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MacKinnon, Roderick

(Encyclopedia)MacKinnon, Roderick, 1956–, American biochemist, b. Burlington, Mass., M.D. Tufts Univ., 1982. MacKinnon was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School from 1989–96 and has been a professor at the H...

Koch, Lauge

(Encyclopedia)Koch, Lauge louˈgə kôk [key], 1892–1964, Danish geologist and explorer, noted for his scientific work in Greenland. He accompanied Knud Rasmussen's second Thule expedition (1916–18) as geologis...

Beira, city, Mozambique

(Encyclopedia)Beira bāyˈrä [key], city, capital of Sofala province, E central Mozambique, a seaport on t...

Taklimakan

(Encyclopedia)Taklimakan or Takla Makan täˌkləməkänˈ [key], vast sandy desert, c.125,000 sq mi (323,750 sq km), central Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, NW China, between the Kunlun Mts. on the south and the...

Trogir

(Encyclopedia)Trogir trōˈgēr [key], Ger. Trau, town (2011 pop. 13,192), S Croatia, partly on the Adriatic island of Čiovo and partly on the mainland, separated by a channel. A small port, it is also a seaside r...

Baffin, William

(Encyclopedia)Baffin, William, c.1584–1622, British arctic explorer. He was pilot on two expeditions (1615–16) sent out to search for the Northwest Passage under command of Robert Bylot, who was formerly with H...

Saint-Brieuc

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Brieuc săN-brēöˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 47,370), capital of Côtes-d'Armor dept., NW France, on the Gouet River near its mouth on the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, an arm of the English Channel. Tour...

Caribbean Sea

(Encyclopedia)Caribbean Sea kârˌĭbēˈən, kərĭbˈēən [key], tropical sea, c.970,000 sq mi (2,512,950 sq km), arm of the Atlantic Ocean, Central America. It is bordered on the N and E by the West Indies arch...

air lock

(Encyclopedia)air lock, compartment connecting two different environments, usually at different pressures, that enables personnel to transfer from one environment to the other. Space capsules have air locks to enab...

Europa Island

(Encyclopedia)Europa Island yo͝orōˈpə [key], volcanic island, c.11 sq mi (28 sq km), between Madagascar and Mozambique in the Mozambique Channel, W Indian Ocean, part of the Scattered Islands district in the Fr...