GLOSSARY :: S ::
Scanning Tunneling Microscope: A high-resolution imaging instrument that can detect and measure the positions of individual atoms on the surface of a material. A very fine conductive probe is placed at a distance of 10 to 20 A above the surface of a conductive sample, and a bias voltage is applied between probe and surface during scanning, creating overlapping electron clouds and electrons that tunnel between the potential barrier between the probe and the sample. The probe tip is maintained at a constant distance from the sample by a piezoelectric transducer, yielding a three-dimensional topographical image. See Nanolithography.
Science: The process of developing a systematized knowledge of the world through the variation and testing of hypotheses. See Engineering.
Sealed Assembler Laboratory: A work space, containing assemblers, encapsulated in a way that allows information to flow in and out but does not allow the escape of assemblers or their products. See Assembler.
Selection: 1. The process by which certain organisms are reproduced and perpetuated in the species in preference to others. Natural s. - the differential survival and reproduction of organisms with genetic characteristics that enable them to better use environmental resources. Artificial s. - the selective breeding by humans towards a desired trait in a plant, animal, or other organism which is of value (usually economic) to the humans. 2. Genetic breeding methods start by selecting particular desirable phenotypes as parents for the next generation.
Semi-Living Organism: A class of object/being that is a combination of living tissue and non-living components kept alive using artificial means of tissue engineering, which facilitates the growth and maintenance of different organs and tissues in vitro. See Tissue Engineering, Tissue Culture and Art.
Semi-Living Sculpture: An art work that is a living tissue (i.e., a system of cells having similar origin, structure and function) grown out of an organism within the special environment. See Tissue Engineering.
Sequencing: Determination of the order of nucleotides (base sequences) in a DNA or RNA molecule or the order of amino acids in a protein. See Nucleotide, DNA, RNA, Protein.
Software: The instructions executed by a computer, as opposed to the physical device on which they run (the "hardware").
Species: A group of organisms belong to the same biological species if they are capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring.
Static Form of Chimera Design: The purposeful creation of chimerical artifacts having heritable constant aesthetic characteristics. See Chimera Design, Chimera Art.
Stem Sells: An undifferentiated cell in an embryo or adult which can undergo unlimited division and give rise to one or several different cell types. In adults, an undifferentiated cell from which some renewable tissues (blood, skin, etc.) are formed. See Totipotency.
Strain: The culture of microorganisms of common species with identical morphological and biological characteristics. See Species.