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diacylglycerol:
Lipid produced by the cleavage of inositol phospholipids in response
to extracellular signals. Composed of two fatty acid chains linked
to glycerol, it serves as a signaling molecule to help activate
protein kinase C.
Dictyostelium discoideum:
Cellular slime mold widely used in the study of cell locomotion,
chemotaxis, and differentiation.
differentiation:
Process by which a cell undergoes a change to an overtly specialized
cell type.
diffraction pattern:
Pattern set up by wave interference between radiation transmitted
or scattered by different parts of an object.
diffusion:
Net drift of molecules in the direction of lower concentration
due to random thermal movement.
diploid:
Containing two sets of homologous chromosomes and hence two copies
of each gene or genetic locus.
disaccharide:
Carbohydrate molecule consisting of two covalently joined monosaccharide
units.
Disassembler:
Nanomachine able to take apart structures a few atoms at a time,
recording structural information at each step.
dissociation constant (Kd):
Measure of the tendency of a complex to dissociate. For the binding
equilibrium A + B 
AB, the dissociation constant is given by [A] [B] / [AB], and
it is smaller the tighter the binding between A and B. (See also
association constant.)
disulfide bond ( - S - S - ):
Covalent linkage formed between two sulfhydryl groups on cysteines.
Common way to join two proteins or to link together different
parts of the same protein in the extracellular space.
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