A New Popular Book Essentials Meteorology WAYS OF THE …science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/97/2507/local/back... · 2005-07-19 · Einstein gravitational effect that bends starlight

SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS

Essentials

of

NutritionRevised Edition

By SHERMAN & LANFORD

Written by the country 's foremostauthority on nutrition in collabora-tion with his daughter, this bookpresents the principles of nutritionin a clear, simple way for those whohave no special training in chemistryor biology. The revision brings allthe material up to date and includesthe standards recently adopted by theNational Nutrition Committee.

Ready Jan. 5th. $3.50 (probable)

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A New Popular Bookon Meteorology

WAYS OF THE WEATHERBy W. J. Humphreys, Ph.D., Sc.D.

U. S. WEATHER BUREAU

400 pages-fully illustrated

$4.00"Probably the most complete and simplyworded account of the weather and climatethus far published in English. . . at once clearand authoritative." WALDEMAR KAEMPFFERT,Book-of-the-Month Club News.

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THE RELATION OF HORMONES TO DEVELOPMENTVolume 10 (1942) of the Cold Spring Harbor Symposia

on Quantitative Biology, about 175 quarto pages, 12 platesand numerous figures.

Biological, chemical and mathematical aspects of theproblem are considered in 18 papers written by: E. Allen,G. S. Avery. Jr., D. Bodenstein, R. K. Burns, E. Engle,B. Ephrussi, K. C. Hamner, F. C. Koch, M. Levine, A.Lipschiltz, C. N. H. Long, 0. Riddle, A. E. Severinghaus,T. M. Sonneborn, J. van Overbeek, B. H. Willier, E.Witschi, and P. W. Zimmerman.

Previous volumes: I (1933) Surface Phenomena; II(1934) Growth; III (1935) Photochemical Reactions; IV(1936) Excitations; V (1937) Internal Secretions (out ofprint); VI (1938) Protein Chemistry; VII (1939) Bio-logical Oxidations; VIII (1940) Permeability and theNature of Cell Membranes; IX (1941) Genes and Chromo-somes.

Single volume $4.50; set of three $10.00; set of nine$24.00; postage extra. Table of contents sent upon re-quest. Address the Biological Laboratory, Cold SpringHarbor, New York.

JANUAR-Y 15, 1943 9

SCIENCE-SUPPLEMENT

SCIENCE NEWSScience Service, Washington, D. C.

THE ECLIPSE OF THE SUNTHE moon wkll blot out the sun on Thursday, February

4, along what might be a bomber's route between Alaskaand Japan. But it is a safe bet that this will be the onetotal solar eclipse of the century that no very seriousastronomical expedition will be observing.For one thing, most of the choice points in the band of

temporary total darkness are at sea where there is nostable base for telescopes. The main difficulty is thatthere is a war on. Astronomers in normal times mightbe tempted to take a run up to Anchorage, Alaska, wherethe totality lasts 48 seconds shortly before sunset thatday. They might be interested in rechecking upon theEinstein gravitational effect that bends starlight passingby the sun. Or they might photograph the corona, thesun's halo. Just now many astronomers are busy withballistics, navigation, making military telescopic camerasor other such important war jobs.

Soldiers, sailors and airmen will pause a few minutesin their fighting and work to see the glory of a totaleclipse, the clouds and fog of the Alaskan winter per-mitting. The moon's shadow will touch earth in Man-churia at sunrise on February 5. The eclipse will begina day before it ends, by the calendar, because it crossesthe international date line in its sweep across the Pacific.After crossing the Sea of Japan, passing across the Japa-nese island of Hokkaido, it travels swiftly across theocean. After running south of the Andreanoff Islands,the shadow will go just south of Dutch Harbor, darkenpart of Kodiak Island and cross Alaska on its way toleave the earth in the northern part of the CanadianYukon at sunset.The sun will be seen partially eclipsed throughout

Alaska, along the west coast regions of Canada and theUnited States and Hawaii.As the Chaldean astronomers first discovered, eclipses

recur at intervals of 6,585 1/3 days, known as a saros.This figures back to January 24, 1925, when a total sun'seclipse was seen by astronomers and public alike undergood conditions in New York, southern New England, aswell as farther west.As consolation for missing the February 4 eclipse,

astronomers will have to look forward to the next eclipseto come within possible reach. On July 9, 1945, therewill be a total solar eclipse beginning near Boise, Idaho,traveling northeastward through Montana, Saskatchewan,Manitoba, across Hudson's Bay to Greenland and on intoEurope and Asia. Perhaps astronomers can conduct vic-tory expeditions to observe this astronomical event, trans-ported by bombers that will be through with carrying outother missions.-WATsoN DAVIS.

