As a result, the Council appeared not to perform its essential function as an "honest broker" in space policy-making and acted on the basis of a highly partisan and flawed study.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Get The National Aerospace Plane Off The Ground

But they had evolved a chivalric code, which, by giving meaning to their lives and preventing them from succumbing to despair in these harsh conditions, performed the essential function of religion.

NPR: Armstrong, 'Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time'

The function of this enzyme is to hydrolyze triglycerides into free fatty acids, an essential step in the metabolism of fats from consumed food.

FORBES: Europe Takes The Lead Toward Approval Of First Gene Therapy Drug

The Supreme Court last considered this question in 2005, when it decided that a marine dredge in Boston Harbor was a vessel for purposes of determining whether people essential to its function were covered by maritime labor laws.

FORBES: From Casinos To Carpenters, Watching Houseboat Case At Supreme Court

For such an essential function, we cannot rely on a few large companies, and compromise our privacy in the process.

FORBES: A New Movement Against Google, Bing and Yahoo Search

Cyclopamine, it turns out, blocks the function of a gene called Sonic hedgehog that is essential for embryonic development but also plays a lead role in causing deadly cancers of the pancreas, skin, prostate and esophagus.

FORBES: The Curious Case of The One-Eyed Sheep