zincblende See sphalerite
Zinder, Norton (David) (b. Nov. 7, 1928, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. biologist. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. He discovered genetic transduction (the transfer of genes from one type of microorganism to another by an agent such as a bacteriophage) in Sal¬ monella bacteria. Using this transduction, later researchers were able to show that bacterial genes affecting certain physiological processes were grouped together in what are now known as operons. His experiments also led to the discovery of the first bacteriophage that contained RNA as its genetic material.
Zinkernagel Vtsiq-kor-.na-golA English Vziq-kor-.na-goU, Rolf M(artin) (b. Jan. 6, 1944, Basel, Switz.) Swiss immunologist and pathologist. He received his Ph.D. from the Australian National Univer¬ sity. Studying T cells in mice infected with a meningitis virus, he and Peter Doherty found that those from one infected mouse would destroy infected cells from another only if the mice belonged to the same genetic strain: no immune response occurs unless the T cells recognize two signals, those of the virus and those identifying the cell as “self.” In 1992 he became head of the University of Zurich’s Institute of Experimental Immunology. In 1996 he and Doherty shared a Nobel Prize.
Zinnemann Vzin-o-monV Fred (b. April 29, 1907, Vienna, Austria—d. March 14, 1997, London, Eng.) Austrian-born U.S. film director. After studying law in his native Vienna, he learned cinematog¬ raphy in Paris and worked in Berlin. In 1929 he moved to Hollywood, and in 1934 he codirected his first feature. The Wave, which was initially followed largely by documentaries and short subjects. His feature films, many of which focus on the crisis of moral courage, include The Search (1948), The Men (1950), the classic western High Noon (1952), From Here to Eternity (1953, Academy Award), Oklahoma! (1955), The Nun’s
Story (1959), A Man for All Seasons (1966, Academy Award), The Day of the Jackal (1973), and Julia (1977).
zinnia Any of about 22 species of herbaceous plants and shrubs that make up the genus Zinnia (composite family), native mainly to North America. Where native, they are perennial; elsewhere they are annual.
Zinnias have stiff, hairy stems and oval or lance-shaped leaves arranged opposite each other and often clasp¬ ing the stem. The numerous garden varieties grown for their showy, soli¬ tary flowers come from the species Z. elegans. Garden zinnias range from dwarf compact plants (less than 1 ft, or 30 cm, tall), with flowers 1 in. (2.5 cm) in diameter, to giant forms (up to 3 ft, or 1 m, tall), with flowers up to 6 in. (15 cm) across.
Zinovyev \zyi-'nof-yif\, Grigory (Yevseyevich) orig. Ovsel Gershon Aronov Radomyslsky (b. Sept. 23, 1883, Yelizavetgrad, Ukraine, Russian Empire—d. Aug. 25, 1936, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Soviet politician. Born to lower middle-class Jewish parents, he received no formal education, but during travels abroad in 1902-05 he attended lectures on law at Bern University. An early activist with the Bolsheviks (1903), he became Vladimir Lenin’s close collaborator in exile (1909-17) and in the Russian Revolution of 1917, helping win public support for the Bolshevik regime. By 1921 he was head of the Petrograd (St. Petersburg) soviet and a member of the Politburo. He was chairman of the Comin¬ tern (1919-26) and helped Joseph Stalin oust Leon Trotsky. He was removed from power by Stalin in 1926. Although he was subsequently readmitted to the party, he never recovered his former prestige and was expelled again on two other occasions (1932 and 1934). In 1935 he was arrested for con¬ spiracy and sentenced to prison. The following year he was retried in the first of the purge trials, found guilty on the fabricated charge of forming a terrorist organization to assassinate various Soviet leaders, and executed. In 1988 the Soviet Supreme Court annulled the sentence posthumously.
