General Motors Corp. (GM) U.S. corporation, the world’s largest automotive manufacturer for most of the 20th century and into the 21st. It was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant to consolidate several motor¬ car companies, and it soon included the makers of Buick, Oldsmobile (discontinued in 2004), Cadillac, and Oakland (later Pontiac) autos. GM acquired the Chevrolet auto company in 1918 and formed General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) in 1919. By 1929 GM had passed Ford Motor Co. to become the leading U.S. auto manufacturer and had added such overseas operations as Vauxhall of England. GM bought Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) in 1984, and in 1986 it bought Hughes Air¬ craft Co. (renamed Hughes Electronic Corp.). GM founded a new auto¬ motive division, Saturn, in 1984 to compete with Japanese automobiles. In renewing its focus on the automotive business, GM spun off EDS in 1996, sold portions of Hughes in 1997, and became the sole owner of Saab Automobile AB in 2000.
general practice See family practice
general staff Group of military officers that assists the commander of a division or larger unit by helping to formulate and disseminate policy and by transmitting orders and overseeing their execution. It is distin¬ guished from staffs that consist of technical specialists (e.g., medical, police, communications, and supply officers). It appeared in its modern form in the Prussian army in the early 19th century and in other Euro¬ pean countries after 1870. The U.S. Army created a general staff in 1903.
general strike Stoppage of work by a substantial proportion of work¬ ers in each of a number of industries in an organized effort to achieve economic or political objectives. The idea of a general strike spanning a variety of industries apparently began in Britain in the early 19th century; it was envisioned as a tactic of collective bargaining or, by more radical thinkers, as an instrument of social revolution. Notable general strikes occurred in Russia during the Revolution of 1905, in Britain in 1926 (car¬ ried on by various labour unions in support of striking coal miners), and in France in 1967 (touched off by student demands for educational reform).
General Telephone and Electronics Corp. See GTE Corp.
generative grammar Vje-no-ro-tovN Finite set of formal rules that will produce all the grammatical sentences of a language. The idea of a generative grammar was first definitively articulated by Noam Chomsky in Syntactic Structures (1957). The generative grammarian’s task is ideally not just to define the interrelation of elements in a particular language, but also to characterize universal grammar—that is, the set of rules and principles intrinsic to all natural languages, which are thought to be an innate endowment of the human intellect. See also grammar, syntax.
in it, dating from 950 bc to the 5th century bc, though incorporating mate¬ rial from much earlier. It is one of the five books that make up the Pen¬ tateuch (see Torah).
Genet, Citizen Edmond See Citizen Genet Affair
Genet \zhs-'na\, Jean (b. Dec. 19, 1910, Paris, France—d. April 15, 1986, Paris) French novelist and dramatist. An illegitimate child aban¬ doned by his mother, Genet began to write while imprisoned for burglary. His first novel, Our Lady of the Flowers (1944), portrays an underworld of thugs, pimps, and hustlers. Miracle of the Rose (1945-46) is based on his adolescence at a notorious reform school, and The Thief’s Journal (1949) recounts his life as a tramp, pickpocket, and prostitute. He became a leading figure in avant-garde theatre with such plays as The Maids (1947), The Balcony (1956), and The Blacks (1958), stylized Expression¬ ist dramas designed to shock and implicate an audience by revealing its hypocrisy and complicity in an exploitative social order. Admired by the existentialists, he was the subject of Jean-Paul Sartre’s huge and adula¬ tory biography Saint Genet (1952).
genetic code Sequence of nucleotides in DNA and RNA that determines the amino acid sequence of proteins. A messenger RNA molecule synthe¬ sized from the DNA directs the synthesis of the protein. Three adjacent nucleotides constitute a unit known as a codon; each codon codes for a single amino acid. There are 64 possible codons, 61 of which specify the 20 amino acids that make up proteins. Because most of the 20 amino acids are coded for by more than one codon, the code is called degenerate. Once thought to be identical in all forms of life, the genetic code has been found to vary slightly in certain organisms and in the mitochondria of some eukaryotes.
genetic drift Change in the pool of genes of a small population that takes place strictly by chance. Genetic drift can result in genetic traits being lost
magnet alternating current
generator Machine that converts mechanical energy to electricity for transmission and distribution over power lines to domestic, commercial, and industrial customers. Generators also produce the electric power required for automobiles, aircraft, ships, and trains. The mechanical power for an electric generator is usually obtained from a rotating shaft and is equal to the shaft torque multiplied by the rotational, or angular, velocity (speed). The mechanical power may come from various sources: turbines powered by water, wind, steam, or gas; gasoline engines; or diesel engines. See illustration opposite.
Genesee \je-n3-'se, 'je-no-.seV River River, Pennsylvania and New York, U.S. It flows north from its headwaters in Pennsylvania, bisecting Rochester, N.Y., to enter Lake Ontario after a course of 158 mi (254 km). Midway along its course, it flows into a 25-mi (40-km) gorge with sides rising at times 800 ft (245 m) above its banks. Called the “Grand Can¬ yon of the East,” it is the focal point of Letchworth State Park.
Genesis Vje-no-sosV First book of the Bible. Its name, taken from its first verse, means “beginning.” Genesis provides the creation story for Juda¬ ism and Christianity and begins the history of the Israelite people. In addition to God’s creation of the universe, it includes the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and God’s covenant with the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, conclud¬ ing with the story of Jacob’s son Joseph. It is traditionally ascribed to Moses, but modern scholarship has identified at least three literary strains
m a9 n et direct current
magnetic field
Alternating-current (AC) and direct-current (DC) generators (top and bottom, respectively). The basic generator design consists of a loop or coil of wire (arma¬ ture) rotating in a magnetic field. The magnetic field causes a current to flow in the moving wire, via induction. Whether alternating or direct current is generated depends on whether the ends of the looped wire are attached to a set of slip rings (AC) or to a commutator (DC).
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genetic engineering ► Genoa I 747
from a population or becoming widespread in a population without respect to the survival or reproductive value of the gene pairs (alleles) involved. A random statistical effect, genetic drift can occur only in small, isolated populations in which the gene pool is small enough that chance events can change its makeup substantially. In larger populations, any specific allele is carried by so many individuals that it is almost certain to be transmitted by some of them unless it is biologically unfavourable.
genetic engineering Artificial manipulation, modification, and recombination of DNA or other nucleic-acid molecules in order to modify an organism or population of organisms. The term initially meant any of a wide range of techniques for modifying or manipulating organisms through heredity and reproduction. Now the term denotes the narrower field of recombinant-DNA technology, or gene cloning, in which DNA molecules from two or more sources are combined, either within cells or in test tubes, and then inserted into host organisms in which they are able to reproduce. This technique is used to produce new genetic combinations that are of value to science, medicine, agriculture, or industry. Through recombinant- DNA techniques, bacteria have been created that are capable of synthesiz¬ ing human insulin, human interferon, human growth hormone, a hepatitis-B vaccine, and other medically useful substances. Recombinant- DNA techniques, combined with the development of a technique for pro¬ ducing antibodies in great quantity, have made an impact on medical diagnosis and cancer research. Plants have been genetically adjusted to per¬ form nitrogen fixation and to produce their own pesticides. Bacteria capable of biodegrading oil have been produced for use in oil-spill clean¬ ups. Genetic engineering also introduces the fear of adverse genetic manipulations and their consequences (e.g., antibiotic-resistant bacteria or new strains of disease). See also biotechnology, molecular biology.