biosensorA device that uses an immobilized biologically-related agent (such as an enzyme, antibiotic, organelle or whole cell) to detect or measure a chemical…
biosilkA biomimetic fibre produced by the expression of the relevant orb-weaving spider genes in yeast or bacteria, followed by the spinning of the expressed…
biosorbentsMicro-organisms which, either by themselves or in conjunction with a substrate are able to extract and/or concentrate a desired molecule by means of its…
biospecimen(BY-oh-SPEH-sih-men) Samples of material, such as urine, blood, tissue, cells, DNA, RNA, and protein from humans, animals, or plants.
BiosphereThe part of the earth and its atmosphere that is inhabited by living organisms.
biostatistics(BY-oh-stuh-TIS-tix) The science of collecting and analyzing biologic or health data using statistical methods.
biosynthesisSynthesis of compounds by living cells, which is the essential feature of anabolism.
BiotaThe animal and plant life of a region or period.
BiotechnologyThe scientific manipulation of living organ- isms, especially at the molecular genetic level, to produce useful products.
Biotechnology-derivedThe use of molecular biology and/or recombinant DNA technology, or in vitro gene transfer, to develop products or to impart specific capabilities in…
biotherapy(BY-oh-THAYR-uh-pee) Treatment to boost or restore the ability of the immune system to fight cancer, infections, and other diseases.
Biotic communityA naturally occurring, interdependent community of plants and animals that live in the same environment.
biotic factorOther living organisms that are a component of an organism's environment, and form the biotic environment, affecting the organism in many ways.
Biotic potentialInherent capacity of an organism to reproduce and survive, which is pitted against limiting influences of the environment.
Biotic pyramidSet of all food chains or hierarchic arrangements of organisms as eaters and eaten in a prescribed area when tabulated by numbers or by biomasses, usually…
Biotic stressLiving organisms which can harm plants , such as viruses, fungi, and bacteria, and harmful insects. See Abiotic stress.
biotinA vitamin of the B complex, it acts as a co-enzyme for various enzymes that catalyse the incorporation of carbon dioxide into various compounds, and is…
biotin labellingThe attachment of biotin to another molecule, especially DNA.
biotinylated-DNAA DNA molecule labelled with biotin by incorporation of a biotinylated nucleotide (usually uracil ) into a DNA molecule.
biotoxinA naturally produced compound which shows pronounced biological activity, toxic to some or many organisms.
biotransformationThe conversion of one chemical or material into another using a biological catalyst : a near synonym is biocatalysis, and hence the catalyst used is…
BiotypeGenetically homogeneous population composed only of closely similar individuals; a genotypic race or group of organisms.
Bipolar DisorderA condition in which people go back and forth between periods of feeling very good (mania) and irritable or depressed.
bipolar see-sawthe occurrence of warm temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere while temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere are colder-than-average, or vice versa.
bipolar signalA signal that may assume either of two polarities, neither of which is zero. Note 1: A bipolar signal may have a two-state non-return-to-zero (NRZ) or a…
bipolar violationIn a bipolar alternate mark inversion (AMI) signal, a "one" condition (mark, pulse) having the same polarity as its predecessor. [After T1.408-1990]
birefringenceIn a transparent material, anisotropism of the refractive index, which varies as a function of polarization as well as orientation with respect to the…
BIRRDSThe Telcordia⢠Business Integrated Routing and Rating Database System contains data in the routing and rating of calls.
Birt-Hogg-Dube syndromeAn inherited condition in which benign tumors develop in hair follicles on the head, chest, back, and arms.
birth canalThe muscular canal extending from the uterus to the exterior of the body. Also called vagina.
birth control pillA pill used to prevent pregnancy. It contains hormones that block the release of eggs from the ovaries.
Birth defectA structural, functional, or metabolic abnormality present at birth that results in physical or mental disability or is fatal.
Birth-to-Death Tracking (BDT)The tracking of space objects (e.g., satellites, reentry vehicles, or decoys that simulate these) from the time they are deployed from a booster or…
birthday phenomenonThe phenomenon stating that, for a category size of 365 (the number of days in a year), after only 23 people are gathered, the probability is greater than…
bispecific antibodyAn antibody developed in the laboratory to recognize more than one protein on the surface of different cells.
bispecific monoclonal antibodyA monoclonal antibody that binds two different types of antigen. Bispecific monoclonal antibodies do not occur naturally; they must be made in the…
bisphosphonate(bis-FOS-foh-nayt) A drug or substance used to treat hypercalcemia (abnormally high blood calcium) and bone pain caused by some types of cancer.
bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis(bis-fos-FOH-nayt-uh-SOH-see-ay-ted OS-tee-oh-neh-KROH-sis) The necrosis (death) of bone tissue caused by treatment with a bisphosphonate (a drug or…
bistablePertaining to a device capable of assuming either one of two stable states.
Bistatic RadarA radar system that has transmitters and receivers stationed at two geographically separate locations; a special case of multi-static radar.
