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Glossary

Anti-coagulant: a substance that prevents the clotting of blood.

Anti-oxidant: a chemical compound that prevents oxidation (most commonly rusting).

Anti-viral: inhibiting or destroying the growth and/or spread of viruses.

Beta Cells: The part of the islet that produces the insulin.

Bitumen: The petroleum that exists in solid or semi-solid phase in natural deposits.

Carbohydrate: Any form of organic compound including sugars, starches, celluloses and gums that serves as the primary energy source for an animal’s diet.

Catheter: A hollow, flexible tube inserted into a body cavity or duct to allow for the passage of fluids.

Centrifugation: The process of using a centrifuge to separate joined particles suspended in a liquid.

Circumnavigate: To avoid by going around.

Claims: The part of a patent record that defines the boundaries of patent protection.

Commercialization: The selling of a product or process for financial gain.

Copyright: The legal right granted to exclusively publish, distribute, sell and produce an artistic work, granted to an author, playwright, composer or publisher.

Disclosure: An inventor’s full description of his invention given to the Canadian government for public use in exchange for exclusive rights to the invention.

Dry Belt Farming: Farming in an area that does not receive much rain. Southern Alberta, near Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, would be considered as a dry belt farming area.

Edmonton Cocktail: A unique combination of immunosuppression drugs free of steroids, which encourage acceptance of the donated islet cells but without increasing sugar levels.

Enzymes: Biochemical catalysts produced by living organisms.

Genomics: The study of the various components of genes.

Gestational Diabetes: Diabetes that occurs while a child is still forming in the uterus.

Great Depression: An economic crisis that began with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 and continued through the 1930s until the Second World War.

Immunology: The study of the function and structure of the immune system.

Immunosuppression: Suppression of the immune system by drugs or radiation to prevent the rejection of grafts or transplants.

Immunosuppression Drugs: Drugs that suppress the body’s natural urge to recognize and destroy foreign substances that enter the body. A person receiving a transplant is given these drugs to stop the body from rejecting the new organ or tissue.

Innovation: To introduce something new.

Innovation Strategy: The Canadian Government’s plan, implemented in 2002, designed to emphasize innovation through research and development in Canada.

In-situ: In its original place; in position; in-situ recovery refers to various methods used to recover deeply buried bitumen deposits, including steam injection, solvent injection and firefloods.

Insulin: An enzyme that controls sugar levels in the blood by converting sugar, starches and other food into energy.

Intellectual Property: A product of the intellect that has commercial value, including patented, trademarked or copyrighted work.

Interface: A boundary on which two different systems meet or act on. A connection or interaction by means of an interface, e.g. keyboard or mouse.

Invention: A new device, method, or process that has resulted from study and/or experimentation.

Invertebrate Paleontology: The study of the fossils of spineless organisms.

Islet Cells (Islets/Islands of Langerhans): The clumps of cells in the pancreas that house the beta cells responsible for insulin production.

Islet Separation Process: The Edmonton Protocol uses a unique enzyme solution to breakdown the donated pancreas in order to isolate the islets. The pancreas is then cut into small pieces and placed into a machine designed to further separate the islets from the pancreas. This is done by tumbling the pancreas pieces with sterile marbles. The marbles bump into the pancreas and detach the islets. The islets are then washed, inspected and counted.

Knowledge-Based Economy: Having the country’s economy based on high-tech and advanced industries, such as telecommunications or microprocessors.

Language: A vocabulary and set of grammatical rules to instruct a computer to perform specific tasks.

Liposomes: Cells capable of carrying drugs through the blood to reach disease tissues, such as tumours.

Metallurgy: The science of extracting ores, purifying metals or alloys and creating useful objects from metals. This also can refer to the study of metals and their properties at the atomic level.

Monogastric: Only having one stomach.

Multidisciplinary: Relating to or involving several disciplines, such as university, industry, and government.

Muskeg: A swamp or bog formed by the accumulation of moss, leaves and decayed matter such as peat.

Nanotechnology: The science and technology of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules.

Neutraceutical: A food or naturally occurring food supplement that has a beneficial effect on health.

Non-petrochemical Mining: Mining of substances that are not petroleum or natural gas, such as gold mining.

Oleosins: A component of oil seeds that provides structure and limits coalescence within the seed during compression.

Patent Agent: A federally accredited representative of the Canadian Patent Office that helps inventors file and defend their patents.

Patents: An exclusive right granted by the government to an inventor for exclusivity to their invention.

Petroleum Engineering: Engineering that involves the extraction, purification, production and utilization of petroleum and natural gas.

Phosphorus: A highly reactive, poisonous, nonmetallic element that occurs naturally in phosphoric acids.

Phytases: The enzymes necessary to digest the most prevalent form of phosphorous found in grain.

Platform: The underlying hardware or software for a system.

Plowless Summer Fallowing: Allowing a plot of land to grow naturally for one season, which restores the nutrients to the soil.

Proteomics: The scientific study of proteins and enzymes.

Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs.

Reo-virus/Respiratory Enteric Orphan Virus: A naturally occurring virus believed to cause mild infections of the upper respiratory and gastro-intestinal tract in humans.

Research and Development: Any endeavor whose aim is to gain knowledge.

Ruminants: Any variety of hoofed, even footed, and usually horned mammals that characteristically have their stomachs divided into four sections, including cows, sheep, giraffes, goats and deer.

Silica: A white or colourless crystalline compound which makes up the structure of a fossil.

Sleep Apnea: A temporary inability to breathe during sleep that often affects overweight people or those with an unusually small throat opening.

Stem Cells: The unspecialized cells of the body. Like a mass of plasticine which can be moulded into unlimited number of shapes. Scientists can encourage stem cell to become the specific cell they require, such as insulin-producing beta cells. There are primarily two types of stem cells: adult and embryonic. Adult stem cells, like the kind found in blood marrow and produce new blood cells, are there to repair and produce the kind of cells around which they are found. Embryonic stem cells come from the fertilized egg, the embryo. The embryonic stem cell has the potential to become a number of possible specialized cells.

Stevioside: A plant extract derived from Stevia rebaudiana, native to many South American countries, used in treating diabetes.

Streptomycin: an antibiotic used to treat tuberculosis and other bacterial infections.

Strip Farming: Arranging the crops grown in fields into "strip" patterns to prevent wind erosion and loss of top soil.

Sustainable Development: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future.

Tar Sands: a deposit of sand saturated with bitumen.

T-Cells: Part of the immune system, these cells attack antibodies, foreign substances, in the body. In the bodies of Type 1 Diabetes sufferers they also attack the islets of the pancreas responsible for insulin production.

Trade Secret: A secret method, formula or device that remains unpatented in order to keep it a secret.

Trademark: A protected name or symbol identifying a company or product, officially licensed to the owner and manufacturer.

Type 1 Diabetes: Also called Juvenile Diabetes. Onset usually occurs in childhood or adolescence. The islet cells of the pancreas come under attack from the bodies T-Cells. This renders the body incapable of producing insulin. Sufferers must inject insulin to control sugar levels.

Type 2 Diabetes: Also called Adult Diabetes. The islets continue to produce insulin, but the body does not recognize them properly or the insulin produced is faulty. This form of the disease is often related to choices of diet and lifestyle and can be controlled by diet.

Virology: The study of viruses and viral diseases.

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