FAMINE: Famine is widespread risk of death by starvation and malnutrition; a devastating condition of insufficient food supply, usually combined with shortages of water and medicine. Famine affected countries have included Ethiopia, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea, exacerbated by drought, political mismanagement or conditions of war. Emergency food aid should be deployed efficiently and independently of any economic sanctions or political concerns. (See FOOD AID, FOOD CRISIS, MALNUTRITION) (MP)

FAO: UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION.

FAQIH: From Arabic root, f.q.h. literally means a scientist, well-informed, clever. In the Islamic society Faqih is a person who is an Islamic scholar to teaches and guides to Islamic faith. Who spends years of study in Islamic law, jurisprudence, philosophy, ethics as well as being engaged in self-purification.Muslims can refer to him in order to find the answer for their religious questions. (AB)

FAS: See FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME.

FASTING: Abstaining from food (and drink). This practice is found in many of the world's religions and traditions. In some cases, the abstention is total, as in Jewish fasts, and the Muslim fast of Ramadan, and in other cases, the abstention is in limiting the range of foods eaten, as in some Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Generally, when the abstention is total, the time limit is sunrise to sunset, or 24 hours. If the abstention is partial, the duration of the fast may be a number of weeks, depending on the tradition. (AG)

FATWA: (Arabic fatã 'to instruct by a legal decision'). A generic term for any legal decision made by a Mufti or other Islamic religious authority. The term acquired familiarity in the West when in 1989 Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa sentencing the British writer Salman Rushdie to death for publishing The Satanic Verses which was considered by many Muslims as blasphemous and extraordinarily offensive. The word, however, does not necessarily mean a death sentence. (IP)

FAUNA: The community of all animals living in a place. Fauna and flora was traditionally used to refer to all organisms living in a place, but technically this would not include fungi, protists, bacteria, and archaea. (RW)

FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation. (U.S.)

FDA: see FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.

FEAR: 1. (Middle English fer 'danger') the feeling of anxiety related to an identified source threatening potential personal harm or safety of another; apprehension of approaching danger 2. state of alarm generated by the neuroendocrine response to threat causing muscular and psychological tension that interferes with the normal processes of living. (See ADRENALINE; GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME; FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE). (IP)

FEEBLE-MINDED: Little used pejorative term referring to arrested or incomplete development of the mind, including subnormality of intelligence ranging from slight to severe. Other outdated disparaging terms in this category are 'idiots', 'imbeciles' and 'mongols' that describe individuals having an IQ between 50 and 69. (See INTELLIGENCE, INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT, FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME, AUTISM, DOWN'S SYNDROME). (IP)

FEEDBACK: ‘Feedback’ is the flow of changes through a system which come back in a circle to again affect the initial cause of the change. This ‘feedback loop’ is a continuous re-iterative cause-and-effect relationship between interactive elements and adjusting subsystems. ‘Positive feedback’ reinforces the original process and ‘negative feedback’ suppresses the original process. Automatic feedback control and cybernetics are important to adaptive intelligence in both humans and machines. ‘Reinforcing feedback’ increasingly alters the system away from its initial point as each change amplifies the next (e.g. population growth, epidemics, cancer, debts, self-advancement). ‘Balancing feedback’ dampens the effecloquially, a negatlth and relationships. (See FEEDFORWARD, CYBERNETICS, SYSTEMS THEORY, SYSTEM DYNAMICS, COMPLEXITY THEORY, CATALYST, THRESHOLD, POSITIVITY) (MP)

FEEDFORWARD: A sort-of ‘positive balancing feedback’, ‘feedforward’ drives a system towards a predicted desirable state. It refers to projecting an anticipation onto events to precipitate self-fulfilling change in the system. (See CYBERNETICS, SYSTEMS THEORY, COMPLEXITY) (MP)

FEMALE: 1. Organisms whose reproductive organs produce only female gametes; that is, eggs in animals or ovules in fruit-bearing plants. 2. may also be used as a derogative metaphor suggestive of 'weakness' or 'inferiority'. (See MALE; FEMINISM). (IP)

FEMALE CONDOM or Femshield : is a relatively new barrier method of contraception which is female-based, gives protection against sexually-transmitted diseases including AIDS, and is not dependent on male erection and intromission. The Femshield consists of a polyurethane vaginal sheath lining the whole vaginal surface, is stronger and lighter than the latex rubber used in male condoms, easy to insert and is used in conjunction with a lubricant. Women find it very effective being attracted to their control of contraception and protection against disease (see CONDOM). (IP)

FEMSHIELD: see FEMALE CONDOM.

