Glossary

Seismic waves that travel as compressions (similar to how sound travels). They can travel through solid and liquid.

Someone who studies fossils of plants and animals in order to reconstruct past ecosystems.

A scientist who studies past changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.

Someone who studies fossils of plants and animals.

Study of past earthquakes.

Historic ocean current systems.

A branch of science that studies fossils of plants and animals in order to reconstruct past ecosystems.

A transition metal in Group 10 of the periodic table – symbol Pd, atomic number 46. A silvery-white, ductile, malleable metal discovered in 1803, used as a catalyst.

A global outbreak of disease.

A form of magnetism that occurs only in the presence of an externally applied magnetic field. Paramagnetic materials are attracted to magnetic fields, but they do not retain any magnetisation in the absence of an externally applied magnetic field.

Plants or animals which live in or on another plant or animal, drawing nutriments (food requirements) from its host. Parasites usually cause harm to the host.

A close association of two different species where one organism harms its host organism.

The study of the biology of parasites.

A degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills and speech.

A device, such as a cyclotron or linear accelerator, that accelerates charged subatomic particles or nuclei to high energies. Also called an atom smasher.

Fine particles of a liquid or a solid suspended in a gas, for example, the visible soot suspended in smoke.

A disease-causing organism.

An organism that causes disease. Certain types of bacteria are pathogenic to humans – they cause diseases such as food poisoning. Some fungi are pathogenic to plants – they cause diseases such as potato blight.

Marine species that live in the upper layers of the open sea or lake.

A type of antibiotic produced by the fungus Penicillium.

A gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydraulic turbines and sewerage systems.

The organisation of all known elements into groups with similar properties.

A surface that allows fluids and gases to pass through.

At right angles (90 degrees).

A substance or mixture of substances used for preventing, controlling, or lessening the damage caused by an unwanted organism (a pest).

A scientist who studies all aspects of oil discovery and production.

A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution.

A virus that infects bacteria.

A silicon model of a real breast that mimics certain properties that a real breast has. In this case, the phantom is mimicking the stiffness of the breast tissue. The silicon model has a known stiffness, and the team can insert various objects into the phantom that mimic tumours that also have known stiffness values. They can then test their techniques to see if the stiffness images they are producing match up with the known stiffness of the phantom.

The observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism, determined by both genetic makeup and environmental influences.

The tube-like structures in the stems of some plants that transport sugar from the leaves to other parts of the plant, including the roots.

A fire suppression agent developed for aviation applications.

Skin damage caused by ultraviolet rays.

A painful eye condition caused by too much light burning the cornea, for example, from using a welder’s torch or tanning beds without eye protection. Feels like having sand poured into the eyes.

An instrument that measures the brightness (intensity) of light.

A discrete bundle (or quantum) of electromagnetic (or light) energy. Photons are always in motion and, in a vacuum, have a constant speed of light to all observers, at the vacuum speed of light (more commonly just called the speed of light) of c = 2.998 x 10 ⁸ m/s.

A process in green plants and some microorganisms that changes carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates using the energy in sunlight. The process often releases oxygen into the atmosphere as a byproduct.

Layers of semiconductor materials in contact with each other and fitted with metallic contacts to transfer the released electrons to the external load. Most commercial photovoltaic cells are manufactured from crystalline silicon.

A method to convert sunlight directly into electricity by using solar cells packaged in photovoltaic modules.

A division used in the Linnean system of classification or taxonomy.

The engineering and science behind the making of products out of metals.

The biochemical or physical functions of organisms.

Using plants to extract minerals from soil or mine waste.

Very small plant organisms that drift with water currents and like land plants use carbon dioxide, release oxygen and convert minerals to a form animals can use.

Any fine, insoluble, dry, solid particles used to give colour. In biology, the dye-like material produced generally in the superficial parts of animals that gives colour to skin, eyes and hair

In flight, pitch is the movement of the nose (front) of an airplane or spacecraft up or down about a transverse axis.

The point about which a part of the body rotates that is usually a joint.

A substance, usually a pill, having no pharmacological effect (it has no active medicinal ingredients in it). Placebos are sometimes used as a control in testing new medicines, where one person is given the real medicine and another not.

In our Solar System, a planet is defined as an object that orbits the Sun, is big enough for its own gravity to make it ball-shaped and keeps space around it clear of smaller objects.

A group of marine organisms including single-celled and multi-celled organisms.

To be changed into plastic.

Tectonic broad belts in which boundaries are not well defined and the effects of plate interaction are unclear.

A transition metal in Group 10 of the periodic table – symbol Pt, atomic number 78.

Evergreen tree of the Southern Hemisphere of the genus Podocarpus having a pulpy fruit with one hard seed. For example, miro, mataī and tōtara are all podocarp trees.

Also known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). A large group of compounds deriving from crude oil and coal. A common contaminant of soil.

The name given to a family of chemical compounds with a high molecular weight which have a long chain of smaller, identical linked molecules (called monomers). Cellulose is a naturally occurring polymer although there are many man-made polymers such as nylon. Polymers are especially valued by many industries where they are the essential ingredient of plastics, concrete, glass, and rubber. The process by which molecules are linked together to form polymers is called polymerization.

A method that rapidly increases the number of copies of a target DNA sequence enabling it to be visualised. Can be used for detecting small amounts of DNA material.

Containing pores, holes or cavities which may be connected (high porosity) or not well connected (low porosity).

In a positive feedback loop, changes accelerate the overall system while a negative feedback loop results in a slowing down.

A particle with the same mass and size of charge as an electron, but it has a positive charge – a positive electron.

The rate at which work is done (defined as work divided by time taken).

1. A chemical process to separate a solid phase from a liquid medium.
2. In meteorology, this term describes the formation of rain, hail, snow or ice in the atmosphere.

Remaining free from dirt or decay; clean.

An organism that makes its own food from inorganic matter.

A group of organisms whose cells do not contain cell organelles. This group includes bacteria and archae.

Any of a large class of complex compounds that are essential for life. Proteins play a central role in biological processes and form the basis of living tissues. They have distinct and varied three-dimensional structures. Enzymes, antibodies and haemoglobin are examples of proteins.

Simple eukaryotic organisms that include protozoa and algae.

Elementary particle with a single positive electrical charge.

A trial working model or preliminary version of something. Sometimes a prototype might be smaller than the final version of an engineered object, so that the engineers can check if the design works before committing themselves to large-scale commercial production.

Microscopic, single-celled organisms.

The nearest star to the Sun, 4.2 light years from Earth. It is the faintest of three stars that make up the star system called Alpha Centauri.

A person trained and educated to perform psychological research, testing, and therapy.

An international real-time network where pathogen strains are identified and reported.

A technique designed to separate large fragments of DNA by ‘pulsing’ a current of electricity in alternate directions to DNA in a gel matrix.