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incinerator

(Encyclopedia)incinerator, furnace for burning refuse. The older and simpler kind of incinerator was a brick-lined cell with a metal grate over a lower ash pit, with one opening in the top or side for loading and a...

saturated fat

(Encyclopedia)saturated fat, any solid fat that is an ester of glycerol and a saturated fatty acid. The molecules of a saturated fat have only single bonds between carbon atoms; if double bonds are present in the f...

protoplasm

(Encyclopedia)protoplasm, term once used for the fundamental material of which all living things were thought to be composed. It was studied by a number of early scientists, especially by Félix Dujardin, J. E. Pur...

nucleotide

(Encyclopedia)nucleotide no͞oˈklēətīdˌ, nyo͞oˈ– [key], organic substance that serves as a monomer in forming nucleic acids. Nucleotides consist of either a purine or a pyrimidine base, a ribose or deoxyri...

genetic testing

(Encyclopedia)genetic testing, medical screening for genetic disorders, by examining either a person's DNA directly or a person's biochemistry or chromosomes for indirect evidence. Testing may be done to identify a...

Port Adelaide

(Encyclopedia)Port Adelaide, city, since 1996 part of the city of Port Adelaide Enfield (2016 pop. 121,230), South Australia, S Australia, a suburb of Adelaide, on an inlet of Gulf St. Vincent. It is the principal ...

lipase

(Encyclopedia)lipase līˈpās [key], any enzyme capable of degrading lipid molecules. The bulk of dietary lipids are a class called triacylglycerols and are attacked by lipases to yield simple fatty acids and glyc...

hydrogen peroxide

(Encyclopedia)hydrogen peroxide, chemical compound, H2O2, a colorless, syrupy liquid that is a strong oxidizing agent and, in water solution, a weak acid. It is miscible with cold water and is soluble in alcohol an...

phospholipid

(Encyclopedia)phospholipid fŏsˌfōlĭpˈĭd [key], lipid that in its simplest form is composed of glycerol bonded to two fatty acids and a phosphate group. The resulting compound called phosphatidic acid contains...

pH

(Encyclopedia)pH, range of numbers expressing the relative acidity or alkalinity of a solution. In general, pH values range from 0 to 14. The pH of a neutral solution, i.e., one which is neither acidic nor alkaline...