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Human skin is a "virtual zoo" of bacteria, say researchers at the New York University School of Medicine who have identified over 200 species in samples taken from subjects' forearms. Eight percent of the bacteria found were unknown species that had never seen before, and almost three-quarters of the total number of bacterial species were unique to individual subjects, suggesting that the skin surface is highly diversified in terms of the bacteria it harbors.

DEFINITION: (noun) A place where bees and beehives are kept, especially a place where bees are raised for their honey. SYNONYMS: bee house. USAGE: She had started her apiary with a small capital, a book of practical hints, and a second-hand queen.

More was an English lawyer, writer, and politician who earned a reputation as a leading humanist scholar. He held many public offices during Henry VIII's reign, including that of Lord Chancellor. He is remembered for his book Utopia, which describes a state founded entirely on reason, and for his principled refusal to accept the King as the head of the Church of England--a decision that resulted in his execution on the grounds of treason. What recognition was he accorded in 1886?

The pacifist Victor Hugo proposed peaceful European unification as early as 1851, but it was not until the devastation wrought by WWI and WWII that steps were taken to unify the states of Europe. The European Coal and Steel Company was established in 1951 and the European Economic Community, the first full customs union, 6 years later. The latter was renamed the European Community and now serves as the "first pillar" of the European Union. How many member states does the EU have?

Heaney is an Irish poet, writer, and lecturer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. His carefully crafted poetry has been praised for its powerful imagery, meaningful content, musical phrasing, and compelling rhythms. Focused on "the local," he often writes about the disappearing world of unspoiled rural Ireland and hints at the sectarian violence of the north where he was born. In 1999, he published a highly regarded verse translation of what epic poem?