Glossary
Partial-word, boolean (AND, OR, NOT) and "exact phrase" searches are supported.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Maladaptation | An action intended to reduce climate risk that unintentionally increases vulnerability or emissions, such as heavy use of air conditioning powered by fossil fuels. Climate Change |
| Malinformation | Real, objective scientific data or truths that are intentionally weaponized, altered, or taken out of context to inflict reputational harm or drive a narrative.
Science Misinformation |
| Manufactured Doubt | A strategy to make a consensus issue (like tobacco safety or climate change) appear heavily disputed, even when evidence is strong. Antiscience |
| Manufacturing residues | Minute, highly diluted trace amounts of substances used during production, such as formaldehyde or antibiotics, which are mostly removed before completion. Vaccines |
| Margin of error | The amount by which a result from a sample may differ from the true value for the whole population. Science General |
| Mass | The amount of matter in an object, which does not change with location. Science General |
| Maternal antibodies | Antibodies passed from a mother to her baby across the placenta or through breast milk, giving temporary protection in the first months of life. Vaccines |
| Maternal immunization | Vaccinating pregnant women to protect them and their newborns, for example with Tdap to protect babies from whooping cough and RSV vaccine to protect them from RSV. Vaccines |
| Matter | Anything that has mass and takes up space. Science General |
| Mean | In a set of numbers or data points, the mean is the average calculated by adding all the values and then dividing by the number of values. Science General |