Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that allows JavaScript to run on the server side. It uses the V8 engine and is cross-platform, high-performance, and allows for building scalable network applications. MongoDB is a scalable, flexible, high-performance NoSQL database that stores data in flexible, JSON-like documents. An Object Document Mapper (ODM) allows mapping between objects in application code and documents in MongoDB. The MERN stack uses MongoDB, Express, React, and Node.js and allows building single-page web applications that are high-performance, scalable, flexible, efficient, and secure.