ExpertGlossary terms starting with M

2,540 terms

"must pass" bill A vitally important measure that Congress must enact, such as annual money bills to fund operations of the government.
[Marine] Natural Heritage The nation's biological communities, habitats, ecosystems, and processes, and the ecological services, uses, and values they provide to this and future…
[Marine] Natural Resources Any biological or physical component of the marine environment that contributes to the structure, function, or services provided by a marine ecosystem.
M (1) Model. (2) Million. (3) Mega.
M 3000 In solar-terrestrial terms, the optimum high frequency radio wave with a 3000 km range, which reflects only once from the ionosphere (single hop…
M by N A type of Symmetrix grouping in which up to two Symmetrix frames may be configured on either side of a data replication link in a Metrocluster/SRDF…
M protein (... PROH-teen) An antibody found in unusually large amounts in the blood or urine of people with multiple myeloma and other types of plasma cell tumors.
M&LC Missile and Launch Control.
M&S (1) Materials and Structures. (2) Modeling and Simulation.
M-EDTA A substance being studied in the treatment of bacterial infections from catheters (flexible tubes used to deliver fluids into or take fluids from the…
M-patch bay A patching facility designed for patching and monitoring digital data circuits at data signaling rates from 1 Mb/s (megabits per second) to 3 Mb/s.
M-PEG Abbreviation for Motion Picture Experts Group. 2. In digital television signal recording or transmission, the designator that identifies a certain coding…
m-sequence See n-sequence.
M-T-M Model Test Model.
M/LWIR Medium/Long Wavelength Infrared.
M/P Manpower/Personnel.
M13 A single-stranded DNA bacteriophage used as a vector for DNA sequencing.
M13 strand The single-stranded DNA molecule that is present in the infective form of bacteriophage M13.
M2/S2 m2/s2 (meters squared per second squared), unit of measure equivalent to J/kg (joules per kilogram).
M200 A monoclonal antibody that is being studied in the treatment of some types of cancer.
ma huang (mah-hwong) A shrub native to China and India. The stems and roots are used in traditional medicine as a diuretic and for asthma, bronchitis, and cough.
MAA Mission Area Analysis.
MAAG Military Assistance Advisory Group.
MAAP Abbreviation for multiple arbitrary amplicon profiling.
Maar A volcanic crater that is produced by an explosion in an area of low relief, is generally more or less circular, and often contains a lake, pond, or marsh.
MAB Abbreviation for monoclonal antibody.
MAC (1) OBSOLETE. Military Airlift Command. See AMC. (2) Maintenance Allocation Chart.
MAC Address In computer networking a Media Access Control address (MAC address) is a unique identifier attached to most network adapters (NICs).
MAC Addresses The Media Access Control Address is the hardware address for a Network Interface Controller.
MAC label An attribute of a subject or object which represents the sensitivity of the subject or object and is used for mandatory access control decisions.
MACCK Multi-Application Command and Control Kit (GD term for IVIS follow-on).
MACCS Marine Corps Air Command and Control System.
macerate To disintegrate tissue to disrupt cells. Commonly achieved via mechanical shearing, plasmolysis or enzymatic cell wall degradation.
Machine A device, a product, a physical thing. Under U.S. law, one of the statutory classes of inventions.MPEP 2105, MPEP 2106, MPEP 2114.
machine instruction An instruction that is written in a machine language and can be executed directly by the processor for which it was designed without translation or…
machine language A language that need not be modified, translated, or interpreted before it can be used by the processor for which it was designed.
machine learning The ability of a device to improve its performance based on its past performance.
Machine Readable Passport (MRP) A passport which has biographic information entered on the data page according to international specifications.
machine readable records records that cannot be viewed or understood without help of some electro-mechanical device such as a computer.
Machine Readable Visa (MRV) A visa that contains biometric information about the passport holder. A visa that immigration officers read with special machines when the applicants…
machine utilization The amount of machine capacity used to complete a particular request (for example SELECT, GET, PUT, and so on), normalized to the hourly capacity of a…
machine word Synonym computer word.
Machine-generated Don't use software tools that purport to auto-generate doorway pages. These pages are usually devoid of meaningful content.
machine-independent In telecommunications, computer, and data processing systems, pertaining to operations, procedures, computer programs, and processing that do not depend…
machine-oriented language Synonym computer-oriented language.
machine-readable medium A medium capable of storing data in a form that can be accessed by an automated sensing device.
machine-readable record Digitized and coded information that, in order to be understood, must be translated by a computer or other type of equipment
Mackeral Sky The name given to cirrocumulus clouds with small vertical extent and composed of ice crystals. The rippled effect gives the appearance of fish scales.
MACOM Major Army Command.
Macro A series of commands that are configured to be executed together with one button press.
