Scientists Say
A weekly word defined, in a sentence and in context. Click here to find the alphabetized list.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Synesthesia
This is a trait in which one kind of sensory input, such as sound, can trigger another sense, such as sight.
- Plants
Scientists Say: Superbloom
These massive wildflower blooms create colorful carpets over desert landscapes during unusually rainy years.
- Materials Science
Scientists Say: Metal-Organic Framework
Special pockets in these molecular structures make them useful in medicine, climate science and more.
- Life
Scientists Say: Spore
Patience is a virtue of these crafty, resilient little reproductive cells. Some bacterial spores have grown after lying dormant for a millennium.
- Life
Scientists Say: Biophoton
All living things glow with this mysterious light. But scientists need ultra-sensitive tools to detect it.
- Computing
Scientists Say: Boolean
Computers handle complex problems through a series of very simple answers, such yes or no, on or off — and most often, one or zero.
- Space
Scientists Say: Observable universe
No light will ever reach Earth from beyond this distant horizon of space.
- Life
Scientists Say: Clone
This adaptable tech can help with everything from engineering medical microbes to preserving endangered species.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Entropy
To understand the universe, we must look to entropy — the chaos engine of the cosmos.
- Tech
Scientists Say: Technofossil
Experts predict that the durability of modern, human-made materials will give rise to a radical new form of fossil.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Discharge
In physics, this release of energy can rebalance electrical charges. In biology, such a release might cool you down on a hot day.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Cave Popcorn
This type of cave formation can occur as glossy, soaplike bubbles or as a bristly, cauliflower-like clusters.
