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drug resistance

(Encyclopedia)drug resistance, condition in which infecting bacteria can resist the destructive effects of drugs such as antibiotics and sulfa drugs. Drug resistance has become a serious public health problem, sinc...

cholesterol

(Encyclopedia)CE5 cholesterol kəlĕsˈtərōlˌ [key], fatty lipid found in the body tissues and blood plasma of vertebrates; it is only sparingly soluble in water, but much more soluble in some organic solvent...

Modigliani, Amedeo

(Encyclopedia)Modigliani, Amedeo ämādĕˈō mōdēlyäˈnē [key], 1884–1920, Italian painter, b. Livorno. In Paris after 1906, Modigliani first worked as a sculptor and was influenced by the works of Constanti...

Kidd, William

(Encyclopedia)Kidd, William, 1645?–1701, British privateer and pirate, known as Captain Kidd. He went to sea in his youth and later settled in New York, where he married and owned property. In 1691 he was rewarde...

guinea pig

(Encyclopedia)guinea pig gĭnˈē [key], domesticated form of the cavy, Cavia porcellus, a South American rodent. It is unrelated to the pig; the name may refer to its shrill squeal. Guinea pigs were raised by the ...

anabolic steroid

(Encyclopedia)anabolic steroid ănˌdrōjĕnˈĭk [key], any of a group of synthetic derivatives of testosterone that promote muscle and bone growth. Used to treat uncontrolled weight loss in wasting diseases, anab...

Japanese beetle

(Encyclopedia)Japanese beetle, common name for a destructive beetle, Popillia japonica, of the scarab beetle family. Accidentally imported to the United States from Japan, it was first discovered in New Jersey in 1...

dogbane

(Encyclopedia)dogbane, common name for some members of the Apocynaceae, a family of herbs, shrubs, and trees found in most parts of the world but especially in the tropics, where they are often climbing forms. Many...

evil

(Encyclopedia)evil, antithesis of good. The philosophical problem of evil is most simply stated in the question, why does evil exist in the world? Death, disease, and sin are often included in the problem. Traditio...

Farmer, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Farmer, Paul (Paul Edward Farmer), 1959–2022; American infectious disease doctor and medical anthropologist, b. North Adams, Mass., M.D. and Ph.D. Har...