Technology glossary

Ballistic Heat Transport

Heat transport in which energy carriers travel over significant distances with little scattering.

Baryonic Matter

Ordinary matter made primarily of protons and neutrons, including stars, gas, planets, and people.

Betavoltaic Battery

A device that converts energy from beta radiation directly into electricity over long periods.

Bio-Based Manufacturing

Biocatalysis

The use of enzymes or cells to accelerate chemical reactions.

Bioelectrical Signal

Biofilm

A structured community of microorganisms attached to a surface and embedded in a self-produced matrix.

Bioisostere

A chemical group that can replace another while preserving similar biological effects and altering useful properties.

Biorefinery

Black Hole Merger

The process in which two black holes spiral together and combine into one larger black hole.

Brain-Computer Interface

Browser Agent

An AI agent that can interpret webpages and perform actions in a browser on behalf of a user.

Carbon-Composite Structure

Carbonaceous Chondrite

Carbonized Manuscript

Carcinogen

A substance or exposure capable of increasing the risk of cancer by damaging cells or altering biological processes.

Catastrophic Forgetting

Cellular Agriculture

The production of biological materials using cultured cells rather than raising or harvesting whole organisms.

Circumgalactic Medium

Diffuse gas extending around a galaxy beyond its visible stellar disk.

Civil Penalty Proceedings

A court process in which a regulator or other authorized party asks a court to impose a financial or other civil sanction for an alleged breach of law. It is not a criminal prosecution, and filing the case does not prove the allegation.

Climate Adaptation

Adjustments that reduce harm or use opportunities arising from actual or expected climate effects.

Clinical Complete Response

Clonal Evolution

The process by which groups of cells with different mutations compete and change over time.

Closed-Loop Stimulation

A system that measures a biological signal and automatically adjusts stimulation in response.

Coastal Exposure Mapping

Mapping places and assets that may be exposed to flooding, erosion or sea-level rise.

Coding Agent

An AI system that can inspect code, make changes, run tools, and complete software-development tasks with limited human direction.

Collagen

A structural protein that provides strength and organization to skin, bone, tendons, and many other tissues.

Competitive Integrity

Connected Ball

A sports ball fitted with embedded sensors that transmit motion data for officiating, performance analysis, or broadcast systems.

Content Moderation

The policies, people and technical systems an online service uses to review, restrict, label or remove user-generated material that violates its rules or applicable law.