Spock, Benjamin (McLane) (b. May 2, 1903, New Haven, Conn., U.S.—d. March 15, 1998, La Jolla, Calif.) U.S. pediatrician. He received his M.D. from Columbia University and later practiced pediatrics and taught psychiatry and child development. His Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946; 7th ed., 1998, Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care), which urged parental flexibility and reliance on common sense and discouraged corporal punishment, influenced generations of parents. Con¬ tinually revised and updated to address new social and medical issues, it has sold over 50 million copies in 39 languages. In 1967 he ceased his medical practice to devote himself to the anti-Vietnam War movement. His advocacy late in life of a vegan (see vegetarianism) diet for children aroused great controversy.
spoils system or patronage system In U.S. politics, the practice by political parties of rewarding partisans and workers after winning an election. Proponents claim it helps maintain an active party organization by offering supporters jobs and contracts. Critics charge that it awards appointments to the unqualified and is inefficient because even jobs unre¬ lated to public policy change hands after an election. In the U.S., the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) was the first step in introducing the merit system in the hiring of government workers. The merit system has almost completely replaced the spoils system. See also civil service.
Scanning electron micrograph of the spirochete Treponema pallidum attached to testicular cell membranes.
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1804 I Spokane ► sports-car racing
Spokane \spo-'kan\ City (pop., 2000: 195,629), eastern Washington, U.S. Situated at the falls of the Spokane River, the city was settled on the site of a trading post established in 1810. It was incorporated in 1881 after the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway. A fire in 1889 destroyed much of the city, but it soon was rebuilt and developed into a trade and shipping hub for the surrounding region. Completion of the Grand Cou¬ lee Dam Project (1941) assured industrial growth. Spokane is home to Gonzaga University (1887) and is a gateway to the resorts of Mount Spo¬ kane and several national forests.
sponge Any of some 5,000 species (phylum Porifera) of permanently affixed (sessile), mostly marine, solitary or colonial invertebrates, found from shallow to deep (more than 30,000 ft, or 9,000 m) waters. Simple sponges are hollow cylinders with a large opening at the top through which water and wastes are expelled. A thin, perforated outer epidermal layer covers a porous skeleton, which is composed of interlocking spi¬ cules of calcium carbonate, silica, or spongin (found in 80% of all sponges), a proteinaceous material. The body, ranging in diameter or length from 1 in. (2.5 cm) to several yards, may be fingerlike, treelike, or a shapeless mass. Sponges lack organs and specialized tissue; flagel¬ lated cells move water into the central cavity through the perforations, and individual cells digest food (bacteria, other microorganisms, and organic debris), excrete waste, and absorb oxygen. Sponges can repro¬ duce asexually or sexually. Larval forms are free-swimming but all adults are sessile. Since antiquity, sponges have been harvested for use in hold¬ ing water, bathing, and scrubbing; because of overharvesting and newer technologies, most sponges sold today are synthetic. See illustration oppo¬ site.
spoonbill Any of six species (family Threskiornithidae) of long-necked, long-legged wading birds, inhabitants of Old and New World estuaries, saltwater bayous, and lakes. They are 24-32 in. (60-80 cm) long and have a short tail and a long, straight bill that is spatulate at the tip. Most spe¬ cies are white, sometimes rose-tinged; the roseate spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja ) of North and South America is deep pink and strikingly beautiful. With a side-to-side motion of the bill, they sweep mud and shallow water for fishes and crustaceans. They fly with neck and legs extended and wings flapping steadily. Breeding colonies build stick nests in low bushes and trees. Some species, including the black-billed spoonbill, are endangered. See also ibis.
spoonerism Reversal of the initial letters or syllables of two or more words, such as “I have a half-warmed fish in my mind” (for “half-formed wish”) and “a blushing crow” (“a crushing blow”). The word is derived from the name of William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), a distin¬ guished Anglican clergyman and warden of New College, Oxford, a ner¬ vous man who committed many “spoonerisms.” Such transpositions are often made intentionally for comic effect.
spore Reproductive cell capable of developing into a new individual without fusing with another reproductive cell. Spores thus differ from gametes, which must fuse in pairs in order to create a new individual. Spores are agents of nonsexual reproduction; gametes are agents of sexual reproduction. Spores are produced by bacteria, fungi (see fungus), and green plants. Bacterial spores serve largely as a resting, or dormant, stage in the life cycle, preserving the bacterium through periods of unfavorable conditions. Many bacterial spores are highly durable and can germinate even after years of dormancy. Fungal spores serve a function similar to that of seeds in plants; they germinate and grow into new individuals under suitable conditions of moisture, temperature, and food availability. Among green plants (all of which have a life cycle characterized by alternation of generations), spores are the reproductive agents of the nonsexual gen¬ eration (sporophyte), giving rise to the sexual generation (gametophyte).
sporophyte \'spor-9- 1 fit\ In many plants and algae, the nonsexual phase in the alternation of generations, or an individual representing the phase. The alternate, sexual phase is the gametophyte. In the sporophyte phase, a diploid (see ploidy) plant body grows and eventually produces spores through meiosis. These spores divide by mitosis to produce haploid game- tophytes, which then can carry out sexual reproduction.
sports and games Recreational or competitive activities that involve physical skill, intellectual acumen, and often luck (especially in the case of games of chance). Play is an integral part of human nature. Through¬ out history, humans have invented sporting and gaming activities as a means to socialize, to display skills and prowess, and to entertain or offer excitement. The earliest games may have been based on hunting and
collar cell (choanocyte)
A simple saclike sponge. Its surface is perforated by small openings (incurrent pores) formed by tubelike cells (porocytes), which open into the internal cavity. A gelatinous middle layer contains the skeletal elements (spicules and spongin fibers) as well as amebocytes active in digestion, waste removal, and spicule and spongin formation. Flagellated collar cells (choanocytes) line the internal cavity, create cur¬ rents to move water containing oxygen and food into the sponge, and engulf and digest food particles. Water and wastes are expelled through the ostium opening, whose size can be altered to regulate water flow through the sponge.
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gathering activities. In modern times, with the emergence of professional sports, games continue to serve as physical and emotional outlets, as diversions, and as enrichments to daily life while also playing a pro¬ nounced economic role.
sports-car racing Form of motor racing involving small, two- passenger automobiles. The cars are designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving. Unlike the cars used in Grand Prix racing, the sports car is usually series-produced, seldom handmade, and the reputation of the car maker (Porsche, Jaguar, etc.) is thus put at stake. The most famous international sports-car race is that at Le Mans, France.