biotic virus noun a non-native plant that invades an area and over time replaces a native plant
‘Cheatgrass is a very insidious kind of biotic virus’, said Stephen Pyne, a western fire historian at Arizona State university.
[New York Times (US broadsheet) 31 July 2012]
earthquake cloak noun an elastodynamic cloak around the base of a building that deflects shock waves
The earthquake cloak will be put to the test by engineers Biswajit Banerjee and Emilio Calius at Industrial Research Limited in New Zealand.
[Smithsonian (US history, science, and culture magazine) Sept. 2012]
FidoCam noun a camera that attaches to the head of a police dog
Staffordshire police demonstrate their new digital crime fighting tool, FidoCam – a camera unit which can be used by police dogs during searches.
[www.telegraph.co.uk 19 July 2012]
plasma arc gasification noun a method for reducing large volumes of waste material to a gas that can be used as fuel
A plasma arc gasification system at Hurlburt Field Air Force Base in Florida processes 10 tons of garbage a day, making enough energy to sustain the system.
[New York Times (US broadsheet) 11 Sept 2012]