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waterspout

(Encyclopedia)waterspout, tornado occurring at sea or over inland waters. The characteristic funnel-shaped cloud is formed at the base of a cumulus-type cloud and extends downward to the water surface, where it pic...

Pleiku

(Encyclopedia)Pleiku or Play Ku both: plāko͞oˈ [key], town, central Vietnam. A highway junction for roads going east (to Quy Nhon), west (to Cambodia), north (to Da Nang), and south (to Ho Chi Minh City), it was...

Human Genome Project

(Encyclopedia)Human Genome Project, international scientific effort to map all of the genes on the 23 pairs of human chromosomes and, to sequence the 3.1 billion DNA base pairs that make up the chromosomes (see nuc...

Holyoke

(Encyclopedia)Holyoke hōˈlē-ōkˌ, hōlˈyōk [key], city (2020 pop. 38,238), Hampden co., S cen...

lanolin

(Encyclopedia)lanolin, greasy, yellow substance extracted from wool. When purified, it is used as a base for ointments and creams, as a lubricant, and in finishing and preserving leather. It is also a constituent o...

Wonju

(Encyclopedia)Wonju wŭnˈjo͞oˈ [key], city (1995 pop. 237,423), Gangwon prov., N central South Korea. Most of its industries relate to the military base in the city. It was a subcapital of the Silla dynasty (see...

Rantoul

(Encyclopedia)Rantoul rănto͞olˈ [key], village (1990 pop. 17,212), Champaign co., E Ill., in a rich blackland farm area that yields corn and soybeans; inc. 1868. The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum and the Korea...

Trincomalee

(Encyclopedia)Trincomalee trĭngˌkəməlēˈ [key], town (1995 est. pop. 50,000), capital of Eastern prov., NE Sri Lanka, on the Bay of Bengal. Trincomalee has one of the world's finest natural harbors and can acc...

herbicide

(Encyclopedia)herbicide hrˈbəsīdˌ [key], chemical compound that kills plants or inhibits their normal growth. A herbicide in a particular formulation and application can be described as selective or nonselectiv...

cochineal

(Encyclopedia)cochineal kŏchĭnēlˈ, kŏchˈĭnēl [key], natural dye obtained from an extract of the bodies of the females of the cochineal bug (Dactylopius confusus) found on certain species of cactus, especial...