Glossary
Africanization Political policy favoring and promoting self-government and forming economic programs by ethnic native Africans.
annual population growth rate The percentage that a population grows each year as a result of births exceeding deaths.
capsid The protein coat surrounding a virus's nucleic acid (DNA or RNA).
dambo A geologic feature that forms a shallow depression, often located near a river.
envelope A lipoprotein membrane that surrounds the nucleocapsid (nucleic acid and capsid) of some viruses.
enzootic An outbreak of a disese affects animals in a certain area. In humans, such a disease would be characterized as endemic.
epizootic An outbreak of a disease that spreads quickly among animals, usually in one geographic area. In humans, such an occurrence would be an epidemic.
genus (plural genera) A taxonomic category ranking below a family and above a species. A genus is used by biologists either alone or followed by a Latin adjective to form the name of a species.
gross domestic product (GDP) The total market value of products and services produced within the borders of a country. Most economists currently use GDP instead of GNP as a measure of a nation's economic productivity.
gross national product (GNP) The total value of products or services produced by a country. It is similar to GDP, but GNP includes a nation's investments abroad and is considered a less accurate measure of a country's economic productivity.
labor force The number of individuals in a population capable of and actively seeking work.
lipids Fats. Detergents are able to inactivate enveloped viruses by disrupting lipids that make up the envelope.
minus-strand RNA (also negative-strand RNA) Single-strand viral nucleic acid may be positive-strand or negative-stand, depending on whether its structure is homologous (same) or complementary, to the mRNA of the virus.
net population growth The amount of population growth as a combined result of births, deaths, and migration.
nanometer 10^-9 meters.
per capita income The total national income divided by total population. It gives a measure of average individual wealth "per head" for a nation as a whole.
rifting A geologic term that describes the process that occurs when land sinks between two parallel faults.
Swahili This Bantu language of eastern and central Africa, borrowed heavily from Arabic. It is used as a medium of communication between peoples speaking different languages ("lingua franca").
virion A single, complete, fully-formed virus particle.
virus A submicroscopic disease-causing agent that consists of a core of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a capsid (protein coat). A virus can only reproduce itself inside a living cell.

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