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virology

(Encyclopedia)virology, study of viruses and their role in disease. Many viruses, such as animal RNA viruses and viruses that infect bacteria, or bacteriophages, have become useful laboratory tools in genetic studi...

Watson, James Dewey

(Encyclopedia)Watson, James Dewey, 1928–, American biologist and educator, b. Chicago, Ill., grad. Univ. of Chicago, 1947, Ph.D. Univ. of Indiana, 1950. With F. H. C. Crick he began (1951) research on the molecul...

star

(Encyclopedia)star, hot incandescent sphere of gas, held together by its own gravitation, and emitting light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation whose ultimate source is nuclear energy. The universe co...

dinosaur

(Encyclopedia)dinosaur dīˈnəsôr [key] [Gr., = terrible lizard], extinct land reptile of the Mesozoic era. The dinosaurs, which were egg-laying animals, ranged in length from 21⁄2 ft (91 cm) to about 127 f...

Dostoyevsky, Feodor Mikhailovich

(Encyclopedia)Dostoyevsky or Dostoevsky, Feodor Mikhailovich fyôˈdər mēkhīˈləvĭch dəstəyĕfˈskē [key], 1821–81, Russian novelist, one of the towering figures of world literature. Notes from the Unde...

Smith, Dave

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Dave, 1942–, American poet, b. Portsmouth, Va. His early poetry established him as a sensitive observer of human behavior. His verse is often rooted in his native South and has been praised f...

Starmer, Sir Keir Rodney

(Encyclopedia)Starmer, Sir Keir Rodney, 1962–, British political leader. A member of the Labour party, he was a human-rights lawyer before becoming director of public prosecutions and head of the crown prosecutio...

Cooley, Charles Horton

(Encyclopedia)Cooley, Charles Horton, 1864–1929, American sociologist, b. Ann Arbor, Mich., grad. Univ. of Michigan (B.A., 1887; Ph.D., 1894); son of Thomas M. Cooley. He taught in the sociology department at the...

Doxiades, Constantinos

(Encyclopedia)Doxiades, Constantinos kônstäntēˈnôs dôksyäˈᵺēs [key], 1913–75, Greek urban planner, designer, and consultant on ekistics, the science of human settlements. In Athens, Doxiades held offic...

Achilles' tendon

(Encyclopedia)Achilles' tendon (tendo calcaneus) tĕnˈdō kălkāˈnēəs [key], sinew prominent at the back of the ankle, connecting the tendons of the calf muscles to the heelbone. When the musculature contracts...