Scientists Say
A weekly word defined, in a sentence and in context. Click here to find the alphabetized list.
- Fossils
Scientists Say: Paleontology
This is the study of prehistoric life based on fossils of microbes, plants, and animals found in rock.
- Life
Scientists Say: RNA
This is a molecule that helps cells make proteins from the instructions encoded in DNA.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Periodic table
The periodic table is a chart showing all the known chemical elements. An element’s location in the table reveals a lot about its chemistry.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Lymph
Lymph is a colorless fluid that bathes the body’s tissues and mops up bacteria, viruses and wastes.
- Materials Science
Scientists Say: Crystal
The atoms or molecules in crystals take on a particular, repeatable pattern.
- Archaeology
Scientists Say: Mummy
Mummies are dead bodies that don’t rot. They can form under natural conditions or because of chemicals that stop decay.
- Life
Scientists Say: Zooxanthellae
Algae called zooxanthellae live in the tissue of coral and provide the coral with food and its color.
- Space
Scientists Say: Galaxy
A galaxy is a group of millions to billions of stars, plus a lot of dust and gas.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Extinction
When the last member of a species dies, it’s gone forever. That species is extinct.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: pH
pH is a scale used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The scale ranges from zero to 14, with seven as the perfect neutral middle.
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Scientists Say: Mineral
Minerals are chemical elements or compounds that form repeating crystal structures. Quartz is a mineral. Table salt is, too.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Olfactory
Smell something? Thank your olfactory sense. Olfactory refers to anything having to do with smell.
