opsin

[ op-sin ]

nounBiochemistry.

any of several compounds that form the protein component of the light-sensitive retina pigment, rhodopsin.

Origin of opsin

First recorded in 1950–55; probably back formation from rhodopsin

Words Nearby opsin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use opsin in a sentence

To confirm that, Liu’s team shut off the opsin genes and TRPL in infected caterpillars.
Infected caterpillars become zombies that climb to their deaths | Jake Buehler | April 22, 2022 | Science News For Students
Detected mostly in the eyes, two genes for opsins, the light-sensitive proteins that are fundamental for vision, were more active after an infection with the virus, and so was another gene associated with vision called TRPL.
How a virus turns caterpillars into zombies doomed to climb to their deaths | Jake Buehler | March 28, 2022 | Science News
Using viruses, scientists can add a gene for opsins, a special family of proteins from algae, into living neurons.
Scientists Found a New Way to Control the Brain With Light—No Surgery Required | Shelly Fan | October 13, 2020 | Singularity Hub

British Dictionary definitions for opsin

opsin

/ (ˈɒpsɪn) /

noun

the protein that together with retinene makes up the purple visual pigment rhodopsin

Origin of opsin

C20: back formation from rhodopsin

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

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