- Paleontology (/ˌpeɪliɒnˈtɒlədʒi, ˌpæli-, -ən-/), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossils to classify organisms and study their interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier’s work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term has been used since 1822 formed from Greek παλαιός (‘palaios’, “old, ancient”), ὄν (‘on’, (gen. ‘ontos’), “being, creature”), and λόγος (’logos’, “speech, thought, study”).
- Hamas (Wikipedia)
Hamas (UK: /həˈmæs/ hə-MASS, US: /həˈmɑːs/ hə-MAHSS; Arabic: حماس, romanized: Ḥamās, IPA: [ħaˈmaːs]), an acronym of its official name, the Islamic Resistance Movement (حركة المقاومة الإسلامية Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah), is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military organization governing the Gaza Strip of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. Headquartered in Gaza City, it has a presence in the West Bank, the larger of the two Palestinian territories, in which its secular rival Fatah exercises control.