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pituitary gland

(Encyclopedia)pituitary gland, small oval endocrine gland that lies at the base of the brain. It is sometimes called the master gland of the body because all the other endocrine glands depend on its secretions for ...

Psilotophyta

(Encyclopedia)Psilotophyta sīlōˌtŏfˈətə [key], division of vascular plants consisting of only two genera, Psilotum and Tmesipteris, with very few species. These plants are characterized by the lack of roots,...

Wüthrich, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Wüthrich, Kurt, 1938–, Swiss chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Basel, 1964. Wüthrich has been on the faculty at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology since 1969 and at the Scripps Research Institute, La...

Zinkernagel, Rolf Martin

(Encyclopedia)Zinkernagel, Rolf Martin, 1944–, Swiss immunologist, grad. Univ. of Basel (M.D., 1968), Australian National Univ. (Ph.D., 1975). He has been a professor at the Univ. of Zürich since 1979. Zinkernag...

Smith, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Michael, 1932–2000, British-born Canadian biochemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Manchester, 1956. Smith was a researcher at the Univ. of British Columbia from 1961 until his death in 2000. He shared the...

stargazer

(Encyclopedia)stargazer, common name for any of several species of marine fishes of the family Uranoscopidae, found in southern waters, and having the mouth, nostrils, and eyes set high in the head. Stargazers lie ...

optical sensing

(Encyclopedia)optical sensing, in general, any method by which information that occurs as variations in the intensity, or some other property, of light is translated into an electric signal. This is usually accompl...

wasp

(Encyclopedia)wasp, name applied to many winged insects of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes ants and bees. Most wasps are carnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, or spiders. They have biting mouthparts, a...

Rhodophyta

(Encyclopedia)Rhodophyta rōdŏfˈətə [key], phylum (division) of the kingdom Protista consisting of the photosynthetic organisms commonly known as red algae. Most of the world's seaweeds belong to this group. Me...

night blindness

(Encyclopedia)night blindness, inability to see normally in subdued light. It is usually a result of vitamin A deficiency. The rod cells, one of two light-sensitive areas of the retina of the eye, are impaired in t...