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Glossary

Selected words and phrases

base – (also called nucleotide) – the building blocks in DNA that form amino acids. There are four bases represented by the letters A (adenine), T (thymine), C (cytosine) and G (guanine). In RNA the T is replaced by U (uricil).

Genetics, HIV structure and life cycle

open label – this means that a patient in a trial knows which treatment they are taking.

macrophage – large white blood cell that engulfs or ‘eats’ infectious organisms and waste material from dead cells.

fungus (fungi) – parasitic organisms that include moulds, mildews, mushrooms and yeast.

cholesterol – kind of lipid (blood fat).