Andromeda strain

[ an-drom-i-duh-streyn ]

/ ænˈdrɒm ɪ də ˌstreɪn /

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an infectious pathogen that mutates unpredictably into new forms and shows extreme resistance to destruction by conventional means.

QUIZZES

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

First recorded in 1970–75; after such a pathogen in a novel of the same name (1969) by U.S. author Michael Crichton (1942–2008)

I strain and push and pedal and wonder, “When will this end?”
Biking With the Bard|Kara Cutruzzula|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However we strain to distract ourselves, our consciousness of death heightens our awareness of evil.
McConaughey’s ‘Stand’—And Ours|James Poulos|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Clients supply transportation, lodging, and ingredients, including the preferred strain of ganja.
Meet the Julia Child of Weed|Justin Jones|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That is to say, the ancestral genes, the ancestral strain of inheritance, appears again in these little children.
Joseph Campbell on the Roots of Halloween|Joseph Campbell|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Even before his injury, the strain had begun to tell on him.
When West Point Football Turned Fatal|Nicolaus Mills|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When people argue in this strain, I immediately assume the offensive.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
If, now, the patient cough or strain as if at stool, the contents of the stomach will usually be forced out through the tube.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
We ought to attempt such a shortening as will strain the machine to a breaking point, but never break it.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
This was a great strain on their rather limited resources, and for some years they had to practise strict economy.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
The Marshal, in his Memoirs, asserts that this short campaign was the severest strain he ever underwent.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison