An enigma is someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling.
Enigma or aenigma may refer to:
Enigma (Tara Virango) is a fictional character, a superheroine who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Tara is a native of Bangladesh and through her mutation from a nano-virus, she gained superhuman powers giving her some sort of connection to the Buddhist goddess, Tara.
Enigma makes her comic debut in Peter Parker: Spider-Man (vol. 2) #48. Tara seeks revenge against those who infected the Indian (Rajasthan) village of Malpura: AGK, Inc. She contacts Spider-Man in order to seek his help in bringing justice to the people infected and killed by the nano-virus. The AGK corporation was commissioned by the CIA to create an intelligent metal nano-virus capable of enhancing latent mutant abilities. AGK tested the virus on Malpura, killing four thousand people. Tara survived, but was infected with the virus, which granted her superhuman abilities.
Years later, Tara moved to New York City and adopted the identity of Enigma, patterning herself after the Buddhist goddess, Tara. She stole the fifty-million-dollar Star of Persia diamond from AGK's vaults and encountered Spider-Man, who she contacted mentally, giving him flashes of her memories of the Malpura disaster. The following night, she tracked Spider-Man to his apartment and led him on a chase across the city, ending when she presented him with a scarf and head-butted him. Upon waking, Spider-Man found that she had led him to AGK's headquarters.
Enigma is a 1982 Anglo-American drama film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Martin Sheen, Sam Neill, Brigitte Fossey, and Kevin McNally. Based on Michael Barak's novel The Enigma, the film centers on a CIA agent that tries to infiltrate Soviet intelligence in order to stop a murderous plot.
Alex Holbeck (Martin Sheen) is recruited as a CIA agent. He is sent to East Berlin on a mission to steal an Enigma code scrambler. This is part of an attempt to stop the Russian assassination of five Soviet dissidents which is planned for Christmas Day. What Alex doesn't know is that the CIA already has a code scrambler. By stealing the scrambler in Berlin, they are trying to convince the Russians that they don't have it.
On arrival in Berlin, Alex finds that the KGB knows he is there. Alex must use numerous disguises and escape from a number of capture attempts. He seeks shelter with his former lover, Karen (Brigitte Fossey) before moving on as this is too dangerous for her. Karen and a number of Alex's other old friends are arrested and tortured by the police in an attempt to gain information about Alex's whereabouts. As he gets more desperate, Alex enlists Karen's help again: she seduces Dimitri Vasilikov (Sam Neill), the KGB man in charge of the hunt for Alex, in order to obtain information. In the end Dimitri catches Alex and Karen and finds the scrambler hidden in an exhibition artifact. As he is in love with Karen, he lets them go, however, keeping the scrambler which was in fact not needed. On Christmas Day the assassination attempt is successfully thwarted.
Birth, also known as parturition, is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the fetus at a developmental stage when it is ready to feed and breathe. In some species the offspring is precocial and can move around almost immediately after birth but in others it is altricial and completely dependent on parenting. In marsupials, the fetus is born at a very immature stage after a short gestational period and develops further in its mother's pouch.
It is not only mammals that give birth. Some reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates carry their developing young inside them. Some of these are ovoviviparous, with the eggs being hatched inside the mother's body, and others are viviparous, with the embryo developing inside her body, as in mammals.
Large mammals, such as primates, cattle, horses, some antelopes, giraffes, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, elephants, seals, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, generally are pregnant with one offspring at a time; although, they may have twin or multiple births on occasion. In these large animals, the birth process is similar to that of a human though in most, the offspring is precocial. This means that it is born in a more advanced state than a human baby and is able to stand, walk and run (or swim in the case of an aquatic mammal) shortly after birth. In the case of whales, dolphins and porpoises, the single calf is normally born tail first which minimises the risk of drowning. The mother encourages the newborn calf to rise to the surface of the water to breathe.
Birth is the process in animals by which an offspring is expelled from the body of its mother.
Birth may also refer to:
Birth is the debut indie album by Index Case, released in 2000.