocks Keep Time," 15 Sep. 2015 By injecting certain proteins (called transcription factors) involved in development directly into the brain, Götz and her team in Munich have figured out how to alter the function of astrocytes after an injury. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "The Heroes of Science Who Are Unlocking the Brain," 3 Oct. 2018 That doesn’t mean that fifteen years from now doctors will be able to prescribe a course of transcription factors to cure PSP. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "The Heroes of Science Who Are Unlocking the Brain," 3 Oct. 2018 But its promoters—the regulatory DNA that interacts with transcription factors—were much shorter and simpler than in animals, the groups reported on 19 May 2016 in Cell, suggesting less sophisticated regulation. — Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, "The momentous transition to multicellular life may not have been so hard after all," 28 June 2018 Like all transcription factors, STAT3 functions by binding specific bits of DNA to control gene expression. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Scientists use caffeine to control genes—and treat diabetic mice with coffee," 20 June 2018 The most finely tuned of these was a system that used a regulator called EpoR, which becomes active when its dimerizes and triggers a transcription factor, called STAT3. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Scientists use caffeine to control genes—and treat diabetic mice with coffee," 20 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'transcription factor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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