Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) cytomegalovirus sīˌtəmĕgˌəlōvīˈrəs [key], member of the herpesvirus family that can cause serious complications in persons with weakened immune systems and infants. A common virus, it is est...

(Encyclopedia) malleability, property of a metal describing the ease with which it can be hammered, forged, pressed, or rolled into thin sheets. Metals vary in this respect; pure gold is the most malleable. Silver, ...

(Encyclopedia) Irún ēro͞onˈ [key], town, Gipuzkoa (Guipúzcoa) prov., N Spain, in the Basque Country nea...

(Encyclopedia) Bingham Canyon or Bingham, uninc. village, N central Utah, near Tooele, in a canyon of the Oquirrh Mts. SW of Salt Lake City. At first (1848) a farm of the Mormons Thomas and Sanford Bingham, it becam...

(Encyclopedia) Driftless Area, c.13,000 sq mi (33,670 sq km), largely in SW Wis. but extending into SE Minn., NE Iowa, and NW Ill. The continental glacier which covered most surrounding regions did not touch this ar...

(Encyclopedia) Singer, Isaac Merrit, 1811–75, American inventor, b. Rensselaer co., N.Y. As a child he lived in Oswego, N.Y. He patented in 1851 a practical sewing machine that could do continuous stitching. Altho...

(Encyclopedia) Roebuck, John, 1718–94, English physician, chemist, and inventor. He acted as a chemical consultant to local industries in Birmingham and invented the lead chamber process of manufacturing sulfuric ...

(Encyclopedia) Red Deer, city (1991 pop. 58,134), S central Alta., Canada, on the Red Deer River. It developed as a trade and service center for a region of dairying and mixed farming. The discovery of oil and natur...

(Encyclopedia) Paropamisus pârˌəpămˈĭsəs, –pəmīˈsəs [key], mountain range, NW Afghanistan, stretching c.300 mi (480 km) W from the Hindu Kush toward the Elburz Mts. in Iran; rises to c.11,000 ft (3,350 ...

(Encyclopedia) Hengyang hŭng-yäng [key], city (1994 est. pop. 543,100), central Hunan prov., China, on the Xiang River, at the mouth of the Lei River. It is the leading transportation center of Hunan, linking wate...