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Hopkins, Sir Frederick Gowland

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, Sir Frederick Gowland, 1861–1947, English biochemist, educated at Cambridge and the Univ. of London. He was professor of biochemistry at Cambridge (1914–43). Among his contributions were ...

stearin

(Encyclopedia)stearin stērˈĭn [key], fat that is the triglyceride of stearic acid, CH3(CH2)16CO2H, i.e., the tristearate ester of glycerol. It is a white crystalline solid at ordinary temperatures and is insolub...

bayberry

(Encyclopedia)bayberry, common name for the Myricaceae, a family of trees and shrubs with aromatic foliage, found chiefly in temperate and subtropical regions. The waxy gray “berries” of the North American wild...

Wöhler, Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Wöhler, Friedrich frēˈdrĭkh vöˈlər [key], 1800–1882, German chemist. He studied under the German chemist Leopold Gmelin and J. J. Berzelius, a Swedish chemist, and in 1836 was appointed profe...

liturgy, Islamic

(Encyclopedia)liturgy, Islamic, mandatory ritual prayer in Islam (salat) is performed five times a day at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night. It requires ritual cleanliness, and is preceded by ablutions. The ...

Masekela, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Masekela, Hugh măsˌəkĕlˈə [key], 1939–2018, South African singer, composer, band leader, and trumpet player. After working with several South African jazz bands, he and his then-wife Miriam Ma...

Kurokawa, Kisho Noriaki

(Encyclopedia)Kurokawa, Kisho Noriaki nôrēäˈkē kēˈshō ko͞orōˈkäwä [key], 1934–2007, Japanese architect, grad. Tokyo Univ. (Ph.D., 1964). The youngest founding member of the group of architects known ...

evaporimeter

(Encyclopedia)evaporimeter ĭvăpˌərĭmˈətər [key], instrument that measures the rate of evaporation of water into the atmosphere, sometimes called an atmometer. Evaporimeters are of two types, those that meas...

vanilla

(Encyclopedia)vanilla, a plant of the genus Vanilla of the family Orchidaceae (orchid family). Vines of hot, damp climates, most are indigenous to Central and South America, especially Mexico, but are now cultivate...

quetzal

(Encyclopedia)quetzal kāsälˈ [key], common name for a magnificent bird of the family Trogonidae (trogon family), found in the rain forests from S Mexico to Costa Rica at altitudes of up to 9,000 ft (2,745 m). It...