You are here:  Home > Glossary
University of Bristol
Wellcome Trust
Recommended by:
Society of Biology
PEEP for Physics & Ethics at GCSE
 

Glossary

Do some words just make no sense?

Use this glossary to find out what they mean. Click on a letter below to see the entries, or click on ALL to see all of the entries.

0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XY Z

Entries 1 to 7 of 7

 
Parkinson’s Disease
Phenotype
Philosophy
Physiology
Pluripotency
Polymerase chain reaction
Precautionary Principle
 
 
Precautionary Principle
The precautionary principle is the idea that if the consequences of an action are potentially severe or irreversible, the absence of full scientific certainty should not be used to prevent avoidance of harms. This includes the possibility of not taking the action in question.

In practice the principle is most often applied in the context of the impact of human civilization or new technology on the ecosystem, as the environment is a complex system where the consequences of some kinds of actions are often unpredictable.

Source & more info: Wikipedia
 
 

A close up of a medieval manuscript showing words in another language. The words make no sense.

SUGGEST A NEW WORD

Have we missed something out? >> Send us new entries for our glossary.

Tip: Googling words

Did you know you can look for definitions of words and phrases using Google? To find the meaning of "My word" just use the search phrase
"define: My word"