This question was closed without grading. Reason: No acceptable answer
Sep 10, 2014 18:23
9 yrs ago
English term
Germany
proteins
Non-PRO
English to German
Medical
Medical (general)
Lay term
This is actually more about general language use than specific translation:
In the last couple of weeks, I have repeatedly come across the term "proteins" in documents intended for a lay audience, where "proteins" obviously did not refer to proteins in any scientifically accurate sense.
An example: "to investigate how treatment will affect proteins inside of your body that give instructions for cells to develop, also known as DNA."
Could anybody enlighten me, please, on possible (non-scientific) uses of the word "proteins". Is "proteins" sometimes used in a more general sense ("some sticky stuff inside the body"), or is this simply an inappropriate use of the term? I am wondering, because I encountered three occurrences now in different documents from different authors.
Thank you!
In the last couple of weeks, I have repeatedly come across the term "proteins" in documents intended for a lay audience, where "proteins" obviously did not refer to proteins in any scientifically accurate sense.
An example: "to investigate how treatment will affect proteins inside of your body that give instructions for cells to develop, also known as DNA."
Could anybody enlighten me, please, on possible (non-scientific) uses of the word "proteins". Is "proteins" sometimes used in a more general sense ("some sticky stuff inside the body"), or is this simply an inappropriate use of the term? I am wondering, because I encountered three occurrences now in different documents from different authors.
Thank you!
Reference comments
20 mins
Reference:
your sentence is very poorly expressed and misleading/wrong
https://www.my46.org/intro/what-does-dna-do-in-my-body
What does DNA do in my body?
Genes are made up of DNA. Genes give your body instructions—much like a blueprint or a recipe—for everything it needs to do to grow, develop, and live. One example is that genes give your body instructions for making proteins.
But you know this don't you!?
What does DNA do in my body?
Genes are made up of DNA. Genes give your body instructions—much like a blueprint or a recipe—for everything it needs to do to grow, develop, and live. One example is that genes give your body instructions for making proteins.
But you know this don't you!?
Note from asker:
| Thanks liz, yes, I do know this :-) The question was rather: Can "proteins" in lay language be used in the general sense of biomolecules - but I take it from all the comments that it cannot (despite the fact that I have encountered this from three different authors now). Would you like to post an answer to that effect, so that I can eventually grade the question? |
Discussion
A) I agree with you - could be just some colloquial term. That's why I went looking for "inside of your body" to get some clues as to what's going on.
B) If it's not some layman expression, then I suspect it's probably some mix-up in the sentence (just posted an addition to my discussion entry).
As you said, I don't think it helps Anne any if you explain to her what she already knows. Item B) here was simply to point out that there may be some problem with the sentence, that's all.
(sorry for switching back to English - my headache is getting worse and I feel more comfortable writing in English right now...)
"to investigate how treatment will affect proteins inside of your body that give instructions for cells to develop, also known as DNA."
und meinen Links (die ich beide sprachlich für weniger als vollkommen halte) frage ich mich lediglich, ob bei den Autoren, die sie gelesen hat, hier jemand etwas mit der Satzteilstellung (das "that" ist als Relativpronomen auch an keiner schönen Stelle) durcheinandergeworfen hat.
Siehe dort:
"Inside of your body are a numerous amount of genes, which each code for an enormous amount of proteins"
"Pieces of RNA are used to construct proteins inside of your body so that new cell growth may take place. "
Anne, have a look here:
"Inside of your body are a numerous amount of genes, which each code for an enormous amount of proteins, each classified on one of four structural levels: primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary. The primary structure of proteins refers to the sequence of amino acids that make up a protein chain. Below are a few examples of the primary structure proteins inside of your body."
http://biology.answers.com/microbiology/examples-of-proteins...
"RNA is the acronym for ribonucleic acid. RNA is a vital molecule found in your cells, and it is necessary for life. Pieces of RNA are used to construct proteins inside of your body so that new cell growth may take place. When we try to visualize RNA, the best way to do so is to picture a long, spiraling ladder. If it remained in one piece, the long, spiraling ladder would be referred to as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)."
http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/what-is-rna-lesso...
Anne, is this what you were asking about?
Und die ganze Maschinerie wird von Proteinen reguliert.
Vielleicht kannst Du einfach die wörtliche Übersetzung ("Eiweiße/Proteine") verwenden, auch wenn dies in der Sache offensichtlich inkorrekt ist. Eine inkorrekte Verwendung im Originaltext lässt halt manchmal keine korrekte Übersetzung zu ("Unfug bleibt Unfug", egal in welcher Sprache...).
See, for simple explanations:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_pr...
A more general term (maybe easier to grasp for lay people) would be biomolecules (which would include proteins, DNA and RNA). Some people use enzyme for protein, but not all proteins are enzymes (and technically not all enzymes are proteins, some RNAs have enzymatic activity as well).