Terciäärne

Terciäärne is a term used in various contexts, most commonly in economics and biology. In economics, it refers to the tertiary sector of the economy, which encompasses services rather than the production of goods. This sector includes industries such as retail, transportation, distribution, hospitality, tourism, finance, healthcare, and education. The tertiary sector is often considered the most developed sector in advanced economies, as it typically requires a more skilled workforce and generates higher value-added compared to the primary (agriculture, mining) and secondary (manufacturing) sectors. Growth in the tertiary sector is often associated with rising incomes and increased demand for consumer services.

In biology, the term terciäärne can refer to tertiary structures of proteins. Protein tertiary structure describes the overall three-dimensional shape of a single polypeptide chain. This complex folding is determined by various interactions between amino acid side chains, including hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, hydrophobic interactions, and disulfide bridges. The specific tertiary structure is crucial for a protein's function, as it dictates which molecules the protein can bind to and how it interacts with its environment. Misfolded proteins with incorrect tertiary structures can lead to various diseases. The term can also appear in other biological classifications, such as tertiary consumers in food webs, which are animals that feed on secondary consumers.