Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

227 results found

classification

(Encyclopedia)CE5 classification, in biology, the systematic categorization of organisms into a coherent scheme. The original purpose of biological classification, or systematics, was to organize the vast number...

elephantiasis

(Encyclopedia)elephantiasis ĕlˈəfăntīˈəsĭs [key], abnormal enlargement of any part of the body due to obstruction of the lymphatic channels in the area (see lymphatic system), usually affecting the arms, le...

communicable diseases

(Encyclopedia)communicable diseases, illnesses caused by microorganisms and transmitted from an infected person or animal to another person or animal. Some diseases are passed on by direct or indirect contact with ...

hydrothermal vent

(Encyclopedia)hydrothermal vent, crack along a rift or ridge in the deep ocean floor that spews out water heated to high temperatures by the magma under the earth's crust. Some vents are in areas of seafloor spread...

hibernation

(Encyclopedia)hibernation hīˌbərnāˈshən [key] [Lat.,= wintering], practice, among certain animals, of spending part of the cold season in a more or less dormant state, apparently as protection from cold when ...

pneumonia

(Encyclopedia)pneumonia no͝omōnˈyə [key], acute infection of one or both lungs that can be caused by a bacterium, usually Streptococcus pneumoniae (also called pneumococcus; see streptococcus), or by a virus, f...

candidiasis

(Encyclopedia)candidiasis kănˌdĭdīˈəsĭs [key], infection caused by fungi of the genus Candida; also called moniliasis after a former name of the genus. The most common forms of candidiasis, caused by C. albi...

serine

(Encyclopedia)CE5 serine sĕrˈēn [key], organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein. It is not essential to the human die...

fermentation

(Encyclopedia)fermentation, process by which the living cell is able to obtain energy through the breakdown of glucose and other simple sugar molecules without requiring oxygen. Fermentation is achieved by somewhat...

meatpacking

(Encyclopedia)meatpacking or meat-processing, wholesale business of buying and slaughtering animals and then processing and distributing their carcasses to retailers. The livestock industry is among the largest in ...