Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

lung cancer

(Encyclopedia)lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs aft...

plankton

(Encyclopedia)plankton: see marine biology.

nekton

(Encyclopedia)nekton: see marine biology.

benthos

(Encyclopedia)benthos: see marine biology.

zooplankton

(Encyclopedia)zooplankton: see marine biology. ...

HIV

(Encyclopedia)HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is respo...

Euglenophyta

(Encyclopedia)Euglenophyta yo͞oˌglənŏfˈətə [key], small phylum (division) of the kingdom Protista, consisting of mostly unicellular aquatic algae. Most live in freshwater; many have flagella and are motile. ...

Hell, Stefan Walter

(Encyclopedia)Hell, Stefan Walter, 1962–, German physicist, Ph.D. Heidelberg Univ., 1990. Hell worked at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg (1991–93) and at the Univ. of Turku in Finland (1...

osmosis

(Encyclopedia)osmosis ŏzmōˈsĭs [key], transfer of a liquid solvent through a semipermeable membrane that does not allow dissolved solids (solutes) to pass. Osmosis refers only to transfer of solvent; transfer o...

Warburg, Otto Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Warburg, Otto Heinrich ŏtˈō hīnˈrĭkh värˈbo͝orkh [key], 1883–1970, German physiologist. He was director (1931–53) of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (now Max Planck Institute) for cell physi...