Science Vocabulary

Placebo– A drug which has no physical effects, used in pharmaceutical tests to compare the physical effects of taking a real drug from its psychological effects.

Sentence –Recurrent oral and vaginal yeast infections occurred in two patients receiving cyclosporin and oral thrush occurred in one patient receiving placebo.

PlaceboEffect – The placebo effect is when someone’s condition improves because they think they are taking medicine.

Sentence – She was given a placebo, not the real drug, but she said she felt much better- that’s the placebo effect.

A sideeffect – An extra, usually bad, occurrence caused by taking a drug.

Sentence –The only instant adverse side effect is a desperate thirst, stiff aching muscles and a loss of appetite.

Proof –To show a particular result after a period of time.

Sentence –The greater one’s love for a person, the less room for flattery. The proof of true love is to be unsparing in criticism.

Experiment – A test done in order to learn something or to find out whether something works or is true

Sentence –The young film-makers were given free rein to experiment with new themes and techniques.

Gene – A part of the DNA in a cell which contains information in a special pattern received by each animal or plant from its parents, and which controls its physical development, behaviour, etc

Sentence –The genetic variation of some plants from their parents results in expansion of the gene pool for a particular species.

GeneticEngineering /Modification – Changing the structure of the genes of a living thing in order to make it healthier or stronger or more useful to humans.

Sentence –Genetic engineering techniques will speed up the development process for the AIDS vaccine, but these experimental new techniques still require time.

GeneticallyModifiedOrganisms(GMOs) – Plants, animals or micro-organisms that have changed through genetic engineering.

Sentence –Most commercialised GMO crop plants are insect resistant and/or herbicide tolerant.

Clone – A plant or animal which has the same genes as the original from which it was produced

Sentence –Steven Lowe, Liverpool Who would be the biological parents of a human clone, and what legal ramifications would this have?

Geoengineering – The deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system, in order to try and control global warming

Sentence –Society should significantly expand researchinto geoengineering solutions that remove and sequester greenhousegases already in the atmosphere.

Cyber – A prefix for things related to computers, especially the internet.

Sentence –The Cyber Space includes enriched spiritual content of mankind rational, the levels of consist of means rational, value rational, rational of manipulate, rational of linkup etc.

High-Tech /Hi-Tech – Using the most advanced and developed machines and methods.

Sentence –Japan is a very high-tech country. Everyone has all the latest electronic gadgets.

Theory – A formal statement of the rules on which a subject of study is based or of ideas which are suggested to explain a fact or event or, more generally, an opinion or explanation

Sentence –There are two opposing theories on the causes of climate change – one says it is caused by humans, the other believe it is a natural cycle.