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self-help group

(Encyclopedia)self-help group, nonprofessional organization formed by people with a common problem or situation, for the purpose of pooling resources, gathering information, and offering mutual support, services, o...

gramicidin

(Encyclopedia)gramicidin grămˌĭsīdˈən [key], antibiotic obtained from the bacterial species Bacillus brevis, which is found in soil. Gramicidin is particularly effective against gram-positive bacteria (see Gr...

Pindling, Sir Lynden Oscar

(Encyclopedia)Pindling, Sir Lynden Oscar, 1930–2000, prime minister of the Bahamas (1967–92). The son of a policeman, he received a law degree (1952) from London Univ. As leader of the Progressive Liberal party...

Medellín

(Encyclopedia)Medellín māᵺāyēnˈ [key], city (1993 pop. 1,551,160), capital of Antioquia dept., W central Colombia. It is the country's chief manufacturing center. Textiles, steel, flowers, food products, aut...

Medicare

(Encyclopedia)Medicare, national health insurance program in the United States for persons aged 65 and over and the disabled. It was established in 1965 with passage of the Social Security Amendments and is now run...

Ramazzini, Bernardino

(Encyclopedia)Ramazzini, Bernardino bārnärdēˈnō rämät-tsēˈnē [key], 1633–1717, Italian physician. He was professor at Modena (1682–1700) and at Padua until 1714. He is often called the father of indus...

Tu Youyou

(Encyclopedia)Tu Youyou, 1930–, Chinese pharmaceutical chemist, B.S. Peking Univ. School of Medicine, 1955. Tu has spent her entire career as a researcher at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in B...

Posse Comitatus Act

(Encyclopedia)Posse Comitatus Act, 1878, U.S. federal law that makes it a crime to use the military as a domestic police force in the United States under most circumstances. The law was designed to end the use of f...

protease inhibitor

(Encyclopedia)protease inhibitor prōˈtē-āsˌ [key], any of a class of drugs that interfere with replication of the AIDS virus (HIV), by blocking an enzyme (protease) necessary in the late stages of its reproduc...

ayahuasca

(Encyclopedia)ayahuasca or yagé, drink made by boiling various South American plants, used for centuries by shamans of traditional societies in the Amazon region in religious and healing ceremonies. It is usually ...