Smells Like Teen Spirit

Cystic fibrosis is a common hereditary disease which affects the entire body, causing progressive disability and early death. Difficulty breathing is the most common symptom and results from frequent lung infections that are treated, though not always cured, by antibiotics and other medications. A multitude of other symptoms, including sinus infections, poor growth, diarrhea, and infertility, result from the effects of CF on other parts of the body. CF is one of the most common fatal inherited diseases. It is most prevalent among Caucasians and Ashkenazi Jews; one in 25 people of European descent carry one gene for CF. Individuals with cystic fibrosis can be diagnosed prior to birth by genetic testing or in early childhood by a sweat test. There is no cure for CF, and most individuals with cystic fibrosis die young — many in their 20s and 30s from lung failure. Ultimately, lung transplantation is often necessary as CF worsens. CF is caused by a mutation in a gene called the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator.

The Three Laws of Robotics form a set of three science fiction laws written by Isaac Asimov, which most robots appearing in his fiction must obey. Introduced in his short story "Runaround" in 1942, it states the following:
1. A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first passage in Asimov's short story "Liar!" (1941) that mentions the First Law is the earliest recorded use of the word robotics.‏¹ Asimov was not initially aware of this; he assumed the word already existed by analogy with mechanics, hydraulics, and other similar terms denoting branches of applied knowledge.‏²
The Three Laws form an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's fiction, appearing in the Foundation series and the other stories linked to it, as well as Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter. Other authors working in Asimov's fictional universe have adopted them, and references (often parodic) appear throughout science fiction and in other genres. Technologists in the field of artificial intelligence, working to create real machines with some of the properties of Asimov's robots, have speculated upon the role the Laws may have in the future.

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‏¹ http://members.aol.com/quentncree/lehrer/mexico.htm

encyclopedia

n : a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty [syn: cyclopedia, encyclopaedia, cyclopaedia]