Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Paris Agreement | The 2015 international treaty aiming to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C. Climate Change Denial |
| Participatory research | A collaborative approach that equitably involves community members, stakeholders, or end-users in the entire research process - from design to action. Ethical Concerns |
| Passive Immunity | Protection against disease through antibodies produced by another human being or animal. Passive immunity is effective, but protection is generally limited and diminishes over time (usually a few weeks or months). For example, maternal antibodies are passed to the infant prior to birth and protect the baby for the first 4-6 months of life. Vaccines |
| Pathogen Derived Resistance | A technique used to protect plants from viruses or infection. The process introduces a plant to a mild strain of a virus to protect the plant from a more severe strain of that same or very closely related pathogen. Eventually, the plant may build resistance to the virus. This technique is similar in nature to a human vaccination, which aims to build an individual's immunity to a virus or pathogen. Genetics |
| Pathogens | Organisms (such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi) that cause disease in human beings. Vaccines |
| Pattern Recognition Bias | The brain's tendency to perceive meaningful connections, trends, or rules within random data or unrelated events. While our ability to spot patterns is an essential evolutionary survival tool, this bias leads us to mistake coincidence for causality and form false beliefs. Antiscience |
| Peer Review | Peer review is a critical, independent evaluation process where experts in a specific scientific field evaluate a manuscript's quality, validity, and originality before publication in a journal. Science General |
| Percentile | Given a set of numbers, the value below which a given percentage of observations fall. For example, if we had the following set of numbers {4, 7, 3, 9, 3}, the 60th percentile would be 4, because 3/5 x 100% = 60% of the set are equal to or less than 4. Science General |
| Performative Neutrality | A media framing issue where journalists present two opposing sides of a scientific topic as equally valid ("both sides"), even when one side represents an overwhelming scientific consensus. Science Misinformation |
| Permafrost | Ground that stays frozen for at least two years. Thawing permafrost releases carbon dioxide and methane, amplifying warming. Climate Change Denial |