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION: is an ancient practice which is said to predate most modern religions, including Christianity and Islam on account of its not being mentioned anywhere in the Quran or the Hadith collection of Al-Bukhari; that is the collections of traditions about Muhammad and his companions. The practice as it endures today covers a graded series of alterations to the female genitalia, ranging from mild to most severe. "Sunna" or circumcision is the mildest form where the hood of the clitoris is removed only; clitorectomy involves the removal of the entire clitoris as well as the labia minora; infibulation involves the removal of the clitoris, labia minora, labia majora and parts of the vulva. After infibulation, the remaining tissue mass is sewn together with catgut or held together with thorns, leaving a tiny hole for urine and menstrual blood to pass through. Deinfibulation and reinfibulation occurs when it is decided that the woman should conceive and give birth. Genital mutilations cause local infections, generalized septicemia, life-long problems with urination and menstruation, chronic pain, suffering and death and is an extreme example of abuse resulting from culturally-driven control of female sexuality. Worldwide, it is estimated that 130 million girls and women, mostly African, have been affected by the practice and that a further 2 million are at risk every year. (IP+AG)

FEMICIDE: The killing of a woman, one who kills a woman. (See FETICIDE). (IP)

FEMINAZI: A contemptuous blended term for a radical feminist. The use of the word was originally associated, in the early 1990s, with the abortion debate and was applied to women who supported the pro-choice movement. The term has now spread outside the abortion issue into general use. (See FEMINISM). (IP)
  
FEMINISM (FEMINIST MOVEMENT): A widespread and extremely influential movement by women against male-dominated society. Feminists demand abolition of the double standard, removal of traditional stereotypes representing women as fragile, dependent and passive, equal pay for equal work and the right to social and sexual equality. (See FEMINAZI). (IP)   

FERMENTATION: The process of growing microorganisms.

FERTILITY: The ability to reproduce. In women days 10-18 from the beginning of the menstrual period are considered the days of highest fertility. Fertility is the ability to produce a offspring or a progeny. Many factors are known to impair fertility such as environmental mimics of estrogen due to the use of chemical fertilizers, plastics, chemicals used during pregnancy. (See INFERTILITY; FERTILITY RATE). (IP+JA)

FERTILITY DRUGS: Compounds used to treat ovulatory dysfunction. These include clomiphene citrate, human gonadotropins, bromocriptine, glucocorticoids and progesterone. (IP)

FERTILITY RATE: The number of pregnancies per year per 1,000 women of childbearing age. (See FERTILITY; INFERTILITY) (IP)

FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME (FAS): a set of congenital psychological, behavioral and physical abnormalities in infants whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy. The syndrome was first reported in 1968 by the French pediatrician Lemoine and his colleagues who described a distinct pattern of anomalies in babies born to families with a history of chronic alcoholism. The anomalies included growth deficiency, reduced brain size (microcephaly), a cluster of anomalous facial characteristics, cardiac defects, limb deformities, central nervous system dysfunctions resulting in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, delays in psychomotor and language development, poor visual memory and psychosocial maladjustment. The IQ of the children described was about 70; however, the severity of mental and physical disability is related to the degree of alcohol exposure in utero and to varying genetic susceptibilities in the fetus. Of all the characteristics of FAS, mental disability is the most damaging and consistent consequence, and alcohol is now the leading cause of intellectual disability in the western world, followed by Down’s  syndrome and cerebral palsy. The detrimental consequenc children and the consumption of alcoholic beverages by young married couples was prohibited in ancient Greek and old testament writings. (IP)

