Technology glossary

Biofilm

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

Biogenic Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide released through biological processes or the use of recently living biomass, rather than from ancient fossil carbon.

Biohybrid Robot

A robotic system that combines living biological components with engineered electronics, sensors, control or mechanical parts.

Bioisostere

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

Biological Age

An estimate of how closely a person's cells, organs, or molecular measurements resemble typical patterns at a given chronological age. It is a research construct derived from biomarkers and models, not a single universally accepted measurement or a prediction of an individual's remaining lifespan.

Biorefinery

A facility that converts biomass into fuels, energy, chemicals, and materials through integrated biological, chemical, or thermal processes. Like a petroleum refinery, it aims to obtain multiple useful products from a feedstock, but uses renewable biological resources.

Bipedal Locomotion

Movement using two legs for support and propulsion. In robotics, it requires continuous control of foot placement, joint forces and body momentum while alternating between single-foot support and phases when neither foot may touch the ground.

Black Hole Merger

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

Blood Eosinophil Count

A measurement of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, in a blood sample. In airway disease it can act as a biomarker of one inflammatory pattern and may help predict response to some biologic medicines.

Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE)

A power-efficient form of Bluetooth designed for short, intermittent data exchanges by sensors, tags and other connected devices.

Blunt Force Trauma

Injury caused by impact from a non-sharp object, often producing fractures, crushing or deformation rather than a clean cut.

Boltzmann Limit

The room-temperature lower bound near 60 millivolts per decade on the subthreshold swing of a conventional thermionic MOS transistor. Devices using other switching mechanisms may operate below this boundary.

Botnet

A group of compromised computers, routers, or other connected devices controlled together through malicious software to send traffic, spread malware, perform attacks, or relay other activity.

Brain-Computer Interface(BCI)

A system that measures brain activity and translates it into commands for a computer or external device, or delivers information back to the nervous system. BCIs may be noninvasive or implanted and are studied for communication, movement assistance, rehabilitation, and research.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)

A protein best known for supporting nerve cell growth in the brain, which some tumors hijack as a chemical signal to attract nerves into the tumor.

Breakdown Voltage

The voltage at which an insulating region or semiconductor device can no longer block current safely and begins conducting uncontrollably or suffering damage.

Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies(bNAbs)

Antibodies able to block many different strains of a virus rather than just one, by targeting parts of the virus that vary little between strains.

Browser Agent

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

Browser-in-the-Browser Attack(BitB)

A deception technique that renders a fake browser window inside a web page. Its address bar and sign-in interface can imitate a trusted service even though the surrounding page is controlled by an attacker.

Camera-Only Autonomy

An automated-driving approach that relies on camera imagery as its primary environmental sensor rather than combining it with lidar or radar.

Cancer Cachexia

A multifactorial syndrome linked to cancer that causes ongoing loss of skeletal muscle, often with fat loss, and cannot be fully reversed by ordinary nutrition. It can reduce strength, quality of life and tolerance of cancer treatment.

Cancer-Associated Fibroblast

A fibroblast within or near a tumour that has adopted functions shaped by the cancer environment. Different subtypes can remodel tissue, release signalling molecules, alter immunity and affect tumour growth, but their effects are not identical in every cancer.

Capillary Force

A force produced by surface tension where a liquid meets a solid, especially inside narrow gaps. It can pull liquid into small spaces and, in nanofabrication, can also move flexible structures as a solvent evaporates.

Caprock

A low-permeability rock layer above a reservoir that restricts upward movement of fluids or gases, helping contain injected carbon dioxide.

Carbon Capture and Storage(CCS)

A chain of technologies that separates carbon dioxide from an emission source, transports it and injects it into a geological formation intended to retain it for the long term.

Carbon Storage Monitoring

Measurements used to track injected carbon dioxide, reservoir pressure, well integrity and possible leakage during and after geological storage.

Carbon-Composite Structure

A structural component made from carbon fibers embedded in a binding material such as polymer resin. It can provide high strength and stiffness at a lower weight than many metals, although its performance depends on fiber orientation and manufacturing quality.

Carbonaceous Chondrite

A primitive, carbon-rich type of stony meteorite that formed from early Solar System material and has undergone relatively little melting. Some contain water-bearing minerals and organic compounds, making them valuable for studying planetary formation and the ingredients of early Earth.

Carbonate Mineral

A mineral containing the carbonate ion, such as calcite or magnesite. Carbonates can form when carbon dioxide-bearing water reacts with rock, and their chemistry and location help researchers reconstruct ancient lakes, groundwater and atmospheric conditions.

Carbonized Manuscript

A handwritten document whose organic material has been transformed by intense heat into fragile carbon-rich matter. Carbonization can preserve the overall form and sometimes the ink or internal structure, but physical handling may cause irreversible damage.