Guest guest Posted June 29, 2000 Report Share Posted June 29, 2000 axenic (ay-ZEN-ik) adjective Not contaminated by or associated with any other living organisms. Usually used in reference to pure cultures of microorganisms that are completely free of the presence of other organisms. [A- not + Greek xenikos foreign + -ic] " Cultures that are free of contamination are easy to initiate and maintain. Axenic cultures, although not essential for successful growth and observations, allow experimentation without the uncontrolled effects on growth and differentiation that may be associated with fungal or bacterial contaminants. " Hickok, Leslie G., et al, Sex and the C-Fern: not just another life cycle, BioScience, Dec 98. This week's theme: red-herring words. .............................................................................. By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong. -Charles Wadsworth Want to add your two cents (or centimes, paise, pence, yen, lire, pesos, piasters) worth to this week's theme or words? Log on at AWADtalk, the online forum for people from some 184 countries around the globe and join in the conversation. The address is http://wordsmith.org/board and admission is free. Pronunciation: http://wordsmith.org/words/axenic.wav http://wordsmith.org/words/axenic.ram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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