FETAL REDUCTION: The deliberate therapeutic removal of one or two fetuses following the diagnosis of a multiple pregnancy. Multiple pregnancy is not solely a specific risk of in vitro fertilization treatments, where two or three-embryo transfers are permissible, but also because the incidence of multiple births has been steadily increasing in all developed countries since the early 1980s. Preterm delivery and low birth weight are the main causes of increased morbidity and mortality in the neonatal period. The average duration of pregnancy is 38 weeks for singletons, 37 weeks for twins, 33.5 weeks for triplets and 31.5 weeks for quads. Parents of multiple-birth children face not only a significant higher risk of one of their children having a disability but a further specific risk owing to the fact that compared to singletons, there is a 3-7 fold higher incidence of cerebral palsy in twins and over ten-fold higher incidence in triplets. The perinatal mortality rate in twins is nearly five times higher than in singletons and in triplets eight times higher. The main contributor to the high morbidity and death rate in multiple births is prematurity and its complications. It is easy to see that for some couples faced with the risk of death or disability to one or more of their children, a fetal reduction may seem the best option; but this is not an easy or uncontroversial solution as it too carries its own risk of medical and emotional complications. (See INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RETARDATION; PREMATURITY; SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME). (IP)

FETAL GERM CELLS (FG): Germ cells of fetal origin. (JA)

FETAL THERAPY: In utero therapy. (DM)

FETOGENIC PERIOD: In humans lasts from week 9 to birth where important developments are general body growth, histological and functional development of organs and the histological development of the central nervous system (CNS). Approximately 38 weeks post-conception in humans (40 weeks post=last menstrual period). Brain development, however, occurs during the entire period of fetal differentiation and through the first 2 years of postnatal life. Drug abuse during gametogenic, embryonic and fetogenic periods may harm normal growth and development in the offspring and increase its changes of being born with birth defects, low birthweight, and mental/behavioral deficits (see embryonic period, teratology, embryo and fetus). (IP)

FETUS: Fetus A stage in human development / embryonic development in uterus. The developing human individual from the ninth week after fertilization until birth. (DM+JA)

FOETUS: See FETUS.

FERTILIZATION: The event that initiates the development of an oocyte into embryonic development, normally triggered by the entry of a sperm into the oocyte. (IP)

FERTILIZATION: the fusion of a sperm (male gamete) and an egg (female gamete) to form a zygote. (JA)

FINGERPRINTING: The technique of DNA fingerprinting is used to uniquely characterize individual organisms, foods, or biological samples, based on their DNA composition (can also fingerprint chemicals and proteins). (DM+GK)

FIQH: The science of Muslim religious law or Islamic jurisprudence. The first scholar to write a treatise on Fiqh was Shafi'i (d. 820). Four main schools of Muslim law have survived to modern times among the Sunni. These are: Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi'i. Each of these is regarded as equally valid by Orthodox Muslims. The Shi'i have their own systems of Muslim law. (AG)

FIREWALL: A protective layer of software to protect a corporate intranet or private citizen from access by outsiders, hackers or the Internet at large. Firewalls monitor in- and out-going traffic and may consist of multiple layers of security software, authentication services, packet filters, one-way connections, encryption programs, tunnel servers and application proxy firewalls. (See INTERNET PRIVACY, INTRANET) (MP)

FIRST WORLD: Slightly condescending term for the developed nations, or wealthy North. The first world includes Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and sometimes including industrialized countries like Singapore and Taiwan, democratic states like Israel and South Africa, and/or emerging capitalist economies such as Russia. The wisdom of being first depends on what’s ahead and what you leave in your wake. In many respects the First World may be over developed, requiring demilitarization, dematerialization and more responsible ethical standards for custody of the global environment. (See FOURTH WORLD, THIRD WORLD, SECOND WORLD, NORTH, DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPED NATIONS, OVERDEVELOPED NATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL CODE OF CONDUCT, DEMILITARIZATION, DEMATERIALIZATION) (MP)

FIRST WORLD NATIONS: Countries belonging to the so-called FIRST WORLD.

FISH: 1. a common term that refers to aquatic animals. 2. Several classes of aquatic vertebrates generally characterized by poikilothermy (cold-blooded), gills, fins, and a streamlined body. Among extant taxa, these include the teleost fishes (Sarcopterygii lobe-finned fishes and other vertebrates; and Actinopterygii ray-finned fishes) and the Chondrichthyes the sharks, rays, sawfish, and chimeras; and the more primitive lampreys (Hyperartia) and hagfishes (Hyperotreti). (RW)

FISHER: 'Fisher' is replacing 'fisherman' as a gender-neutral term describing a person occupied with the task of catching fish. (MP)

FISHING PRACTICES: See COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT.

