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blackmail

(Encyclopedia)blackmail, in law, exaction of money from another by threat of exposure of criminal action or of disreputable conduct. The term was originally used for the tribute levied until the 18th cent. upon the...

Lie, Jonas Lauritz Idemil

(Encyclopedia)Lie, Jonas Lauritz Idemil yōˈnäs louˈrĭts ēˈdəmēl lē [key], 1833–1908, Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright. His writing deals with family life in diverse settings. The Pilot and His W...

actinomycin

(Encyclopedia)actinomycin ăkˌtənōmīˈsən [key], any one of a group of antibiotics produced by bacteria of the genus Streptomyces. Actinomycin was the first antibiotic reported to be able to halt cancer; howev...

amphotericin B

(Encyclopedia)amphotericin B ămˌfətĕrˈĭsĭn [key], antibiotic that halts the growth of several disease-causing fungi. Discovered in 1956, it is produced by bacteria of the genus Streptomyces. It is used in lo...

Bassett, Angela Evelyn

(Encyclopedia) Bassett, Angela Evelyn 1958- , American actress, b. New York, N.Y., Yale Univ. (B.A., 1980; M.F.A., 1983; D.F.A. (2018, hon.). Bassett’s parents ...

gene therapy

(Encyclopedia)gene therapy, the use of genes and the techniques of genetic engineering in the treatment of a genetic disorder or chronic disease. There are many techniques of gene therapy, all of them still in expe...

antiviral drug

(Encyclopedia)antiviral drug, any of several drugs used to treat viral infections. The drugs act by interfering with a virus's ability to enter a host cell and replicate itself with the host cell's DNA. Some drugs ...

healers

(Encyclopedia)healers, people who treat illness or suffering by calling forth divine help or by attempting to control the body with the mind and spirit. Since prehistoric times healers have used such techniques as ...

sulfa drug

(Encyclopedia)sulfa drug, any of a class of synthetic chemical substances derived from sulfanilamide, or para-aminobenzenesulfonamide. Sulfa drugs are used to treat bacterial infections, although they have largely ...

Bruce

(Encyclopedia)Bruce, Scottish royal family descended from an 11th-century Norman duke, Robert de Brus. He aided William I in his conquest of England (1066) and was given lands in England. His son was granted fiefs ...

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