SIGMA XI LECTURESTEN quadrillions of stars: 10,000,000,000,000,O00.

That 's the modest census of the part of the universewithin photographing range of our largest existing tele-scopes, with which Professor Harlow Shapley, director ofHarvard College Observatory and vice-president of

Science Service, concludes the opening chapter of a new"symposed" book, Science in Progress, published by theYale University Press.The ten chapters in the book were edited from lectures

presented by ten leading American scientists, on tour overthe country under the auspices of the Society of the SigmaXi. Assembling them into book form was the work ofProfessor George A. Baitsell, of Yale University, secre-tary of the society. They present the highlights of somerecent developments in astronomical, physico-chemical andbiological sciences. The volume has been made a sciencebook-of-the-month by the Science Book Club.

Professor Shapley bases his staggering figure on a con-servative estimate of the number of stars in our -owngalaxy, the Milky Way system-about a thousand millionsof them. In the sphere of space which present telescopescan reach there are at least ten million more like it. Tenmillion times a thousand million miiltiplies out to tenquadrillion-if that number means anything.A typical galaxy, like our own "home" mass of stars,

is a more or less disk-shaped affair, perhaps 50,000 or100,000 light-years across, frequently showing a spiralpattern in its organization. We can tell how far awayother galaxies are by spotting certain types of stars inthem, giants and super-giants, novae and super-novae, andcomparing their known actual brightness with the muchlower brightness they present because of the dimmingeffect of distance.A second chapter- on an astronomical subject, the ex-

panding universe, is contributed by Professor EdwinHubble, of the Mount Wilson Observatory. All thegalaxies we know appear to be receding from our partof space at terrific rates, from 150 miles a second fornear-by ones to nearly 25,000 miles a second for thosenear the limit of telescopic range.

That the universe is expanding (perhaps explodingwould be a better word) is the only explanation at pres-ent possible for the so-called red shift of light given offby these distant masses of stars. The reddening of theirlight is apparently caused by a "dragging out" of thelight waves as their sources speed away. Other explana-tions have been attempted, but, says Professor Hubble,they have all failed. If there is another valid explana-tion, it involves a principle in nature of which we arestill ignorant.What fuels the terrific energy production of the stars

is the cosmic puzzle taken up by Professor Hans A. Bethe,of Cornell University. Earlier theories, as that stellarheat and light are due to the gravitational compressionof their substance as they shrink together, would notkeep up the fires long enough. Most satisfactory, itappears, is the concept that atomic nuclei within thestars' interiors capture atomic particles (neutrons) andin so doing are transformed into other elements and atthe same time give off energy.

Pressures such as those existing in the interior of theearth, if not of the stars, are described by Professor P.W. Bridgman, of Harvard University. In exceedingly

10 VOL. 97, NO. 2507

JANUARY 15, 1943 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS 11

The best news about tinsince we went to war

W HEN THE JAPS overranVVMalaya and the EastIndies, they thought they haddealt a staggering blow toAmerica.

For, overnight, tin became amost critical raw material, be-cause America relies upon thisbright metal for tin plate, bear-ing alloys, solder, collapsibletubes ... but mostly tinplate.However, Uncle Sam had an

ace in the hole ... electrolytictin plate. In this process tin isdeposited electrolytically onsteel strip. And only one thirdthe tin used in the old hot-dipped process is required.

Unfortunately, electrolytictin plate is far from perfect asit comes from the plating baths.It is porous and does not pro-vide a good protective coating.

Right here Westinghousestepped into the picture.

