diminutive Pronunciation: \də- ˈ mi-nyə-tiv\ Function: noun

1. diminutive Pronunciation: \də-ˈmi-nyə-tiv\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English diminutif, from Medieval Latin diminutivum, alteration of Late Latin deminutivum, from neuter of deminutivus, adjective, from deminutus, past participle of deminuere Date: 14th century small; little; tiny: <diminutive building for a model-train layout>

2. barnacle Pronunciation: \ˈbär-ni-kəl\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English barnakille, alteration of bernake, bernekkeDate: 15th century any of numerous marine crustaceans permanently fixed (as to rocks, boat hulls, or whales) as adults

3. acceleration Pronunciation: \ik-ˌse-lə-ˈrā-shən, (ˌ)ak-\ Function: noun Date: 1531 1: the act or process of accelerating: the state of being accelerated2: the rate of change of velocity with respect to time; broadly : change of velocity Our lady of blessed acceleration, don't fail me now.

4. atrophy Pronunciation: \ˈa-trə-fē\ Function: noun Etymology: Late Latin atrophia, from Greek, from atrophos ill fed, from a- + trephein to nourish Date: 1601 1: decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue; also: arrested development or loss of a part or organ incidental to the normal development or life of an animal or plant 2: a wasting away or progressive decline <was not a solitude of atrophy, of negation, but of perpetual flowering >

5. sin·is·ter Pronunciation: \ˈsi-nəs-tər, archaic sə-ˈnis-\ Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English sinistre, from Anglo-French senestre on the left, from Latin sinistr-, sinister on the left side, unlucky, inauspicious Date: 15th century 1: singularly evil or productive of evil 2: ill fortune or trouble 3: accompanied by or leading to disaster

7. Sinister Bear

8. sanctum Pronunciation: \ˈsaŋ(k)-təm\ Function: noun Inflected Form(s): pluralsanctumsalsosanc·ta\-tə\ Etymology: Late Latin, from Latin, neuter of sanctus sacred Date: 1577 1 : a sacred place 2 : a place where one is free from intrusion <my brothers sanctum>

9. Allele: \ə-ˈlēl\ An alternative form of a gene (one member of a pair) that is located at a specific position on a specific chromosome. homozygous Pronunciation:hō´mōzī´gus Function: adjective Date: 1902 1: Homozygous refers to having identical alleles for a single trait.2: having the two genes that are the same. A homozygous plant would contain the following alleles for seed shape: (RR) or (rr).

10. What does it mean when a person has a homozygous genotype? Heterozygous genotype? • All of our genes are inherited from our parents in pairs. We have a total of 46 chromosomes that come in 23 pairs or homologous chromosomes - one chromosome comes from our mother and one from our father. On these chromosomes lie genes that also come in pairs; one each from our mothers and fathers. Each member of the gene pair is called an allele so each gene has two alleles or two allelic forms. • A person who is homozygous for a mutation has two identical alleles for that gene. Both his/her parents passed along the same form of the gene. • A person who is heterozygous for a mutation has two different alleles for the gene. His/her parents had different forms of the gene that was passed down.

12. heterozygous Pronunciation: [het-er-uh-zahy-guh s] Function: adjective Date: 1902 1: having the two alleles at corresponding loci on homologous chromosomes different for one or more loci – Definition: Having two different alleles for a single trait.

13. Scepter Pronunciation: \ˈsep-tər\Function: noun Etymology: Middle English sceptre, from Anglo-French septre, from Latin sceptrum, from Greek skēptron staff, scepter, from skēptesthai to prop oneself — more at shaftDate: 14th century 1 : a staff or baton borne by a sovereign as an emblem of authority 

14. sobriety Pronunciation: \sə-ˈbrī-ə-tē, sō-\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English sobrete, from Anglo-French sobreté, from Latin sobrietat-, sobrietas, from sobriusDate: 15th century 1: the quality or state of being sober