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Barnard, Christiaan Neethling

(Encyclopedia)Barnard, Christiaan Neethling krĭsˈtēänˌ nāˈᵺĭng bärˈnərd [key], 1922–2001, South African surgeon. The son of a Dutch Reformed minister, Barnard studied medicine at the Univ. of Cape To...

Pohnpei

(Encyclopedia)Pohnpei pōnˈpā [key], state and island (1991 est. pop. 52,000), 129 sq mi (334 sq km), W Pacific, in the E Caroline Islands. It is one of four states comprising the Federated States of Micronesia. ...

saccharin

(Encyclopedia)saccharin săkˈərĭn [key], C7H5NSO3, white, crystalline, aromatic compound. It was discovered accidentally by I. Remsen and C. Fahlberg in 1879. Pure saccharin tastes several hundred times as sweet...

Turing machine

(Encyclopedia)Turing machine, a mathematical model of a device that computes via a series of discrete steps and is not limited in use by a fixed maximum amount of data storage. Introduced by the British mathematici...

osprey

(Encyclopedia)osprey ŏsˈprē [key], common name for a fish-eating bird of prey found near water in most parts of the world. The osprey, or fish hawk, Pandion haliaetus, has brown upperparts and a grayish white he...

coast protection

(Encyclopedia)coast protection, methods used to protect coastal lands from erosion. Beaches can exist only where a delicate dynamic equilibrium exists between the amount of sand supplied to the beach and the inevit...

muscle

(Encyclopedia)muscle, the contractile tissue that effects the movement of and within the body. Muscle tissue in the higher animals is classified as striated, smooth, or cardiac, according to its structure and funct...

epilepsy

(Encyclopedia)epilepsy, a chronic disorder of cerebral function characterized by periodic convulsive seizures. There are many conditions that have epileptic seizures. Sudden discharge of excess electrical activity,...

Greuze, Jean-Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Greuze, Jean-Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ gröz [key], 1725–1805, French genre and portrait painter. He studied at the Académie Royale and won recognition in 1755 with his Blind Man Deceived. He trave...

Erbil

(Encyclopedia)Erbil bīlˌ –bĭlˌ [key], city and capital of Kurdistan Region, N Iraq. A commercial, agr...