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Showing results for oncogene. Search instead for c-oncogene.

oncogene

American  
[ong-kuh-jeen] / ˈɒŋ kəˌdʒin /

noun

Genetics.

  1. any gene that is a causative factor in the initiation of cancerous growth.

oncogene British  
/ ˈɒŋkəʊˌdʒiːn /

noun

  1. any of several genes, first identified in viruses but present in all cells, that when abnormally activated can cause cancer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
oncogene Scientific  
/ ŏn′kə-jēn /

  1. A gene that causes normal cells to become cancerous either because the gene is mutated or because the gene is expressed at the wrong time in development.

  2. See Note at cancer

oncogene Cultural  

  1. Genes in animal DNA that cause cancer.

Discover More

Every cell contains genes that, when altered slightly, can become oncogenes.

Etymology

Origin of oncogene

First recorded in 1965–70; onco- + gene

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.