Scientists Say
A weekly word defined, in a sentence and in context.
- Life
Scientists Say: Endocytosis
Small molecules can go into a cell through receptors or even just dissolve into it. But something big? That requires endocytosis.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Absolute zero
Even when we think it’s cold out, most molecules are moving. Only at absolute zero will all of their motions stop.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Copepod
Copepods are tiny crustaceans. They eat phytoplankton and float in the water column, although some live in freshwater and on the sea floor.
- Life
Scientists Say: Strain
These are organisms that belong to the same species, but have definable differences.
- Ecosystems
Scientists Say: Vector
Vectors are used to transfer things. Sometimes the transferred item is a disease, but scientists can also use vectors to insert helpful genes.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Frequency
The distance between one wave peak and another is wavelength. But how fast those peaks are moving along is frequency.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Yottawatt
On Earth, scientists measure energy use in watts. When you have lot of those watts — one million billion billion — you have a yottawatt.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Wavelength
When something travels as a wave — such as light — scientists can measure it by its wavelength, the distances between the peaks.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Watt
Say Watt? This is a unit used to measure the flow of energy being used.
- Math
Scientists Say: Y-axis
The bars on a graph tell you nothing unless you know what they mean. The lines on the sides can let you know.
- Life
Scientists Say: Yeast
For some people, yeast bring to mind slimy infections. But these little fungal beasts are used to make bread rise, too.
- Math
Scientists Say: X-axis
The bars on a graph tell you nothing unless you know what they mean. The lines on the sides can let you know.
