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cyanide

(Encyclopedia)cyanide sīˈənīdˌ [key], chemical compound containing the cyano group, –CN. Cyanides are salts or esters of hydrogen cyanide (hydrocyanic acid, HCN) formed by replacing the hydrogen with a metal...

embalming

(Encyclopedia)embalming ĕmbäˈmĭng, ĭm– [key], practice of preserving the body after death by artificial means. The custom was prevalent among many ancient peoples and still survives in many cultures. It was ...

Shannon, Claude Elwood

(Encyclopedia)Shannon, Claude Elwood, 1916–2001, American applied mathematician, b. Gaylord, Michigan. A student of Vannevar Bush at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he was the first to propose th...

plastic surgery

(Encyclopedia)plastic surgery, surgical repair of congenital or acquired deformities and the restoration of contour to improve the appearance and function of tissue defects. Development of this specialized branch o...

Turing, Alan Mathison

(Encyclopedia)Turing, Alan Mathison, 1912–54, British mathematician and computer theorist. While studying at Cambridge he began work in predicate logic that led to a proof (1937) that some mathematical problems a...

rainmaking

(Encyclopedia)rainmaking, production of rain by artificial means now generally disregarded, though it is probable that rainmaking hastens or increases rainfall from clouds suitable for natural rainfall. Interest in...

nursery

(Encyclopedia)nursery, in horticulture, an establishment or area for the propagation, breeding, and early cultivation of plants. In North America the term nursery originally specified a place where hardy woody plan...

wig

(Encyclopedia)wig, arrangement of artificial or human hair worn to conceal baldness, as a disguise, or as part of a costume, either theatrical, ceremonial, or fashionable. In ancient Egypt the wig was worn to prote...

Jupiter, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Jupiter jo͞oˈpətər [key], in astronomy, 5th planet from the sun and largest planet of the solar system. Astronomers have discovered 79 satellites orbiting Jupiter, but five of those, small sate...

dentistry

(Encyclopedia)dentistry, treatment and care of the teeth and associated oral structures. Dentistry is mainly concerned with tooth decay, disease of the supporting structures, such as the gums, and faulty positionin...