BraveSpeaking: Global Words

Noun an event resulting in great loss and misfortune

catastrophe
If companies burn all the fossil fuel they have now, it would emit 2,795 gigatons of CO2 – 5X the safe amount. We'll have huge global warming and a catastrophe for life on earth.

epidemic

Noun occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people

epidemic
Cellphones helped doctors deal with a cholera epidemic in Haiti. They were used to track sick people and also send beneficial advice via texts.

extract

Noun condensed solution taken from a plant or drug

extract
Lavender extracts are used for perfumes and pharmacology. Much of it is grown in Provence, France where you can see huge fields with long lines of gorgeious purple plants.

hygiene

Noun clean or healthy practices or thinking

hygiene
Bacteria found in dirt is known to keep skin healthy, so why do we scrub clean to kill it? Even if we give up some of our hygiene practices, dentists say we still need to brush our teeth!

inertia

Noun something not moving remains still; something that is moving goes along the same

inertia
Cats drink by a 'lap and gulp' mechanism. Water is pulled from the tip of their tongue into their mouth through inertia.

infinitesimal

Adjective infinitely or immeasurably small

infinitesimal
There is actually no such thing as a tie. Powerful instruments show an infinitesimal difference -- 0.003 seconds can be the difference between gold and silver winners in the Olympics.

manipulate

Verb change to suit one's purpose or advantage

manipulated
Facebook admitted that they manipulated the number of positive and negative posts in the news feeds of over half a million users. Understandably, many people were upset.

pharmacy

Noun a store or part of a store in which drugs and medicines are prepared and sold

pharmacy
My mom has a bad eye infection. She sent me to the pharmacy to pick up her antibiotics prescription because she can't see well enough to drive.

proton

Noun very small, positively charged particle that is part of the nucleus of an atom

proton
The Big Bang theory says our universe was created when a tiny mass (billions X smaller than a proton) exploded and began expanding very rapidly into the stars and galaxies of today.

prototype

Noun first model of something, from which other forms are developed or copied

prototype
NASA's Z-2 spacesuit is a prototype of what the first humans to step foot on Mars might wear.