Engineers in the Westing-house Research Laboratoriesdecided that the porous tincoating could be fused . . .

through the magic ofelectronics. . . to give the tin plate the de-sired protective coating.

These scientists built a high-frequency coil, using radiobroadcasting oscillator tubesfor their power source.Throughthis coil they passed electro-lytic tin plate. The inductiveheating effect melted the tin

coating ... refining it and giv-ing it the necessary corrosion-resistant properties.

The new Westinghouse tinflowing process is now in actualuse, turning out gleaming rib-bons of tin plate at better than500 feet per minute. It will helpsave thousands of tons of tinevery year.

Another example of elec-tronics at work . . . throughWestinghouse "know how"!

Westinghouse Electric &Manufacturing Company,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

WestinglousePLANTS IN 25 CITIES-OFFICES EVERYWHERE

JANUARY 15, 1943 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS 11

SCIENCE-SUPPLEMENT

massive machines, pressures measurable only in terms ofdozens of tons per square inch are applied to various sol-ids and liquids, solidly eased in massive blocks of metalso that they can not "squeeze away. " Under such pres-sures familiar matter assumes unfamiliar forms: a kindof ice with a temperature far above boiling, and so densethat it would sink in water; a variety of phosphorus thatis black instead of yellow, and that conducts electricityinstead of resisting it.

In other chapters, Dr. V. K. Zworykin, of RCA Re-search Laboratories, tells of the formation of electronimages; Professor Lionel S. Marks, of Harvard Univer-sity, discusses recent developments in power generation;Professor James Franck gives glimpses of what goes onin a green plant while food is in the making; ProfessorJohn G. Kirkwood, of Cornell University, presents a pic-ture of the structure of liquids; Professor Perrin H. Long,of the Johns Hopkins University, outlines the mode ofaction of sulfanilamide, and Professor H. Mark, of thePolytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, gives the theoreticalbasis underlying the manufacture of synthetic rubber.

SCIENCE IN 1942MEDICAL SCIENCES

(Continued from January 8, 1943)

A method of investigating motor nerve end plates andtheir control of muscle fibers which should give funda-mental aid to investigations of paralytic and musculardiseases was developed.

Search for a chemical cure for cancer, involving testsof some 70 compounds, resulted in discovery of one typeof chemical which in the test tube apparently interfereswith the health of human breast cancer cells and in thesame concentration does not interfere with the well-beingof any normal organ tissue which has been tested so far.

Indication of prevention of both breast cancer andleukemia in mice by diets lacking only the one chemical,eystine, was reported.

Conclusive proof that normal subcutaneous mouse fibro-blasts can be transformed, while growing in culture invitro, into sarcoma cells, as shown by the production ofhighly malignant tumors following inoculation of thesecultures into mice of the same strain which furnished thenormal cultures, establishes for the first time that at leastin this instance cancer cells can be produced without theoperation of factors (systemic) involving the animal bodyas a whole.

Chemical structure of biotin, vitamin essential for ratnutrition and believed to hold a clue to solution of theproduction of liver cancer in rats, was discovered.

Development of a 3,000,000-volt X-ray machine andencouraging results in its use to treat deep-seated humancancers were reported.Two new cancer diagnostic tests were reported: one

distinguishes cancer from overgrowth of the adrenalglands, the other detects early cancer of the uterus bymicroscopic examination of surface cells shed by the can-cer during its rapid growth.Vitamin C was reported effective in treating and pre-

venting heat cramps and heat prostration and its use for

preventing shock after injury or surgical operations wassuggested.

Totaquine, from cinchona bark, and two syntheticchemicals, pamaquine naphthoate and quinacrine hydro-chloride, were put into the new U. S. Pharmacopoeia XIIas acceptable anti-malarial drugs that can be used in placeof quinine.

Evidence that vitamins are important for resistance todisease germs appeared in the discovery that mice weremore susceptible to fatal infection with Type I pneumo-nia when their diets were deficient in two B vitamins,thiamin and riboflavin.A cat infection was linked with the atypical human

pneumonia cases of the past few years.Instruction courses in the Sister Kenny method of in-

fantile paralysis treatment were established by the Na-tional Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.Albumen extracted from human blood was used success-

fully in treating shock and efforts were reported underway to prepare a safe beef blood albumen for the samepurpose.