Zinsser, Hans (b. Nov. 17,1878, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. 1940) U.S. bacteriologist and epidemiologist. He taught principally at the Columbia (1913—23) and Harvard (1923^10) medical schools. He isolated the bac¬ terium that causes the European type of typhus, developed the first anti¬ typhus vaccine, and, with colleagues, found a way to mass-produce it. He recognized that cases of mild typhus-like symptoms in lice-free persons are recurrences after a latent period (Brill-Zinsser disease). His best- known book. Rats, Lice and History (1935), recounts the effects of typhus on humankind (he believed disease had destroyed more civilizations than war) and efforts to eradicate it.
Zion Easternmost of the two hills of ancient Jerusalem, where David estab¬ lished his royal capital. In the Old Testament, the name Zion frequently refers to Jerusalem as a whole; it is overwhelmingly a poetic and pro¬ phetic designation. Mount Zion is the place where Yahweh (God) dwells and is the scene of his messianic salvation. The name came to mean the Jewish homeland, symbolic of Judaism or Jewish national aspirations, and thus was the source of the term Zionism. Though the name is rare in the New Testament, it has been frequently used in Christian literature and hymns as a designation for the heavenly city or for the earthly city of Christian faith and fraternity.
Zion National Park National park, southwestern Utah, U.S. It cov¬ ers an area of 229 sq mi (593 sq km); its principal feature is Zion Can¬ yon, which was named by the Mormons who discovered it in 1858. Part of the area was first set aside as the Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. Enlarged and renamed Zion National Monument in 1918, it was established as a national park in 1919. Zion Canyon was carved by the Virgin River and is about 15 mi (24 km) long and 0.5 mi (0.8 km) deep. Rocky domes dot the canyon walls, which contain an abundant fossil record. Excavation has yielded evidence that prehistoric peoples once inhabited the area.
Zionism VzI-o-.ni-zomV Jewish nationalism movement with the goal of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine. In the 16th—17th century, a number of “messiahs” tried to persuade the Jews to return to Palestine, but by the late 18th century interest had largely faded. Pogroms in Eastern Europe led
Zinnia elegans
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Zionist church ► zodiacal light I 2111
to formation of the “Lovers of Zion,” which promoted the settlement of Jewish farmers and artisans in Palestine. In the face of persistent anti- Semitism, Theodor Herzl advocated a Jewish state in Palestine. He held the first Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897. After World War I the movement picked up momentum with the issuing of the Balfour Declaration. The Jew¬ ish population in Palestine increased from 90,000 in 1914 to 238,000 in 1933. The Arab population resisted Zionism, and the British tried unsuc¬ cessfully to reconcile Jewish and Arab demands. Zionism achieved its goal with the creation of Israel in 1948. See also Alliance Israelite Universelle, David Ben-Gurion, Hagana, Vladimir Jabotinsky, Irgun Zvai Leumi.
Zionist church Any of several prophet-healing groups in southern Africa that arose early in the 20th century from the fusion of African cul¬ ture with the Christian message brought by U.S. Protestant missionaries. Their common features include: origination from a mandate received by a prophet in a dream or vision; a chieflike leader who is succeeded by his son and who is occasionally regarded as a Messiah; healing through con¬ fession, repeated baptism, purification rites, and exorcism; revelation and power from the Holy Spirit through prophetic utterances and pentecostal phenomena; Africanized worship characterized by singing, dancing, clap¬ ping, and drumming; and repudiation of traditional magic, medicines, divination, and ancestor cults, though these are often replaced with Chris¬ tianized equivalents.
zip code System of postal-zone codes (zip stands for “zone improve¬ ment plan”) introduced in the U.S. in 1963 to improve mail delivery and exploit electronic reading and sorting capabilities. The original code, which corresponds to the postal codes used in most countries in the world, consists of five numbers. The first three identify the state and portion of the state, the last two a specific post office or zone. In 1983 a nine-digit code (created by adding a hyphen and four digits) was introduced to fur¬ ther speed delivery; the first two added digits specify a particular “sec¬ tor,” the last two an even smaller “segment” (e.g., one side of a city block, or a single floor in a large building).