|
rabies
rabies or hydrophobia , acute viral infection of the central nervous system in dogs, foxes, raccoons, skunks, bats, and other animals, and in humans. The virus is transmitted from an animal to a person, or from one animal to another, via infected saliva, most often by biting but also by the cont...
Read more
|
|
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur , 1822-95, French chemist. He taught at Dijon, Strasbourg, and Lille, and in Paris at the École normale supérieure and the Sorbonne (1867-89). His early research consisted of chemical studies of the tartrates, in which he discovered (1848) molecular dissymmetry. He then b...
Read more
|
|
alyssum
alyssum , any species of the genus Alyssum of the family Cruciferae ( mustard family), annual and perennial herbs native to the Mediterranean area. A few species, notably the perennial golden tuft ( A. saxatile ), are cultivated as rock-garden or border ornamentals for their masses of yellow or w...
Read more
|
|
encephalitis
encephalitis , general term used to describe a diffuse inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, usually of viral origin, often transmitted by mosquitoes, in contrast to a bacterial infection of the meninges (membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord), known as meningitis . Diagnostic symptom...
Read more
|
|
infection
infection invasion of plant or animal tissues by microorganisms, i.e., bacteria , viruses , viroids , fungi , rickettsias , and protozoans . The invasion of body tissues by parasitic worms and other higher organisms is commonly referred to as infestation.
Invading organisms such as bac...
Read more
|
|
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace 1823-1913, English naturalist. From his study of comparative biology in Brazil and in the East Indies, he evolved a concept of evolution similar to that of Charles Darwin . Like Darwin, he was greatly influenced by the writings of Malthus and Lyell and based his theories ...
Read more
|
|
Ralph Neville Westmorland, 1st earl of
Ralph Neville Westmorland, 1st earl of 1364-1425, English nobleman. His family was one of the most powerful in England and shared domination of the northern counties with the Percy family, with whom the Nevilles were closely allied. Neville succeeded his father as Baron Neville of Raby in 1388 and ...
Read more
|
|
Harun al-Rashid
Harun al-Rashid [Arab.,=Aaron the Upright], c.764-809, 5th and most famous Abbasid caliph (786-809). He succeeded his brother Musa al-Hadi, fourth caliph, a year after the death of his father, Mahdi, the third caliph. In his youth he had been very successful as a general in invasions of Asia Mino...
Read more
|
|
quarantine
quarantine , isolation of persons, animals, places, and effects that carry or are suspected of harboring communicable disease. The term originally referred to the 40 days of offshore wait during which incoming vessels could not discharge passengers or cargo in the era when plague and other great e...
Read more
|
|
vampire bat
vampire bat name for the blood-drinking bats of the family Desmodontidae, found in the New World tropics. Vampire bats feed exclusively on the blood of living animals and are thus the only true parasites among mammals. There are three species ranging from Argentina to N Mexico. They are small (ab...
Read more
|