Successful treatment of headache and dizziness follow-ing concussion of the brain, expected to be more frequentas a result of war injuries, was achieved with the syn-thetic chemical, prostigmine.

Discovery of Kitol, a new parent chemical for vitaminA, expected to double the amount of the vitamin thatcan be obtained from whale and probably other fish liveroil, was announced.A new "butter" that resists temperatures up to 110

degrees Fahrenheit and can be shipped without refrigera-tion was developed by the Army Quartermaster Corps andis being shipped in large quantities to U. S. troops over-seas.

Successful vaccination against influenza A of 43 out of44 boys directly exposed to the virus in a controlled ex-periment was reported.

Isolation of a toxin from the influenza bacillus (notthe virus) and production from it of a vaccine successfulin protecting rabbits against this bacillus was announced.

28,585 cases of jaundice, with 62 deaths, occurred inthe Army among men vaccinated with certain batches ofanti-yellow fever vaccine but following a change in themethod of producing the vaccine and restriction of its useto men destined for service in yellow fever endemic areas,cases of the jaundice stopped.

Greater, because safer, usefulness for the sulfa drugsmay result from discovery that certain toxic reactions tothe drugs, including agranulocytosis, probably result fromdrug interference with hitherto unknown and as yet un-identified members of the vitamin B group.Two new sulfa drugs, sulfapyrazine and succinyl sulfa-

thiazole, were announced.Sulfa drugs appeared as possible preventives of whoop-

ing cough; dysentery; bad colds, bronchitis and pneumo-nia; and as possible cures for Asiatic cholera on the basisof animal experiments and some clinical evidence.A new kind of surgical dressing for burns and wounds,

consisting of a plastic film carrying 30 per cent. to 50per cent. sulfadiazine, was developed.Two new germ-fighters isolated from microorganisms

were discovered: fumigacin and clavacin.

12 VOL. 97, NO. 2507

JANUARY 15, 1943 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENT 13-

I I

are recognized to be of fundamentalnutritional importance, and many in-vestigators are engaged in developingknowledge regarding their physiolog-ical significance. Almost all of theamino acids found in proteins arenow being manufactured in pure formby Merck & Co., Inc.

Aminoacetic Acid(Glycocoll, Glycine)

I(+)Arginine Monohydrochloridedl Aspartic AcidBeta-Alanine

-dl Alpha-AlanineI(+)Cysteine Hydrochloride

I(-)CystineI(+)Glutamic Acid

dl Glutamic Acid MonohydrateI(-)Histidine Monohydrochloride

l(-)Hydroxyprolinedl Isoleucinedl LeucineI(+)Leucine

I(+)lysine Monohydrochloridedl Lysine Monohydrochloride

dl Methioninedl Norleucine

dl PhenylalanineI(-)Prolinedl Serine

dl Threonine,I(-)Tryptophane

l(-)Tyrosinedl Valine

CHOLINECholine is recognized as animportant nutritional factor,and for this reason is re-quired as a routine supple-ment in nutritional experi-ments, especiallywhenhighlypurified diets are employed.

CHOLINE

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JANUARY 15, 1943 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS 13

9F4r W

14 SCECeDETSMNTO.9,N.20

PARFOCAL WITHIN

"ONE FOURTH"

OF THE TOLERANCE SPECIFIEDIllustrated above are the elements of a

parfocal ten-inch lens with a focal lengthof 25 feet. It was specified by the astro-nomical observatory which ordered it,that the lens should be parfocal for theC and K spectral lines, with a maximumdifference of 1 millimeter (0.039 inch).As produced in the Perkin-Elmer plantthe lens was actually parfocal within a

quarter of this tolerance . . . "one fourth"of one millimeter (0.010 inch).

Today the facilities of our organizationfor extreme precision of optical manufac-turing are among the most urgentlyneeded by our government. Thereforewe are, of course, giving these needs ourcomplete attention now. When Victoryis won we shall again place our resourcesat your disposal.

