Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

cheese

(Encyclopedia)cheese, food known from ancient times and consisting of the curd of milk separated from the whey. The numerous cheeses (often named for their place of origin) depend for their distinctive qualities ...

silver

(Encyclopedia)silver, metallic chemical element; symbol Ag [Lat. argentum]; at. no. 47; at. wt. 107.8682; m.p. 961.93℃; b.p. 2,212℃; sp. gr. 10.5 at 20℃; valence +1 or +2. Pure silver is nearly white, lustrou...

penicillin

(Encyclopedia)penicillin, any of a group of chemically similar substances obtained from molds of the genus Penicillium that were the first antibiotic agents to be used successfully in the treatment of bacterial inf...

reproduction

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Examples of asexual reproduction reproduction, capacity of all living systems to give rise to new systems similar to themselves. The term reproduction may refer to this power of self-duplicati...

melanin

(Encyclopedia)melanin mĕlˈənĭn [key], water-insoluble polymer of various compounds derived from the amino acid tyrosine. It is one of two pigments found in human skin and hair and adds brown to skin color; the ...

mountain laurel

(Encyclopedia)mountain laurel, evergreen shrub (Kalmia latifolia) of the family Ericaceae (heath family), closely related to the rhododendron and native to E North America. The state flower of Connecticut and Penns...

mango

(Encyclopedia)mango măngˈgō [key], evergreen tree of the Anacardiaceae (sumac family), native to tropical E Asia and now grown in both hemispheres. The chief species, Mangifera indica, is believed to have been c...

Rothamsted

(Encyclopedia)Rothamsted rŏthˈəmstĭd [key], world's oldest and England's most important agricultural experiment station, now the main center of the Institute of Arable Crops Research (IACR). It was founded in 1...

thallium

(Encyclopedia)thallium thălˈēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Tl; at. no. 81; interval in which at. wt. ranges 204.382–204.385; m.p. 303.5℃; b.p. about 1,457℃; sp. gr. 11.85 at 20℃; valence +...

threonine

(Encyclopedia)CE5 threonine thrēˈənēn [key], organic compound, one of the 22 α-amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein. It is one of several essen...