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World Health Organization

(Encyclopedia)World Health Organization (WHO), specialized agency of the United Nations, established in 1948, with its headquarters at Geneva. WHO admits all sovereign states (including those not belonging to the U...

Mandan, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Mandan mănˈdăn, –dən [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Mandan were a...

communicable diseases

(Encyclopedia)communicable diseases, illnesses caused by microorganisms and transmitted from an infected person or animal to another person or animal. Some diseases are passed on by direct or indirect contact with ...

vaccination

(Encyclopedia)vaccination, means of producing immunity against pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, by the introduction of an killed or weakened microorganism, a harmless piece of a microorganism, or the like t...

Pawnee

(Encyclopedia)Pawnee pônēˈ [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Caddoan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). At one time the Pawnee lived in what is...

Taylor, Zachary

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Zachary zăkˈərē [key], 1784–1850, 12th President of the United States (1849–50), b. Orange co., Va. He was raised in Kentucky. Taylor joined the army in 1808, became a captain in 1810,...

García Márquez, Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)García Márquez, Gabriel gäbrēĕlˈ gärsēˈä märˈkās [key], 1927–2014, Colombian novelist, short-story writer, and journalist, b. Aracataca. Widely considered one of the great Latin America...

Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich

(Encyclopedia)Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich chĕkˈôf, Rus. əntônˈ pävˈləvĭch chĕˈkhəv [key], 1860–1904, Russian short-story writer, dramatist, and physician, b. Taganrog. The son of a grocer and grandson o...

Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich

(Encyclopedia)Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich ĭlyēchˈ chīkôfˈskē [key], 1840–93, Russian composer, b. Kamsko-Votkinsk. Variant transliterations of his name include Tschaikovsky and Chaikovsky. He is a towering f...

bacteria

(Encyclopedia)bacteria [pl. of bacterium], microscopic unicellular prokaryotic organisms characterized by the lack of a membrane-bound nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Once considered a part of the plant king...

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