Homology may refer to:

Sciences

Biology

Homology (biology) In biology, homology is similarity due to shared ancestry between a pair of structures or genes in different taxa. A common example of homologous structures is the forelimbs of vertebrates, where the wings of bats and birds, the arms of pri ...

, any characteristic of biological organisms that is derived from a common ancestor *

Sequence homology Sequence homology is the biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences, defined in terms of shared ancestry in the evolutionary history of life. Two segments of DNA can have shared ancestry because of three phenomena: either a spe ...

, biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences * Homologous chromosomes, chromosomes in a biological cell that pair up (synapse) during meiosis *

Homologous recombination Homologous recombination is a type of genetic recombination in which genetic information is exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of double-stranded or single-stranded nucleic acids (usually DNA as in cellular organisms but may ...

, genetic recombination in which nucleotide sequences are exchanged between molecules of DNA *

Homologous desensitization Homologous desensitization occurs when a receptor decreases its response to an agonist at high concentration. It is a process through which, after prolonged agonist exposure, the receptor is uncoupled from its signaling cascade and thus the cellul ...

, a receptor decreases its response to a signalling molecule when that agonist is in high concentration * Homology modeling, a method of protein structure prediction

Chemistry

* Homology (chemistry), the relationship between compounds in a homologous series *

Homologous series In organic chemistry, a homologous series is a sequence of compounds with the same functional group and similar chemical properties in which the members of the series can be branched or unbranched, or differ by molecular formula of and molecu ...

, a series of organic compounds having different quantities of a repeated unit * Homologous temperature, the temperature of a material as a fraction of its absolute melting point * Homologation reaction, a chemical reaction which produces the next logical member of a homologous series

Other sciences

Homology (anthropology) In sociocultural anthropology and archaeology, homology is a type of analogy whereby two human beliefs, practices, or artifacts are separated by time and/or place but share similarities due to some underlying factor, whether genetics, historical ...

, analogy between human beliefs, practices or artifacts owing to genetic or historical connections * Homology (psychology), behavioral characteristics that have common origins in either evolution or development ** Homologous behaviors, behaviors typical of species that share a common ancestor that was characterized by that behavior OR behaviors in an individual that share common origins in development * Homology (sociology), a structural resonance between the different elements making up a socio-cultural whole

Mathematics

Homology (mathematics) In mathematics, homology is a general way of associating a sequence of algebraic objects, such as abelian groups or modules, with other mathematical objects such as topological spaces. Homology groups were originally defined in algebraic topolog ...

, a procedure to associate a sequence of abelian groups or modules with a given mathematical object *

Homological algebra Homological algebra is the branch of mathematics that studies homology (mathematics), homology in a general algebraic setting. It is a relatively young discipline, whose origins can be traced to investigations in combinatorial topology (a precurs ...

, a branch of mathematics

Other uses

Homologation Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work fr ...

, from the ancient Greek "to agree", to indicate the approval of a sanctioning body * Homologation (motorsport), the process in motorsports where the sanctioning body approves a racing model for official use *

Homological word An autological word (also called homological word) is a word that expresses a property that it also possesses (e.g., "word" is a word, "noun" is a noun, "English" is an English word, " pentasyllabic" has five syllables, and "writable" is writab ...