Columbia Encyclopedia
Search results
500 results found
quarantine
(Encyclopedia)quarantine kwŏrˈəntēn [key], isolation of persons, animals, places, and effects that carry or are suspected of harboring communicable disease. The term originally referred to the 40 days of offsho...living will
(Encyclopedia)living will or advance health care directive, legal document in which a person expresses in advance his or her wishes concerning the use of artificial life support and other medical treatment should t...Mott Foundation
(Encyclopedia)Mott Foundation, philanthropic trust created (1926) by automobile executive Charles Stewart Mott (1875–1973) to support programs dealing with selected urban problems. The foundation originally conce...Laki
(Encyclopedia)Laki, volcano, 2,684 ft (818 m) high, S Iceland, at SW edge of the Vatnajökull glacier. Its eruption in 1783 was one of the more devastating on record, leading to the deaths of a quarter of Iceland's...opium
(Encyclopedia)opium, substance derived by collecting and drying the milky juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. Opium varies in color from yellow to dark brown and has a characterist...perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(Encyclopedia)perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of several thousand synthetic organic chemical compounds made up of a chain of carbon atoms bonded to fluorine atoms. PFAS, which resist w...probiotic
(Encyclopedia)probiotic, live microorganism administered to a host with the intention of providing a health benefit, or a food, supplement, or treatment containing such microorganisms. Many of the microbes found in...tropical medicine
(Encyclopedia)tropical medicine, study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of certain diseases prevalent in the tropics. The warmth and humidity of the tropics and the often unsanitary conditions under which so m...Flint, city, United States
(Encyclopedia)Flint, city (2020 pop. 81,252), seat of Genesee co., SE Mich., on the Flint River; inc. 1855. Since 1902 it has been an automobile-manufacturing centers...radiation weapon
(Encyclopedia)radiation weapon or radiological weapon, a bomb or warhead that uses conventional chemical explosives to disperse radioactive material, sometimes called a “dirty bomb.” Designed to produce radiati...Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
- Places +-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-