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differentiations' - 2 dictionary results
dif·fer·en·ti·a·tion     (dĭf'ə-rěn'shē-ā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
    1. The act or process of differentiating.
    2. The state of becoming differentiated.
  2. Mathematics The process of computing a derivative.
  3. Biology The process by which cells or tissues undergo a change toward a more specialized form or function, especially during embryonic development.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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differentiation   (dĭf'ə-rěn'shē-ā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. In calculus, the process of computing the derivative of a function. Compare integration.
  2. The process by which cells or parts of an organism change during development to serve a specific function. The cells of an animal in its early embryonic phase, for example, are identical at first but develop by differentiation into specific tissues, such as bone, heart muscle, and skin. The factors determining the differentiation of any particular cell are not well understood, but in deuterostomes (vertebrates and other complex animals) they include the location of the cell relative to other cells.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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