Dr. Overy's KBase: Resources for Teaching and Learning - Glossary

• Watt
  A unit of power .  Rate of working of 1 Joule per second.
• Absolute Zero
  The theoretical lowest possible temperature. It is the theoretical temperature at which entropy reaches its minimum value.
• Acceleration
  The rate at which the velocity of a body changes with time
• Black hole
  A region of space-time where gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping
• Electric Current
  Rate of flow of electric charge .
• Fusion
  A nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei join together to form a single heavier nucleus
• CLEAPPS
  Consortium of Local Education Authorities for the Provision of Science Services
  
  http://science.cleapss.org.uk
• Lichen
  A fungus in symbiotic union with an alga and having a greenish, gray, yellow, brown, or blackish colour
• Habitat loss
  The process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present.
• DNA
  deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.
• Overfishing
  Fishing with a sufficiently high intensity to reduce the breeding stock levels to such an extent that they will no longer suppport a sufficient quantity of fish for sport or commercial harvest
• Endangered
  (of a species) seriously at risk of extinction
• Discrete variables
   Variables that can only take on a finite number of values 
• Antibody
  A blood protein produced in response to and counteracting a specific antigen. Antibodies combine chemically with substances which the body recognizes as alien, such as bacteria, viruses, and foreign substances in the blood
• Virus
  A microorganism that is smaller than a bacterium that cannot grow or reproduce apart from a living cell. A virus invades living cells and uses their chemical machinery to keep itself alive and to replicate itself.
• Viruses
  Infective agents that typically consist of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen by light microscopy, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host.
• Bacteria
  Single-celled microorganisms that can exist either as independent (free-living) organisms or as parasites (dependent on another organism for life). The plural of bacterium.
• Ignaz Semmelweis
  Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician whose work demonstrated that hand-washing could drastically reduce the number of women dying after childbirth. Until the late 1800s surgeons did not scrub up before surgery or even wash their hands between patients, causing infections to be transferred from one patient to another. Through vigorous statistical analysis, Semmelweis figured out where the problem lay and introduced rigorous hand-washing rules in the maternity ward. Deaths were drastically reduced and Semmelweis became known as the ‘saviour of the mothers’.
   
  REF :  http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/ignazsemmelweis.aspx
• Pandemic
  An epidemic of infectious disease that has spread through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide.  (plural : Pandemics)
• Infection
  The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites that are not normally present within the body
• Toxins
  A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms and is capable of causing disease when introduced into the body tissues but is often also capable of inducing neutralizing antibodies or antitoxins
• Disease
  An impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions,
• Antibodies
  Specialized cells of the immune system which can recognize organisms that invade the body (such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi). 
• Infectious Diseases
  Disorders caused by organisms — such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites
• Microbes
  A microorganism, especially a bacterium causing disease or fermentation
• Cell
  The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, typically microscopic and consisting of cytoplasm and a nucleus enclosed in a membrane
• infrared radiation
  Energy in the region of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum at wavelengths longer than those of visible light,but shorter than those of radio waves
• Matt
  dull : without a shine
• Commercial Farms
  Farms set up for the sole purpose of producing crops and farm animals for sale, with the sole intention of making a profit.
• Land Speculators
  People  who buy land with the sole intention of selling it on for a profit.