Hoffmann completed his PhD in biology at the University of Strasbourg in 1969. His post-doctoral training was at the Institut für Physiologische Chemie at Philipps-Universität in Marburg an der Lahn, Germany in 1973–1974.
Hoffmann was a research assistant at CNRS from 1964 to 1968, and became a research associate in 1969. Since 1974 he has been a Research Director of CNRS. Between 1978 and 2005 he was Director of the CNRS research unit "Immune Response and Development in Insects", and from 1993 to 2005 he was director of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of CNRS in Strasbourg.
Hoffmann is a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the French National Academy of Sciences, the Academia Europaea, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Autoimmune disease
Autoimmune disease is when the body's immune system attacks its own body. The function of the immune system is to recognise and reject foreign bodies like bacteria. Sometimes the system goes wrong, and the body itself gets damaged by its immune system. Examples are:
Factoid
Factoid is stating a fact that is not backed up by evidence. The factoid may not be trusted because
Factoids become widely treated as if they were true.
In 1973, the term "factoid" was created and first used by Norman Mailer.
A factoid is "an item of unreliable information which is repeated so often that it becomes accepted as a fact". The most important thing is that the factoid is widely believed.
A factoid refers to something that looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact.
The term can also be used to describe partial information without context.
Allotropes of carbon
There are several allotropes of carbon. Diamond and graphite are the most famous. Graphite is a conductor, a semimetal (an element that is partially a metal and a nonmetal, such as black phosphorus and grey selenium). It can be used, for instance, as the material in the electrodes of an electrical arc lamp. Graphite is the most stable form of solid carbon ever discovered.
Allotropes are different forms of the same chemical element. All elements are made up uniquely of their own atoms. Any physical differences are because of how the atoms are joined together. Many elements show allotropy because there are a number of ways in which the atoms can be linked together. Also there are different ways in how the molecules can be arranged to make larger structures.
Diamond is one of the best known allotropes of carbon. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it good for use in jewellery. It also has industrial uses. Diamond is the hardest known natural mineral. This makes it an excellent abrasive. A diamond also holds its luster well. Both diamond and graphite have extremely high melting point, which is unusual for nonmetallic element.
SpySheriff
SpySheriff, also known as Brave Sentry, SpyAxe, SpywareSheriff, Pest Trap, SpyTrooper, Spywareno, and MalwareAlarm, is malware that pretends to be real anti-spyware program. SpySheriff tries to trick the user into buying the program by making false warnings and alerts. It is very difficult to remove SpySheriff from computers, since it hides its parts in "System Restore" folders. SpySheriff also blocks some parts of the computer's administrative tools. Like other rogue antivirus programs, SpySheriff asks the user to register when they click "Remove found threats". SpySheriff can be removed by real antivirus programs.
Lunokhod 1
Lunokhod 1 was a lunar rover made by the Soviet Union. It was part of the Lunokhod programme. It was the first man made rover (vehicle) to land on another planet. It landed on the Moon on November 17, 1970. It drove around on the Moon for nearly a year, collecting information about the soil and landscape. The Lunokhod had only two speeds, 1 km/h or 2 km/h. It had four TV cameras and was controlled by a five person team on Earth.
It was lost for almost 40 years, but the space rocket which delivered the rover to the Moon was found in photos taken by the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Scientists were then able to follow the rover's tracks and found the rover about 10 km away. They can now send laser beams to a reflector on the rover which will send them back to Earth. This will help them with measurements to find the exact centre of the Moon.
Salmonella enterica
Salmonella enterica is a rod-shaped bacterium. It is a member of the genus "Salmonella".
It causes typhoid fever. The symptoms of typhoid fever include nausea, vomiting, and fever. The main source of infection is from swallowing infected water. Food may also be able to pick up the bacterium if it is washed or grown with contaminated water.
Medusa (biology)
In biology, a medusa (plural: medusae) is a form of cnidarian in which the body is shaped like an umbrella. The other main body-form is the polyp.
Medusae vary from bell-shaped to the shape of a thin disk, scarcely convex above and only slightly concave below. The upper or aboral surface is called the "exumbrella" and the lower surface is called the "subumbrella"; the mouth is on the lower surface, which may be partially closed by a membrane extending inward from the margin (called the "velum"). The digestive cavity consists of the gastrovascular cavity and radiating canals which extend toward the margin; these canals may be simple or branching, and vary in number from few to many. The margin of the disk bears sensory organs and tentacles.
In the class Hydrozoa, medusae are the sexual individuals of many species, alternating in the life cycle with asexual polyps. The medusa form of Hydrozoans are known as hydromedusae. A polyp is the form that attaches to a surface, while a medusa is the form that is free-floating; a species of cnidarian may take each form in a different phase of its life.
The medusa form predominates in the classes Scyphozoa (the common, colourful, large jellyfish) and Cubozoa. Except for freshwater hydrozoans like "Craspedacusta sowerbyi", these are the only classes in which medusae appear.
Medusae may have many tentacles with which they catch their prey. Sometimes, people bathing in the ocean are touched by a medusa. Their tentacles are long and thin and covered in venomous stinging cells (known as nematocysts). They inject poison which immobilizes small fish. People who are stung should seek medical attention. There have been some deaths after severe medusa stings.
Expenditure
In economics an expenditure is when a company buys fixed assets that will create a benefit in the future, or when the company upgrades existing assets so that they can be used for a longer time. This constitutes an investment, as the benefits of the use usually last much longer than the fiscal year. Depreciation also happens: the cost that the company took to upgrade or buy the assets will usually not be deducted directly, in one year; depending on the form of calculation used, a part of the cost will be deducted each year, as a form of expense.
UN Women
UN Women is an organization of the United Nations made in 2010. It was made from United Nations Development Fund for Women for equality of gender and women's rights. Michelle Bachelet was the president of the UN Women.
Ruslan Salei
Ruslan "Rusty" Salei (Belarusian: Руслан Салей; November 2, 1974 – September 7, 2011) was a Belarusian professional ice hockey player. During 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) he played for the Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. On September 7, 2011, the Yakovlev Yak-42 passenger aircraft, carrying the entire Lokomotiv team including Salei crashed near Yaroslavl on its way to Minsk, Belarus.
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