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biometrics, in security and personal identification

(Encyclopedia)biometrics, in security and personal identification, the electronic verification of individuals using biological traits, such as iris or retinal scanning, fingerprints, or face recognition, and the te...

semiotics

(Encyclopedia)semiotics or semiology, discipline deriving from the American logician C. S. Peirce and the French linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. It has come to mean generally the study of any cultural product (e.g....

Saskatchewan, river, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Saskatchewan, river, c.340 mi (550 km) long, formed by the confluence of the North Saskatchewan (c.760 mi/1,220 km long) and the South Saskatchewan (c.550 mi/890 km long) rivers near Prince Albert, ce...

Castor, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Castor kăsˈtər [key], bright star in the constellation Gemini; Bayer designation α Geminorum; 1992 position R.A. 7h34.1m, Dec. +31°54′. Slightly dimmer than Pollux, with which it forms the Twin...

Ramón y Cajal, Santiago

(Encyclopedia)Ramón y Cajal, Santiago säntyäˈgō rämōnˈ ē kähälˈ [key], 1852–1934, Spanish histologist, widely considered the father of neuroscience. He was a university professor at Valencia (1881–8...

vital statistics

(Encyclopedia)vital statistics, primarily records of the number of births and deaths in a population. Other factors, such as number of marriages and causes of death, by age groups, are regularly included. From thes...

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...

computer program

(Encyclopedia)computer program, a series of instructions that a computer can interpret and execute; programs are also called software to distinguish them from hardware, the physical equipment used in data processin...

employment bureau

(Encyclopedia)employment bureau, a government-run establishment for bringing together the employer offering work and the employee seeking it. As a not-for-profit service, employment bureaus operate differently from...

international relations

(Encyclopedia)international relations, study of the relations among states and other political and economic units in the international system. Particular areas of study within the field of international relations i...