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M

macromolecule: a polymer.

Manipulated variable
An independent variable that the researcher can manipulate (usually, vary across treatment groups in an experimental design.)

Mean
The sum of the values for all observations of a variable divided by the number of observations. A measure of central tendency.

Measured variable
An independent variable that can't be manipulated by researcher, only measured.

Measures of central tendency
Important descriptive statistics: mean, median, mode.

Measures of dispersion
Important descriptive statistics: range,semi-interquartile range, variance, and standard deviation.

Measurement
Process of assigning numbers or labels to things in accordance with specific rules to represent qualities or quantities of attributes.

Median
The observation below which 50 percent of the observed values of a variable fall. A measure of central tendency.

Mendel, Johann Gregor is an Austrian biologist, born in 1822 and died in 1884, who laid the foundations for the science of genetics. Mendel was a monk whose controlled experiments with breeding peas in the monastery garden led him to conclude that the heritable units we now call genes were not blends of parental traits but separate physical entities passed individually in specific proportions from one generation to the next. Mendel's discoveries were ignored for several decades, but other biologists finally recognized their significance early in the 20th century.

Mendelian inheritance is the manner in which genes and traits are passed from parents to children. Examples of Mendelian inheritance include autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, and sex-linked genes.
mRNA is the template for protein synthesis. Each set of three bases, called codons, specifies a certain protein in the sequence of amino acids that comprise the protein. The sequence of a strand of mRNA is based on the sequence of a complementary strand of DNA.

Image courtesy of National Health Museum

Mitochondrial DNA is the genetic material of the mitochondria, the organelles that generate energy for the cell

monomer: smallest repeating unit of a polymer.

Monte Carlo: A technique that is used especially in weather forecasting, in which simulations are performed and compared. Each simulation is like a different roll of dice. The simulations are compared, and if each states the same thing, like it’s going to be a hot day, then it probably will be. If the simulations come up different, the weather forecast isn’t quite so certain. See this link for more details and activities: Monte Carlo

Motif A short conserved region in a protein sequence. Motifs are frequently highly conserved parts of domains.

Mouse model is alaboratory mouse useful for medical research because it has specific characteristics that resemble a human disease or disorder. Strains of mice having natural mutations similar to human ones may serve as models of such conditions. Scientists can also create mouse models by transferring new genes into mice or by inactivating certain existing genes in them.

MRI scanner: Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner. This type of scanner provides doctors a three-dimensional probe of your body without having to resort to surgery. Useful for diagnosing cancerous tumor
Multiple Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner

Mutation is apermanent structural alteration in DNA. In most cases, DNA changes either have no effect or cause harm, but occasionally a mutation can improve an organism's chance of surviving and passing the beneficial change on to its descendants.