BitA bit ( B inary dig IT ) is the smallest unit of computer data. A bit consists of either 0 or 1. There are eight bits in a byte.
bit errorA bit that is transferred from the source to the destination within the assigned time slot, but that, when delivered, is of a different value from that…
Bit Error Rate TestA test performed on a digital facility/service which counts erroneous bits and divides them by the bits sent over a set period of time.
bit error ratio (BER)The number of erroneous bits divided by the total number of bits transmitted, received, or processed over some stipulated period.
bit error ratio tester (BERT)A testing device that compares a received data pattern with a known transmitted pattern to determine the level of transmission quality.
bit interleaved parity N (BIP-N)A method of error monitoring. If even parity is used, an N bit code is generated by the transmitting equipment over a specified portion of the signal in…
bit intervalSee bit, character interval, unit interval.
bit inversionThe changing of the state of a bit to the opposite state. 2. The changing of the state that represents a given bit, i.e.
bit manipulation operatorOperators, such as &, | and ^, that are used to examine an manipulate individual bits within the bytes of a data item.
Bit MapA Bit Map provides information on the placement and color of individual bits and allows the creation of characters or images by creating a picture…
bit maskingIn embedded ADPCM (adaptive differential pulse-code modulation), the process of discarding the enhancement bits. [T1.310-1991]
bit pairingThe practice of establishing, within a code set, a number of subsets that have an identical bit representation except for the state of a specified bit.
bit period (T)The amount of time required to transmit a logical one or a logical zero. [T1.106-1988]
bit positionA character position in a word in a binary notation.
bit rate (BR)In a bit stream, the number of bits occurring per unit time, usually expressed in bits per second.
bit robbingIn digital carrier systems, the practice or technique of preempting, at regular intervals and for the purpose of transmitting signaling information, one…
bit shiftThe movement of bits left or right in a computer word, which has the effect of multiplying or dividing by a power of 2.
bit slipIn digital transmission, the loss of a bit or bits, caused by variations in the respective clock rates of the transmitting and receiving devices.
Bit Stream BackupBit stream backups, also referred to as mirror image backups, are comprised of the backup of all areas of a computer hard disk drive or another type of…
bit stringA sequence of bits that is actually being thought of as a sequence of bits, for once.
bit stuffingThe insertion of noninformation bits into data. Note 1: Stuffed bits should not be confused with overhead bits.
bit synchronizationSynchronization in which the decision instant is brought into alignment with the received bit, i.e., the basic signaling element.
bit synchronous operationOperation in which data circuit terminating equipment (DCE), data terminal equipment (DTE), and transmitting circuits are all operated in bit synchronism…
Bit Transfer RateThe number of bits transferred per unit time, usually expressed in bits per second (bps).
bit-by-bit asynchronous operationIn data transmission, an operation in which manual, semiautomatic, or automatic shifts in the data modulation rate are accomplished by gating or slewing…
bit-count integrity (BCI)In message communications, the preservation of the exact number of bits that are in the original message. 2.
bit-sequence independenceA characteristic of some digital data transmission systems that impose no restrictions on, or modification of, the transmitted bit sequence.
bit-steppedPertaining to the control of digital equipment in which operations are performed one step at a time at the applicable bit rate.
bit-stream transmissionIn bit-oriented systems, the transmission of bit strings. 2. In character-oriented systems, the transmission of bit streams that represent characters.
BITEWhen a fish takes or touches a bait so that the fisherman feels it.
bite indicatorA device which activates or signals when a fish is on the line. It can be as simple as a bell placed on the line between two fishing pole guides that…
biternary transmissionDigital transmission in which two binary pulse trains are combined for transmission over a channel in which the available bandwidth is sufficient for…
BitLocker disabled modeA mode in which the disk volume is still encrypted by BitLocker Drive Encryption, but security is effectively disabled because the full-volume encryption…
BitLocker Drive EncryptionA hardware-based security feature that prevents unauthorized access to a computer by providing full-volume encryption and integrity checking of boot…
BitLocker enabled modeA mode in which BitLocker Drive Encryption is turned on and the data on the volume is transparently encrypted by BitLocker as it is written and decrypted…
BitLocker off modeA mode in which BitLocker Drive Encryption protection is turned off on a disk volume and the disk volume is not encrypted.
bitmapIn computer graphics, a representation of an image (which category includes characters) by code or a coding scheme that defines (a) the position of pixels…
bitmapped graphicsIn computer graphics, an image created with, or represented by, a matrix of pixels. Synonym [loosely] raster graphics.
BITNETAbbreviation for Because It's Time NETwork. An early (ca. 1981) store-and-forward digital communications network interconnecting universities and research…
bits per inch (b/in)A unit used to express the linear bit density of data in storage. Note: The abbreviation "bpi" is not in accordance with international standards, and is…
bits per pixel (BPP)In a digitized image, the number of bits used to represent the luminance (brightness, gray scale) and chroma (color) information contained in each pixel.
bits per second (b/s)A unit used to express the number of bits passing a designated point per second.