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Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

(Encyclopedia)Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), international body (est. 1997) responsible for the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which aims at the destruction o...

antibiotic

(Encyclopedia)antibiotic, any of a variety of substances, usually obtained from microorganisms, that inhibit the growth of or destroy certain other microorganisms. Although for centuries preparations derived from ...

Dust Bowl

(Encyclopedia)Dust Bowl, the name given to areas of the U.S. prairie states that suffered ecological devastation in the 1930s and then to a lesser extent in the mid-1950s. The problem began during World War I, when...

congestive heart failure

(Encyclopedia)congestive heart failure, inability of the heart to expel sufficient blood to keep pace with the metabolic demands of the body. In the healthy individual the heart can tolerate large increases of work...

Melaka

(Encyclopedia)Melaka or Malacca both: məlăkˈə [key], state (1991 pop. 504,502), 640 sq mi (1,658 sq km), Malaysia, S Malay Peninsula, on the Strait of Malacca. Formerly one of the Straits Settlements, it was co...

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

(Encyclopedia)Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, philanthropic institution founded in 1994 by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, to improve the lives of the poor throughout the world, primarily th...

South Sudan

(Encyclopedia)South Sudan so͞odănˈ [key], officially Republic of South Sudan, republic (2015 est. pop. 11,882,000), 248,777 sq mi (644,329 sq km), E Africa. South Sudan is bordered by Sudan (N), Ethiopia (E), Ke...

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