Macro Virus A virus that attaches itself to documents and uses the macro programming capabilities of the documents application to execute and propagate.
macrobend A relatively large-radius bend in an optical fiber, such as might be found in a splice organizer tray or a fiber-optic cable that has been bent.
macrobend loss In an optical fiber, that loss attributable to macrobending. Synonym curvature loss.
Macroburst A convective downdraft with an affected outflow area of at least 2Â½ miles wide and peak winds lasting between 5 and 20 minutes.
Macroclimate The climate representative of relatively large area.
Macrogametocyte The female form of the gametocyte.
macroglobulinemia (MA-kroh-GLAH-byoo-lih-NEE-mee-uh) A condition in which the blood contains high levels of large proteins and is too thick to flow through small blood…
Macrohabitat An extensive habitat presenting considerable variation of the environment, containing a variety of ecological niches and supporting a large number and…
macromolecule Any high molecular weight molecule. Often used as a synonym for polymers.
macronutrient A major chemical element essential for normal growth and development. In tissue culture media, macronutrients are those required in concentrations above 0.
macrophage A type of white blood cell that surrounds and kills microorganisms, removes dead cells, and stimulates the action of other immune system cells.
Macrophyte (aquatic) An aquatic plant that is large enough to be observed with the naked eye. It grows in or near water.
Macrophytes A plant large enough to be seen by the naked eye.
macropropagation Production of plant clones from growing parts.
Macrorestriction map Map depicting the order of and distance between sites at which restriction enzymes cleave chromosomes.
Macroscale Large scale, characteristic of weather systems several hundred to several thousand kilometers in diameter.
macrospore See: megaspore.
Maculopathy (Macular Edema) Retinal capillaries become clogged and swollen, leaking fluid into the retina and cause swelling.
MAD (1) Mission Area Deficiency. (2) Mutually Assured Destruction.
mad cow disease Colloquial term for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. See proteinaceous infectious particle
MADCAP Mosaic Array Data Compression and Analysis Program.
Madden-Julian Oscillation (abbrev. MJO)- Tropical rainfall exhibits strong variability on time scales shorter than the seasonal El NiÃ±o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
Madrid Protocol The "Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks" (Madrid Protocol) is an international treaty that…
MADS Modified Air Defense System.
MADS box A highly conserved DNA sequence motif found in a large family of transcription factors, most of which play important roles in developmental processes.
MAE Medium Altitude Endurance.
Mafic (or maphic) A term used to describe an igneous rock that has a large percentage of dark-colored minerals such as amphibole, pyroxene, and olivine.
MAFOR (Great Lakes Marine Forecast) - A National Weather Service coded summary appended to each of the Great Lakes Open Lakes forecasts.
mafosfamide A form of cyclophosphamide that can be administered as an intrathecal infusion. Mafosfamide is being studied as an anticancer drug.
MAGE-3 A gene found in some types of tumors.
Magenta Used in four color printing. Reflects blue & red and absorbs green.
Magflare In solar-terrestrial terms, a geomagnetic and/or cosmic storm has been associated with this flare
magic Technically speaking, any extra semantics attached to a variable such as $!, $0, %ENV, or %SIG, or to any tied variable.
magic cookie Synonym cookie.
magic number A constant value with a significance within a particular context. For instance, the value 12 could mean many different things - the number of hours you…
Magic Packet A broadcast frame used with wake-on-LAN (WOL) technology. The data that is contained in a Magic Packet is the defined constant as represented in…
magical increment An "increment" operator that knows how to bump up alphabetics as well as numbers.
magical variables Special variables that have side effects when you access them or assign to them.
Magistrate See U.S. Magistrate Judge.
magistrate judge A judicial officer of a district court who conducts initial proceedings in criminal cases, decides criminal misdemeanor cases, conducts many pretrial…
magistrate judges Judicial officers who assist U.S. district court judges in getting cases ready for trial.
Magma Molten or partially molten rock at temperatures ranging from 1,260 F to 2,880 F (700 C to 1600 C).
Magnaflux Short for "magnetic particle inspection." A procedure for checking all ferrous (steel) parts (suspension pieces, connecting rods, cylinder heads, etc.
magnesium (mag-NEE-zee-um) In medicine, a mineral used by the body to help maintain muscles, nerves, and bones.
magnesium sulfate (mag-NEE-zee-um SUL-fayt) A drug used to treat pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (serious complications of pregnancy).
Magnetic Ballast A type of florescent light ballast that uses a magnetic core to regulate the voltage of a florescent lamp.
Magnetic Bay In solar-terrestrial terms, a relatively smooth excursion of the H (horizontal) component of the geomagnetic field away from and returning to quiet levels.
magnetic card A card with a magnetizable surface on which data can be stored and retrieved.
magnetic circuit The complete closed path taken by magnetic flux. 2. A region of ferromagnetic material, such as the core of a transformer or solenoid, that contains…
magnetic core storage In computer technology, a storage device that uses ferromagnetic materials such as iron, iron oxide, or ferrite and in such shapes as wires, toroids, and…