FISHING QUOTA: The fishing or vessel quota is a sustainable fisheries management method for allocating fishery property rights and sharing the 'total allowable catch' among rightful fishing parties. Fishing quotas may be transferable, seasonal, area-specific, species-specific and/or enforceable by law. (See QUOTA, TOTAL ALLOWABLE CATCH, THRESHOLD MANAGEMENT) (MP)

FIVE ELEMENTS: In traditional Chinese belief, the world is composed of five elements: water, fire, wood, metal, and earth. In addition to the elements themselves, the way in which they interact with each other is very important, and this plays a role in traditional Chinese medicine and astrology. In the traditional Chinese calendar, each year is assigned an animal and an element. There are 12 animals and 5 elements, and so, all the possible combinations are exhausted after 60 years, when a new cycle of years begins. For this reason, the 60th birthday in Chinese tradition is very significant. (AG)

FIVE RELATIONSHIPS: The relationships in Confucius' teaching which define inter-personal relations in society. The five relationships are: relationship between a father and son, ruler and minister, husband and wife, elder brother and younger brother, friend and friend. This framework defined by Confucius had profound impact upon the countries and cultures of East Asia. (AG)

FLAGELLA: Long hair-like structures on a cell or microorganism enabling movement or manipulation. (See CILIA) (MP)   

FLEMING, ALEXANDER: (1881-1955) Sir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish-born bacteriologist who studied and worked at St Mary’s  Hospital, London. He was a pioneer in vaccines, antiseptics and antibiotics, being the first to useNobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with his collaborators in the isolation of penicillin, Sir Erns8). (See ANTIBIOTIC) (MP)

FLORA: The community of all plants living in a place. Fauna and flora was traditionally used to refer to all organisms living in a place, but technically this would not include fungi, protists, bacteria, and archaea. (RW)

FLOTSAM: 1. Any accumulation of semi-useless or discarded bits and pieces. 2. Washed-up or floating wreckage of ships, stray cargo, driftwood and other interesting sea-wreckage. (See JETSAM) (MP)

FLOWER: Flowers are the reproductive structure of angiosperm plants, comprised of protective sepals, colorfully attractive petals, the female pistil with stigma, style and ovary, and the male stamen with filament and anther. The beauty of the flower has made it a much-loved symbol of peace and romance. (See FLOWER POWER, ANGIOSPERM) (MP)

FLOWER POWER: The ‘love thine enemy’ concept of non-violent interaction with security forces, epitomized by the hippy culture and anti-war movement. (See HIPPIES, PEACE MOVEMENT) (MP)

FLOWS: See PROCESSES.

FODDER: Anything given on farms or sold for non-human animal consumption. Compare FOOD. (DM)

FOLIC ACID: is a vitamin of the B complex group essential for cell growth and reproduction. The need for folic acid increases in pregnancy, infancy and periods of stress where a daily intake of 400 mg before conception and during early pregnancy lowers the risk of fetal neural tube defect (see spina bifida). Rich dietary sources are deep green leafy vegetables such as spinach, liver, beans, nuts and whole-grain cereals and bread (see SPINA BIFIDA). (IP)

FOLLICLE: The structure on the ovary surface that nurtures a ripening oocyte. At ovulation the follicle produces estrogen until the oocyte is released, after which it becomes a yellowish protrusion on the ovary called the corpus luteum. (DM)

FOOD: Anything consumed or sold for human consumption. Compare FODDER. Food can also be any substance consumed by living organism. (DM)

FOOD ADDITIVE: A minor usually synthetic ingredient added to food to achieve a specific effect. In law, some of these compounds are legally excluded from being called this term for the purposes of food safety regulation. (DM)

