Scientists Say

A weekly word defined, in a sentence and in context.

  1. Environment

    Scientists Say: Carbon capture

    Carbon capture technology tackles climate change by stomping out carbon dioxide at the source.

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  2. Brain

    Scientists Say: Confirmation Bias

    Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out and believe information that agrees with what we already think.

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  3. Science & Society

    Scientists Say: Model

    Models are representations of real-life systems or processes that we use to ask questions, make predictions and test our knowledge.

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  4. Space

    Scientists Say: Solar Cycle

    This roughly 11-year cycle in the sun’s activity can affect space weather that messes with Earthly technology.

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  5. Plants

    Scientists Say: Marcescence

    Autumn turns to winter, yet some trees' dead leaves keep hanging on.

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  6. Materials Science

    Scientists Say: 2-D Material

    Two-dimensional materials such as graphene could improve electronics, carbon capture and more.

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  7. Life

    Scientists Say: Protist

    Unified by a few key traits, these diverse organisms come in all shapes and sizes.

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  8. Physics

    Scientists Say: Polarized light

    Sunlight, lamplight and other lights are usually unpolarized. But passing light waves through filters can ‘polarize’ them.

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  9. Life

    Scientists Say: Ichnology

    This field of science looks to understand life — past and present — by studying how organisms altered their surroundings.

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  10. Physics

    Scientists Say: Coriolis Effect

    Because Earth spins, airborne objects traveling far and fast — such as airplanes — experience deflections in their motion.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: Calorie

    These little units help us measure energy transfer in chemistry, nutrition and beyond.

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  12. Physics

    Scientists Say: Muon

    Tracking muons raining down on Earth can reveal new details of pyramids, volcanoes and thunderstorms.

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