OPPORTUNITIESWANTED-(a) Director of nutritional laboratory; consid-erable experience nutritional chemistry and training beyondbachelor's degree required; university medical school;South. (b) Biochemist to conduct laboratory analyses inresearch study of vitamin C status of southern families;Master's degree with experience in blood chemistry re-quired; must understand use of photoelectric instruments;should have ability to develop new methods of blood vita-min C analyses; $2,200; university appointment (c)Pharmaceutical chemist familiar with sulfa drugs and ar-senicals; interesting position in South America; ability tospeak Spanish and Portuguese desirable; $3,200-$4,600,and, in addition, living allowance of slightly over $1,200.(d) Laboratory technician thoroughly experienced in usuallaboratory procedures; must be qualified to supervise sixassistants; university appointment. S-l; Medical Bureau(Burneice Larson, Director), Palmolive Building, Chicago.

LAMOTTE pH BLOCK COMPARATORPortable-Convenient-Inexpensive

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14 SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS VOL. 97, NO. 2507

JANUARY15,1943 SCIE E-A RTISE TS 15~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Constan'tTemperature

Two Temperature Ranges:00 to - 90° F. 220° to-90° F.

Constancy: + F.<POR testing various types of instruments, aircraft^ equipment, and many materials to determine theirperformance, durability, etc. at low temperatures, theAminco Dry-ice Cabinet Is a reliable, convenient,trouble-free and speedy means of obtaining the- tem-peratures required.Low Temperatujres Obtained Quickly-From 85° P.

to --900 F. in 30 minutes, for example.Amount of Dry lee ~uired-Temperatures can be

held at -40°' P. and -90° F. in an ambient tempera-ture of 85 F. for 24 hours with, 4QY-d6 lb. of dryice respectively. Dry-ie ecapaeity 75 lb.

Size of Working Chambe-24 x14x24 in.Other Features-Reliable, time-tested temperature

control devices automatically operate a damper so asto pass air over the dry ice when, cooling is needed orto bypans the air when cooling is not needed. fte-movable cover on working chamber has 5-ply vacuum-sealed Thermopane window. Externally-operatedhand damper limits amount of air passed over the dryice in proportion to temperature desired. A scalepermits quick setting of this damper.No Insta oan Required -Being complete. the

Aminco Dry-ice Cabinet can be put into servicequickly by plugging into the current supply. Nopipe connections to be made; no adjustments exceptthe setting of the thermoreulator and the damper-;no boring of holes or breaking of pressure connec-tions. Once charged with dry ice and regulated, itrequires no further attention until a new charge isnecessary.

Fully Described -in Bulletin A-2111

DRY-ICE CABINET

PLATES AND FILMSTi,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~for Spectrum Analysis

TjHE Eastman Kodak Company makes a number of platesk and films which are suited to the various requirements of

spectrum analysis. One of the most recent of these products isEastman Spectrum Analysis Film, No. 2. It has good speed,moderate contrast, and medium resolving power and granular-ity. Its contrast and wave length characteristics are very uni-form throughout the spectral.region ?9400A-A4400A.

Particulars concerning this and other films and plates forspectrum analysis will be forwarded promptly upon request.

EASTMAN KODAK COMPANYResearch Laboratories Rochester, N. Y.

1

JANAILAY 15, 1943. SCIENCE-ADVBRTISEMENTS 15

SCIENCE-ADVERTISEMENTS

Tl

vrgt for Tonight"In the "Ready Rooms" of aircraft

carriers, in flight quarters at aviationland bases, in classrooms for main-tenance instruction courses, projectioninstruments are performing vital serv-ices in the war of today.

Of the various types of Spencer pro-jectors suitable for these tasks, theVA Delineascope has been especiallyuseful -since it is capable of projectireslides or opaque material, such Us

photographs, charts, maps or draw-ings.

Optical instments are so vital to war, productionfor war and public bealtb that the nation's emergencneeds absorb practically all of Spencer's greatl in-creased production.

* * *

Spencer LENS COMPANYBUFFALO, NEW YORK

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT DIVISION OFAMERICAN OPTICAL COMPANY

VOL. 97, No. 2507