FOOD AID: Food Aid is internationally distributed humanitarian famine relief and emergency food assistance, for example from non-government organizations (NGOs) or the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP). Food aid should be deployed directly to where it can save lives, independent of economiuld be taken that food is not redirected to the wealthy or the armed forces. Care should be taken not to undercut local markets or encourage a handout economy. Ntant, and some African countries have rejected genetically modified foods. Food aid should include local capacity building in agriculture and technology, developlf-reliance and long term food security. (See FOOD CRISIS, FAMINE, NUTRITION, CAPACITY BUILDING) (MP)

FOOD CHAIN: is the energy transfer from plants to top carnivore through a few intermediary organisms - the act of repeated eating and being eaten. (JA)

FOOD CRISIS: A state of emergency in which populations are at risk of death, disease and panic due to dire shortages of food (i.e. famine) or food contamination (e.g. BSE outbreak). (See FOOD AID, FAMINE, MALNUTRITION, WATER CRISIS, BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY) (MP)

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA): a US-based agency within the Department of Health and Human Services established to set safety and quality standards for foods, drugs, cosmetics and other household consumer products. The FDA's basic tasks are research, inspection and licensing of drugs and food-stuffs for manufacturing and distribution. (IP)

FOOD WEB: The conceptual web of food connections between organisms in an ecological community. Primary producers create organic matter and are eaten by grazers (herbivores), which are in turn eaten by carnivores. Formerly, this was called a food chain, but recognition that such links are often nonlinear lead ecologists to change this to food web. (See TROPHIC INTERACTIONS, AUTOTROPH, HETEROTROPH) (RW)

FORCE FEEDING: Coercive feeding, usually artificial feeding. (DM)

FORENSIC DNA ANALYSIS: Powerful tool for identification of individuals in forensic cases. The DNA analyses are performed on semen, blood stains, hair roots or any other biological evidence. Different DNA polymorphic regions can be analysed: VNTRs, STRs, mitochondrial D-loop region (mtDNA replication region). Current techniques involve automated fluorescent detection of multiplex sets, consisting of a group of STRs differing in size profiles, that are co-amplified and separated on polyacrilamide gels and read on automatic laser beam analysers. (GK)

FORENSIC MEDICINE: The application of medical knowledge to questions of law and law enforcement. (See DNA FINGERPRINTING, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY). (DM)

FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY: The application of psychiatric knowledge to questions of law and law enforcement. (DM)

FORENSIC SCIENCE: An applied trans-disciplinary science to study criminal and social behaviour with the application of biological, biochemical and physio-chemical techniques. E.g. use of DNA finger printing to determine the human identity with a victim, the time of murder inferring the patterns of breeding in insects. (JA)

FOREST: Large area of land dominated by trees. Massive deforestation has taken place in many countries to the extent that in only South America and Africa were there significant amounts of native forest left at the start of the twenty first century, and these were rapidly being removed. The full ecological consequences of widespread deforestation are still unknown but certainly include soil erosion and probably include significant, undesirable and difficult to reverse climate change. (MR)

FORMALISM: a deontological (from Gk deon meaning duty) ethical system where the theory holds that an action is right if it accords with a moral rule, and wrong if it violates such a rule.

FOSSIL FUELS: Fuels derived from the fossilized remains of plants and animals. For example, coal is the remains of primeval forests; petroleum and natural gas are the remains of prehistoric animals and plant; peat is partly decayed plant matter in an early stage of coal formation. Fossil fuels are precious non-renewable resources. (See SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, GREENHOUSE EFFECT). (IP)

FOSSIL RECORD: (Latin fossus 'dug up'). Objects such as the remains or traces - like foot prints, burrows, trails referred to as 'trace fossils' - of fauna and flora which have been embedded, typically, in shale or sandstone which prevented their decay. Since fossils prove the previous existence of extinct organisms, the fossil record lends strong support for the theory of evolution, and is also useful to the geologist in revealing former environmental conditions in geological time (geochronology). The presence of certain fossils can be used as a guide to the relative age of the rock stratum or bed in which it is found; that is, to correlate the sequence of stratified formation in different parts of the world. (See FOSSIL FUELS, EVOLUTION). (IP)

FOUNDER EFFECT: Evolutionary adaptation and speciation which results in rapid change (punctuated equilibrium) due to sudden mass mortality or genetic partitioning, for example geographical separation, natural disasters or other evolutionary bottlenecks. (See SPECIATION, PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM, NATURAL HAZARD, MASS EXTINCTION, EVOLUTION) (MP)

