Ames test
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Ames test
n.
A test used to determine the mutagenic potential of a substance, in which salmonella bacteria that are unable to synthesize histidine are introduced into the substance, and the substance is deemed mutagenic and carcinogenic if the bacteria regain the ability to synthesize histidine.
[After Bruce Ames (born 1928), American biochemist.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Ames test
(eɪmz)n
(Biochemistry) a method of preliminary screening for carcinogens, based on their ability to cause mutations in bacteria
[named after Bruce Ames (born 1928), US biochemist who invented the test]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Ames′ test`
(eɪmz)n.
a test that exposes a strain of bacteria to a chemical compound in order to determine the potential of the compound for causing cancer.
[1975–80; after Bruce N. Ames (born 1928), U.S. biochemist, who developed the test]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.