acne: A skin condition that results in red, inflamed skin, commonly called pimples or zits.
antibacterial: Having properties that tend to destroy or limit the growth or reproduction of bacteria.
application: A particular use or function of something.
bioengineer: Someone who applies engineering to solve problems in biology or in systems that will use living organisms.
biologist: A scientist involved in the study of living things.
cell: (in biology) The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the unaided eye, it consists of a watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made of anywhere from thousands to trillions of cells.
chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom.
clinical: (in medicine) A term that refers to diagnoses, treatments or experiments involving people.
clinical trial: A research trial that involves people.
consumer: (n.) Term for someone who buys something or uses something. (adj.) A person who uses goods and services that must be paid for.
develop: To emerge or to make come into being, either naturally or through human intervention, such as by manufacturing.
diabetes: A disease where the body either makes too little of the hormone insulin (known as type 1 disease) or ignores the presence of too much insulin when it is present (known as type 2 diabetes).
diffuse: adj.) To be spread out thinly over a great area; not concise or concentrated. (v) To spread light or to broadly release some substance through a liquid (such as water or air) or through some surface (such as a membrane).
dissolve: To turn a solid into a liquid and disperse it into that starting liquid. (For instance, sugar or salt crystals, which are solids, will dissolve into water. Now the crystals are gone and the solution is a fully dispersed mix of the liquid form of the sugar or salt in water.)
federal: Of or related to a country’s national government (not to any state or local government within that nation). For instance, the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health are both agencies of the U.S. federal government.
geometry: The mathematical study of shapes, especially points, lines, planes, curves and surfaces. Geometry can also refer to the defined shape of something (such as it had a very spherical geometry).
hyaluronic acid: A substance the human body makes (especially in skin, the eyes and joint fluids) that works as a humectant — something that holds in moisture. It can bind more than 1,000 times its weight in water. Many cosmetics use a synthetically produced form of this chemical, often to help plump up the skin.
hypodermic needle: A hollow needle used either to deliver fluids (such as medicines) beneath the skin or to extract fluids (such as blood) from the body.
immune: (adj.) Having to do with immunity. (v.) Able to ward off a particular infection. Alternatively, this term can be used to mean an organism shows no impacts from exposure to a particular poison or process. More generally, the term may signal that something cannot be hurt by a particular drug, disease or chemical.
infection: A disease that can spread from one organism to another. It’s usually caused by some type of microbe.
inflammation: (adj. inflammatory) The body’s response to cellular injury and obesity; it often involves swelling, redness, heat and pain. It also is an underlying feature responsible for the development and aggravation of many diseases, especially heart disease and diabetes. Anti-inflammatory players of the body’s immune system help to limit inflammation so that it doesn’t get out of control. Certain medicines can also play an anti-inflammatory role.
lens: (in biology) A transparent part of the eye behind the colored iris that focuses incoming light onto the light-absorbing membrane at the back of the eyeball.
literally: An adjective indicating that the phrase it modifies is precisely true. For instance, to say: “It’s so cold that I’m literally dying,” means that this person actually expects to soon be dead, the result of getting too cold.
micrometer: (sometimes called a micron) One thousandth of a millimeter, or one millionth of a meter. It’s also equivalent to a few one-hundred-thousandths of an inch.
obesity: (adj. obese) Extreme overweight. Obesity is associated with a wide range of health problems, including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
regulate: (n. regulation) To control with actions. Governments write rules and regulations — laws — that are enforced by police and the courts.
system: A network of parts that together work to achieve some function. For instance, the blood, vessels and heart are primary components of the human body’s circulatory system. Similarly, trains, platforms, tracks, roadway signals and overpasses are among the potential components of a nation’s railway system. System can even be applied to the processes or ideas that are part of some method or ordered set of procedures for getting a task done.
technology: The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, or the devices, processes and systems that result from those efforts.
unique: Something that is unlike anything else; the only one of its kind.
vaccine: (v. vaccinate) A biological mixture that resembles a disease-causing agent. It is given to help the body create immunity to a particular disease. The injections used to administer most vaccines are known as vaccinations.