I'm reading a book and I saw there a sentence with the word "fold" but I am not sure about the meaning of this word in the context:
Overall, glia outnumber neurons in the mammalian brain 10-to 50-fold.
Does this "fold" mean like "times"?
asked Mar 26, 2016 at 23:02
-
Not exactly. See this definition of "fold change" on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fold_change.– Robert MunnMar 26, 2016 at 23:07
-
Exactly. Refer to the definition in Learner's Dictionary.– user3395Mar 26, 2016 at 23:40
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
Yes, it does. When something changes from 1 to 100, that's a hundredfold. 300 to 900 is threefold.
Generally, if a number is followed with -fold, it means [number]-times.
Hopes this helps.
No, it is not correct. Saying something is X-fold is saying it is 2^x times. Think "folding paper." How many parts do you have if you fols a piece of paper three times? The answer is 8. Thus 3-fold is 8-times.
I talk with scientists frequently who are writing studies who don't know the difference between the two words, so you find them used interchangeably. I always point it out when I review a study, but given a moment of analysis, I can normally tell what they really mean. Having said that, there is ZERO excuse for allowing this error to continue.
If X is 10, then a "3 times" increase makes the result 30, while a "3 fold" increase makes the result 80. The difference is not trivial. Quality control and editors should know the difference; obviously they do not.
-
Sorry, this is an incorrect interpretation. See any dictionary (Cambridge, Dictionary.com. Oxford, Merriam-Webster). See this english.stackexchange question. Feb 27, 2021 at 14:10
-
Is there any kind of citation for this? I would love to be able to refute my thinking on this. Apr 15 at 4:40