FOUR FREEDOMS: Peace objectives which were enunciated in 1941 by Franklin Roosevelt during the Second World War when the US Government was playing a major diplomatic role, in his 1941 'Four Freedoms' speech. The well-known four freedoms are 'freedom of speech ', 'freedom of worship ', 'freedom from economic want' and 'freedom from aggression '. Nowadays a fifth freedom can well be added - 'freedom from excess fertility' . (See FREEDOM). (IP+MP)

FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS: Philosophical teachings of the enlightened Buddha: 1. life has omnipresent suffering; 2. suffering involves a chain of causes including desire and selfishness; 3. suffering can be removed by removal its causes such as desire; and 4. there is a path towards this end (the ‘Eightfold Path’). (See EIGHTFOLD PATH, MIDDLE WAY, BUDDHISM, BUDDHA) (MP)

FRAMESHIFT: Mutation that results when the genetic code is read beginning at the second or third base of a codon. (DM)

FRANKENSTEIN FACTOR: Dr Frankenstein is the character in Mary Shelly (died 1851)'s novel of the same name who creates a monster whom he is unable to control. In the 1990s the term 'The Frankenstein factor' became used to refer to a widely felt fear that GENETIC ENGINEERING (q.v.) and other instances of modern BIOTECHNOLOGY (q.v.) would lead to unanticipated and irreversible harms. (MR)

FRATERNAL TWINS: See TWINS/TWINNING.

FRAUD: The act of deliberately misrepresenting or inventing information in order to gain personal advantage like wealth, fame. (IP)

FREE MARKET: An economic system (or lack of system) in which uncontrolled competition rules, only the fit (in terms of success in marketing goods, services, or one's own body, survive, and the main motive is profit. The profit may be money, or material goods or food (as may be observed when chickens fight over a piece of food). Or it may be pride, honours, fame or the like. Many people have been convinced that the fall of the Soviet Union was proof of the evils of socialism and the gospel truth of free market ideology, although there may have been other causes such as subversive activity on the part of Western countries. (FL)

FREE MARKET MEDICINE: An ideology which encourages the profit motive in medicine. An extreme version would allow for people to be treated only if they have the ability to pay, although some doctors in such an environment might be willing to treat some people for free if it serves some research purpose. Medical systems which began with an ideology of universal, egalitarian medical care, such as the National Health Service in the United Kingdom and the Sick Funds in Israel, now are mixed with varying degrees of free market medicine in the form of private clinics, fee charging for special treatment on the part of physicians even during their work hours in the national medical system, and high prices (or special insurance policies) for certain treatments and medications, such as expensive drugs, certain kinds of preventive medicine, immunizations for foreign travel, etc: with competition among providers for offering the most attractive insurance packages. It can be debated whether a physician in a free market system can adhere to all of the recognized principles of bioethics, especially the principle of beneficence. For it is questionable whether a physician can act entirely for the benefit of the patient if the patient's ability to pay determines the quality and quantity of treatment. (FL)

FREEDOM: The absence of external constraints on the individual's right and ability to act and make decisions. (DM)

FRESHWATER: Water that is not salty. As an adjective, of, relating to, or living in water that is not salty. Potable (drinkable) freshwater is one of the most critically limiting resources for many human communities; the number of people living with water scarcity is already large and is expected to increase rapidly in the coming decades in many parts of the world. (RW)

FREUD, SIGMUND: (1856-1930). Austrian physician and pioneer of psychoanalysis. Freud's major contribution can be broadly summarized as the exploration of the unconscious mind and his coining of the term 'id' to define the true unconscious representing the individual's self-preserving tendencies and instincts. Freud claimed that interpretation of dreams is an important factor in psychoanalysis. By studying the dreams of his patients, Freud crystallized his theory that nearly all cases of neurosis were due to repression of sexual desires. His theory was published in the influential text 'Three Treatises on the Sexual Theory ' in 1905. Freud's influence in the 19-20 ^th centuries cannot be underestimated as almost every branch of thought, particularly in education, was affected by the theories of psychoanalysis. (See DREAM). (IP)

FRIENDLY FIRE: Euphemistic term describing ammunition or explosives inadvertently causing injury or death to soldiers and personnel from the same military alliance. (See COLLATERAL DAMAGE, EUPHEMISM) (MP)

FRINGE-DWELLERS: inhabitants of shanty towns living on the edge of mainstream society and, typically belonging to minority or ethnic groups bound by poverty and marginalization. (IP)

FROG EXTINCTIONS: See EXTINCTION, ENDANGERED SPECIES.

