tau

American  

[tou, taw, tahv, tawv] / taʊ, tɔ, tɑv, tɔv /

noun

1. the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet (T,τ ).

2. the consonant sound represented by this letter.

3. tav.

4. Physics. Also tauon tau lepton.

5. Also called tau protein.  Biochemistry. a protein that is an important component of nerve cells, helping to maintain their function and structure: in the brain, distortions in the protein’s molecular shape is associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

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tau British  

/ taʊ, tɔː /

noun

1. the 19th letter in the Greek alphabet (Τ, τ), a consonant, transliterated as t

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Etymology

Origin of tau

1250–1300; Middle English < Latin < Greek taû < Semitic; tav

Example Sentences

These spaces help drain toxic waste products, including beta amyloid and tau proteins, which are found in high levels in people with Alzheimer's disease.

From Science Daily

It’s possible to have Alzheimer’s-related changes in your brain, like amyloid plaques and tau proteins on your brain, without actual symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

From MarketWatch

The team are then exposing the brain slices to toxic proteins called amyloid and tau, which build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

From BBC

One group of mice carried multiple human mutations affecting amyloid processing, while the other carried a human mutation in the tau protein.

From Science Daily

According to the Standard Model, which is the leading framework in particle physics, there are three known types of neutrinos: electron, muon and tau.

From Science Daily