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retrovirus

(Encyclopedia) retrovirus, type of RNA virus that, unlike other RNA viruses, reproduces by transcribing itself into DNA. An enzyme called reverse transcriptase allows a retrovirus's RNA to act as the…

Prayuth Chan-ocha

(Encyclopedia) Prayuth Chan-ochaPrayuth Chan-ochapräy&oomacr;tˈ chän-ōchäˈ [key], 1954–, Thai army officer and political leader. After training at the Royal Military Academy, he joined the Thai…

personal watercraft

(Encyclopedia) personal watercraft (PWC), a lightweight vessel usually less than 16 ft (5 m) long that uses an inboard water jet pump, powered by an internal-combustion engine, as its primary source…

Peter Lombard

(Encyclopedia) Peter Lombard, Lat. Petrus Lombardus, c.1100–c.1160, Italian theologian, often called Magister Sententiarum. He studied at Bologna, Reims, and Paris, where he is said to have been a…

Passion play

(Encyclopedia) Passion play, genre of the miracle play that has survived from the Middle Ages into modern times. Its subject is the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Passion plays were…

Tarawa

(Encyclopedia) TarawaTarawatəräˈwə, tărˈəwä [key], atoll (1990 pop. 28,802), capital of Kiribati, central Pacific, previously capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.…

Kotelawala, Sir John Lionel

(Encyclopedia) Kotelawala, Sir John Lionel, 1895–1980, Sri Lankan political and military leader. After studying at Christ College, Cambridge, he returned to Sri Lanka (then the British colony of…

Knox, Philander Chase

(Encyclopedia) Knox, Philander ChaseKnox, Philander Chasefəlănˈdər [key], 1853–1921, U.S. cabinet member, b. Brownsville, Pa. He built up a fortune as a corporation lawyer in Pittsburgh. He was…

Leonov, Leonid Maksimovich

(Encyclopedia) Leonov, Leonid MaksimovichLeonov, Leonid Maksimovichlyāənyētˈ məksyēmˈəvĭch lyāôˈnəf [key], 1899–1994, Russian novelist and playwright. Leonov was a major figure in the development of…

La Trémoille, Georges de

(Encyclopedia) La Trémoille or La Trimouille, Georges deLa Trémoille or La Trimouille, Georges dezhôrzh də lä trāmoiˈyə or trēm&oomacr;ˈyə [key], c.1385–1446, favorite of King Charles VII of…