adaptation: (in biology) The development of new programs, processes, policies and structures to make communities and their inhabitants better able to head off — or at least withstand — the dangerous impacts of a warming climate. Those impacts may include drought, flooding, wildfires, extreme heat and extreme storms.
archaea: (singular: archaeon) One of the three domains of life on Earth. This group consists of single-celled prokaryotes — organisms without a cell nucleus. Archaea are best known for living in extremely harsh environments, such as very salty water or highly acidic or hot places.
beetle: An order of insects known as Coleoptera, containing at least 350,000 different species. Adults tend to have hard and/or horn-like “forewings” which covers the wings used for flight.
bug: The slang term for an insect. Sometimes it’s even used to refer to a germ.
carbon: A chemical element that is the physical basis of all life on Earth. Carbon exists freely as graphite and diamond. It is an important part of coal, limestone and petroleum, and is capable of self-bonding, chemically, to form an enormous number of chemically, biologically and commercially important molecules.
carbon monoxide: A toxic gas whose molecules include one carbon atom and one oxygen atom. (The “mono” in “monoxide” is a prefix from Greek that means “one”.) One common source: fossil-fuel burning.
cell: (in biology) The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the unaided eye, it consists of a watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made of anywhere from thousands to trillions of cells. Most organisms, such as yeasts, molds, bacteria and some algae, are composed of only one cell.
chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemical also can be an adjective to describe properties of materials that are the result of various reactions between different compounds.
chemical engineer: A researcher who uses chemistry to solve problems related to the production of food, fuel, medicines and many other products.
chemical reaction: A process that involves the rearrangement of the molecules or structure of a substance, as opposed to a change in physical form (as from a solid to a gas).
colleague: Someone who works with another; a co-worker or team member.
combustion: (adj. combustible ) The process of burning.
development: (in biology) The growth of an organism from conception through adulthood, often undergoing changes in chemistry, size and sometimes even shape.
ecological: An adjective that refers to a branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings. A scientist who works in this field is called an ecologist.
engineer: A person who uses science and math to solve problems. As a verb, to engineer means to design a device, material or process that will solve some problem or unmet need.
entomologist: A biologist who specializes in the study of insects. A paleoentomologist studies ancient insects, mainly through their fossils.
entomology: The scientific study of insects. One who does this is an entomologist. A paleoentomologist studies ancient insects, mainly through their fossils.
fire: The burning of some fuel, creating a flame that releases light and heat.
insect: A type of arthropod that as an adult will have six segmented legs and three body parts: a head, thorax and abdomen. There are hundreds of thousands of insects, which include bees, beetles, flies and moths.
journal: (in science) A publication in which scientists share their research findings with experts (and sometimes even the public). Some journals publish papers from all fields of science, technology, engineering and math, while others are specific to a single subject. Peer-reviewed journals are the gold standard: They send all submitted articles to outside experts to be read and critiqued. The goal, here, is to prevent the publication of mistakes, fraud or work that is not novel or convincingly demonstrated.
microbiologist: Scientists who study microorganisms, the infections they might cause or ways that they can interact with their environment.
molecule: An electrically neutral group of atoms that represents the smallest possible amount of a chemical compound. Molecules can be made of single types of atoms or of different types. For example, the oxygen in the air is made of two oxygen atoms (O2), but water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H2O).
moss: A small, flowerless green plant that lacks true roots. It tends to grow as carpets or rounded cushions in damp habitats. It can reproduce asexually, through fragmentation, or by means of spores released from stalked capsules.
protein: A compound made from one or more long chains of amino acids. Proteins are an essential part of all living organisms. They form the basis of living cells, muscle and tissues; they also do the work inside of cells. Antibodies, hemoglobin and enzymes are all examples of proteins. Medicines frequently work by latching onto proteins.
species: A group of similar organisms capable of producing offspring that can survive and reproduce.
subtle: Adjective for something that may be important, but can be hard to see or describe. For instance, the first cellular changes that signal the start of a cancer may be only subtly different — as in small and hard to distinguish from nearby healthy tissues.
suspended animation: A temporary shutdown of most or all living functions without causing death. Examples can include a stored seed, hibernating animal or permafrost-trapped rotifer.
tardigrade: An eight-legged creature not much larger than the period at the end of a sentence. Tardigrades live in many places, including ponds, the sea floor and parts of Antarctica where rock sticks above the ice.
vacuum: Space with little or no matter in it. Laboratories or manufacturing plants may use vacuum equipment to pump out air, creating an area known as a vacuum chamber.
vent: (n.) An opening through which gases or liquids can escape. (v.) To free gases or liquids that had been under pressure. The term can also be used to release strong, pent-up emotions, such as anger.
weevil: Small beetles that belong to the Curculionidae family. There may be at least 60,000 different species. They tend to have a snout-like head part that allows them to penetrate seeds, nuts and plant stems.