PollutionPollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants. Although environmental pollution can be caused by natural events, the word pollution generally implies that the contaminants have an anthropogenic source – that is, a source created by human activities, such as manufacturing, extractive industries, poor waste management, transportation or agriculture.
Growth mediumA growth medium or culture medium is a solid, liquid, or semi-solid designed to support the growth of a population of microorganisms or cells via the process of cell proliferation or small plants like the moss Physcomitrella patens. Different types of media are used for growing different types of cells. The two major types of growth media are those used for cell culture, which use specific cell types derived from plants or animals, and those used for microbiological culture, which are used for growing microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi.
Prime Minister of SpainThe prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (Presidente del Gobierno), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regulated in 1823 as a chairmanship of the extant Council of Ministers, although it is not possible to determine when it actually originated. Upon a vacancy, the Spanish monarch nominates a presidency candidate for a vote of confidence by the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales (parliament).
Toxic heavy metalA toxic heavy metal is any relatively dense metal or metalloid that is noted for its potential toxicity, especially in environmental contexts. The term has particular application to cadmium, mercury and lead, all of which appear in the World Health Organization's list of 10 chemicals of major public concern. Other examples include manganese, chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, silver, antimony and thallium. Heavy metals are found naturally in the earth.
L-form bacteriaL-form bacteria, also known as L-phase bacteria, L-phase variants or cell wall-deficient (CWD) bacteria, are growth forms derived from different bacteria. They lack cell walls. Two types of L-forms are distinguished: unstable L-forms, spheroplasts that are capable of dividing, but can revert to the original morphology, and stable L-forms, L-forms that are unable to revert to the original bacteria. L-form bacteria were first isolated in 1935 by Emmy Klieneberger-Nobel, who named them "L-forms" after the Lister Institute in London where she was working.
ChromiteChromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The element magnesium can substitute for iron in variable amounts as it forms a solid solution with magnesiochromite (MgCr2O4). A substitution of the element aluminium can also occur, leading to hercynite (FeAl2O4). Chromite today is mined particularly to make stainless steel through the production of ferrochrome (FeCr), which is an iron-chromium alloy.
Hair removalHair removal, also known as epilation or depilation, is the deliberate removal of body hair or head hair. Hair typically grows all over the human body and can vary in thickness and length across human populations. Hair becomes more visible during and after puberty and men tend to have thicker, more visible body hair than women. Both males and females have visible body hair on the head, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpits, genital area, arms, and legs.
Prime Minister of RomaniaThe prime minister of Romania (Prim-ministrul României), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania (Prim-ministrul Guvernului României), is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled President of the Council of Ministers (Președintele Consiliului de Miniștri), when the term "Government" included more than the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was called the Council of Ministers (Consiliul de Miniștri). The title was officially changed to Prime Minister by the 1965 Constitution of Romania during the communist regime.
Group 6 elementGroup 6, numbered by IUPAC style, is a group of elements in the periodic table. Its members are chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W), and seaborgium (Sg). These are all transition metals and chromium, molybdenum and tungsten are refractory metals. The electron configuration of these elements do not follow a unified trend, though the outermost shells do correlate with trends in chemical behavior: "Group 6" is the new IUPAC name for this group; the old style name was "group VIB" in the old US system (CAS) or "group VIA" in the European system (old IUPAC).
GeomicrobiologyGeomicrobiology is the scientific field at the intersection of geology and microbiology and is a major subfield of geobiology. It concerns the role of microbes on geological and geochemical processes and effects of minerals and metals to microbial growth, activity and survival. Such interactions occur in the geosphere (rocks, minerals, soils, and sediments), the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Geomicrobiology studies microorganisms that are driving the Earth's biogeochemical cycles, mediating mineral precipitation and dissolution, and sorbing and concentrating metals.
