mz

Mz is a term that appears in several distinct contexts, and its meaning depends on the field. It is commonly encountered as an abbreviation, a file format signature, a genetic designation, or as a country code.

In genetics and psychology, MZ stands for monozygotic, or identical, twins. The designation is used to distinguish identical twins from dizygotic (DZ) twins and is a staple in studies of heritability, genetic influence, and environmental effects on traits.

In physics and materials science, Mz denotes the z-component of magnetization, the portion of a magnetic moment aligned with the z axis. It features in equations describing magnetic dynamics and is a common variable in micromagnetic simulations and spintronics research.

In computing, MZ is the signature at the start of a DOS executable file. The letters honor Mark Zbikowski, a Microsoft engineer, and indicate the presence of the MZ executable format that originated in the DOS era, a legacy that underpins many later Windows executable formats.

In international standards, MZ is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code for Mozambique. It is used in data representations, and the country’s Internet top-level domain is .mz. The code also appears in various administrative and logistical contexts involving Mozambique.