Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

llama

(Encyclopedia)llama läˈmə [key], South American domesticated ruminant mammal, Lama glama, of the camel family. Genetic studies indicate that it is descended from the guanaco. Smaller than the camel and lacking a...

Heyerdahl, Thor

(Encyclopedia)Heyerdahl, Thor hāˈərdälˌ, hīˈ– [key], 1914–2002, Norwegian explorer and anthropologist, b. Larvik. He carried out research in the Marquesas Islands in 1937–38 and studied the indigenous ...

fallout

(Encyclopedia)fallout, minute particles of radioactive material produced by nuclear explosions (see atomic bomb; hydrogen bomb; Chernobyl) or by discharge from nuclear-power or atomic installations and scattered th...

sociobiology

(Encyclopedia)sociobiology, controversial field that studies how natural selection, previously used only to explain the evolution of physical characteristics, shapes behavior in animals and humans. The theory has c...

Young, Michael Warren

(Encyclopedia)Young, Michael Warren, 1949–, American geneticist, b. Miami, Fla., Ph.D. Univ. of Texas, Austin, 1975. Young has been on the faculty at Rockefeller Univ. since 1978, and he was also an investigator ...

biometrics, in biology

(Encyclopedia)biometrics, also known as biostatistics or biometry, in biology, the development and application of statistical and mathematical methods to the analysis of data resulting from biological observations ...

Mishustin, Mikhail Vladimirovich

(Encyclopedia)Mishustin, Mikhail Vladimirovich, 1966–, Russian economist and political leader. Trained in systems engineering and economics, he was Russia's deputy tax minister (1998–2004), then worked for gove...

Lubbers, Ruud

(Encyclopedia)Lubbers, Ruud (Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers), 1939–2018, Dutch political leader. After the death of his father (1965), he became codirector of the family's engineering firm. A member (from 196...

Kanpur

(Encyclopedia)Kanpur känˈpo͝or [key], city (1991 pop. 2,029,889), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ganges River. A major industrial center, it produces chemicals, textiles, leather goods, and food pr...

Halberstadt

(Encyclopedia)Halberstadt hälˈbərshtät [key], city, Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is an industrial center ...