FRONTAL LOBE OR PREFRONTAL CORTEX: that part of the cerebral hemisphere which houses the will to initiate planning make purposeful use of the imagination and solve problems by reasoning. (See LEUKOTOMY) (IP)

FRONTAL LOBE LOBOTOMY: See LEUKOTOMY.

FROZEN: See DEEP FREEZING.

FUNGAL TOXINS: The fungi Fusarium can produce a toxin known as deoxynivalenol or DON. Fungal infection of food-crops (such as wheat)  can harbor DON. Unfavorable weather conditions can strongly influence the concentration of DON in wheat. In animals , exposure to high concentrtion of DON has adverse effect on the immune system, fertility and in embryo development. ( JA).

FUNGI: One of the five taxonomic kingdoms (along with Animalia, Plantae, Protista and Monera), the Fungi are a diverse group of heterotrophic organisms with a rigid cell wall. Lacking chloroplasts, the fungus obtains its nutrients from mineral absorption through its hyphae and mycelium. Fungi  perform an important ecological function as decomposers. Fungi include mushrooms, toadstools, bracket fungi, lichens, water molds and unicellular organisms and range from edible to poisonous. (See LICHEN, DECOMPOSE, PSILOCYBIN, PLANTAE) (MP)

FUSARIUM: See FUNGAL TOXINS.

FUTILITY: The uselessness of medical intervention in preventing a patient's death. (DM)

FUTURE 500: is a network of people and companies aiming at forging a new knowledge-based economics that can expand the capacity of the human mind. In 1998 Kiuchi, chair of "Future 500", introduced three new categories into company’s  accounts - pollution intensity, resource productivity, and quality of life. (IP+DM)

FUTUROLOGY: Scientific study and prediction of future trends, and projections of technological progress, environmental change and the future human condition. Some classic works of futurology have included Alvin Toffler ‘Future Shock’ (1970), Club of Rome ‘Limits to Growth’ (1972), K. Eric Drexler ‘Engines of Creation’ (1986), Marvin Minsky ‘ Mind Children’ , Michio Kaku ‘Visions’ (1998), Lee Silver ‘Remaking Eden’ (1998) and Frank Tipler ‘Physics of Immortality’. Futurologists have traditionally been somewhat optimistic in their time-frames (e.g. George Orwell ?’ ), but the accelerating pace of change will bring current technological predictions more rapidly. New and dangerous spaces of possibility have recently been opened up by new advances in genetic engineering, genetic medicine, cloning, cybernetic nerve-computer interfaces, cyborgs, organization of cyberspace, artificial neural networks, networked sensor arrays, smart dust, miniaturization of robotics, autonomous weapons, molecular electronics, nanotechnology, and evolutionary approaches to artificial life. Insight into single-technology possibilities has grown rapidly, however professional specialization has not allowed for proper consideration of their potentially dramatic impacts in combination. Success rates can be patchy if projected too far into the future along assumed curves which may be subject to sudden or unexpected interferences. This significance may be crucial to human survival and wellbeing, and despite skepticism, futurology is an essential and underrated component of dealing with the progress of ethically fraught technologies. (See ACCELERATING PACE OF CHANGE, ESCHATOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE FICTION, HUMAN EXTINCTION, UTOPIA) (MP)

FUZZY LOGIC: The operations and mathematics of ‘fuzzy sets’ and ‘fuzzy systems’. Unlike the constancy of classical sets, fuzzy sets have varying membership of the set. Fuzzy logic is a recognition of the ‘degrees of gray’ and ‘fuzziness’ inherent to our models and assumptions of the real world. It allows flexibility in the face of ambiguity, and fuzzy logic programming may help computers to think a bit more like humans. (See HEURISTICS, UNCERTAINTY) (MP)

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