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Wieschaus, Eric Francis

(Encyclopedia)Wieschaus, Eric Francis, 1947–, American biologist and geneticist, b. South Bend, Ind., Ph.D. Yale 1974. He was a researcher at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, from...

Beadle, George Wells

(Encyclopedia)Beadle, George Wells, 1903–89, American geneticist, b. Wahoo, Nebr., grad. Univ. of Nebraska (B.S., 1926; M.S., 1927), Ph.D. Cornell, 1931. Beadle taught (1931–36) biology at the California Instit...

squash bug

(Encyclopedia)squash bug, name for a true bug, Anasa tristis, found throughout the United States and S Canada. It damages squash, pumpkin, and related plants by sucking the juices from leaves and stems. The adult i...

Talabani, Jalal

(Encyclopedia)Talabani, Jalal, 1933–2017, Iraqi political leader, president of Iraq (2005–14), b. Kelkan. He joined the Kurdish Democratic party (KDP) in 1947, becoming a member of its central committee in 1951...

short takeoff and landing aircraft

(Encyclopedia)short takeoff and landing aircraft (STOL), heavier-than-air craft, capable of rising from and descending to the ground with only a short length of runway, but incapable of doing so vertically. The pre...

Santos-Dumont, Alberto

(Encyclopedia)Santos-Dumont, Alberto älbĕrˈto͝o sänˈto͝ozh-dümôNˈ [key], 1873–1932, Brazilian aeronaut. The son of a wealthy coffee grower, he was a flamboyant bon vivant and lived in France from 1891 t...

Chadwick, Henry, Anglo-American journalist and popularizer of baseball

(Encyclopedia)Chadwick, Henry, 1824–1908, Anglo-American journalist who helped popularize baseball in the United States, b. Exeter, England. Moving to Brooklyn, N.Y., with his family in 1837, he was a cricket rep...

Fossett, Steve

(Encyclopedia)Fossett, Steve (James Stephen Fossett), 1944–2007, American investment banker and adventurer, b. California. After becoming a multimillionaire as a stockbroker and investment consultant, he began a ...

flying lemur

(Encyclopedia)flying lemur, gliding mammal native to the tropical lowland forests of S Asia, Malaya, and the Philippines. Also called the colugo, the flying lemur is brownish or grayish above and paler below. It ra...

Wilkins, Sir George Hubert

(Encyclopedia)Wilkins, Sir George Hubert, 1888–1958, British explorer, b. Australia. He made a number of trips to Antarctica and to the Arctic. Valuable experience gained when he accompanied Vilhjalmur Stefansson...