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Rotifera

(Encyclopedia)Rotifera, phylum of predominantly free-living, microscopic, aquatic or semiterrestrial pseudocoelomates. Each rotifer has a head bearing a crown of cilia, the corona, at the anterior end; most rotifer...

cytosine

(Encyclopedia)cytosine sīˈtōsēnˌ [key], organic base of the pyrimidine family. It was isolated from the nucleic acid of calf thymus tissue in 1894. A suggested structure for cytosine, published in 1903, was co...

denaturation

(Encyclopedia)denaturation, term used to describe the loss of native, higher-order structure of protein molecules in solution. Most globular proteins exhibit complicated three-dimensional folding described as secon...

amnesia

(Encyclopedia)amnesia ămnēˈzhə [key], [Gr.,=forgetfulness], condition characterized by loss of memory for long or short intervals of time. It may be caused by injury, shock, senility, severe illness, or mental ...

life

(Encyclopedia)life, although there is no universal agreement as to a definition of life, its biological manifestations are generally considered to be organization, metabolism, growth, irritability, adaptation, and ...

mercury, chemical element

(Encyclopedia)mercury or quicksilver [from the Roman god Mercury], metallic chemical element; symbol Hg [Lat. hydrargyrum=liquid silver]; at. no. 80; at. wt. 200.59; m.p. −38.842℃; b.p. 356.58℃; sp. gr. 13.55...

Salinger, J. D.

(Encyclopedia)Salinger, J. D. (Jerome David Salinger) sălˈĭnjər [key], 1919–2010, American novelist and short-story writer, b. New York City. His considerable literary stature rests on a small but extremely i...

molding

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Moldings molding, in architecture, furniture, and decorative objects, a surface or group of surfaces of projecting or receding contours. A molding may serve as a defining element, terminating ...

palm

(Encyclopedia)palm, common name for members of the Palmae, a large family of chiefly tropical trees, shrubs, and vines. Most species are treelike, characterized by a crown of compound leaves, called fronds, termina...

phosphorus

(Encyclopedia)phosphorus fŏsˈfərəs [key] [Gr.,=light-bearing], nonmetallic chemical element; symbol P; at. no. 15; at. wt. 30.97376; m.p. 44.1℃; b.p. about 280℃; sp. gr. 1.82 at 20℃; valence −3, +3, or ...