Document zdQn55eEoVxM2O4zmnYNELJ2n

FILE NAME: Reichhold (REI) DATE: 1964 Nov 7 DOC#: REI015 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Article from Trade Journal - Science Newsletter N ovem b er 7, 194 SCIENCE NEWS LETTER Filtered Fresh Air See Page 293 One. a f a s e r ie s b r le flu d e sc r ib in g GUM's r e se a rc h in d e p th SQUARE LOOP FERRITES NOW IN ari' ODDBALL SHAPES inf > F ing Ceramic ferrites are versatile magnetic oxides usually thci made by the press forming of powdered ingredients. bcir indi Here at the Laboratories, a recent spill-over from T our fundamental research in ferrites has resulted in a fnoituci new fabrication technique. It makes ferrites of of : virtually any type or shape practicable: permanent exa gali magnetic ferrites, high frequency core materials, grE computer elements with square hysteresis loops. por firn The new "cookie cutter" process begins with ferrite cnc powder mixed with a plastic binder on a rubber mill. th: An- This forms a flexible sheet of almost any thickness I down to 0.005 inch. From it, ferrites of any desired are dai shape can be cut or molded--easily and economically-- inf before the special presintering and sintering froJ treatments. The fired ferrites shrink evenly and are itcl exceptionally uniform in material density and magnetic characteristics. Our electronics engineers have found the new fabrication technique particularly valuable for making multiaperture devices --wafer-thin square loop ferrites used in computer memory cores and switching circuits. Practical development of these and other applications is continuing as a team effort of the Laboratories and GM divisions. Involving a blend of scientific understanding and engineering know-how, this new process is another example of the advances in technology being made by GM's research in depth. General Motors Research Laboratories Warren, Michigan Hysteresis loop from ferrite memory core prepared by new GMR process MEDICINE Drugs Conquer Fungus A new antifungal agent has brought relief from itching and burning to hundreds suffering from such superficial fungus infections as ringw orm and athlete's foot. U -.1%: memory - process. > FUNGUS INFECTIONS, like those causing ringworm and athlete's foot, may be on their way out as a threat to human well being, studies on a new antifungal agent indicate The agent, called tolnaftate, has been found to achieve "complete curing or defi nite control of infection" in 320 of 520 cases of superficial fungus infections The cases, examined in 19 independent clinical investi gations, included infections of the feet, groin, body, head, hands and nails Dr. John A Leer of the Schering Cor poration, Bloomfield, N .J, reported these findings to the Fourth Interscience Confer ence on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemo therapy in New York, sponsored by the American Society of Microbiology Dr. Leer said tolnaftate was applied to areas of infection twice or three times daily, usually foi two to four weeks. The infections in persons tested had been present from three days to 30 years.. Results of the various studies showed that itching and burning were usually relieved within 24 hours after the start of treatment with the preparation. One fungus infection in particular, athlete's foot, was usually cured after two weeks of treatment with tolnaftate. At the same meeting two scientists re ported that a second drug, thiabendazole, had been found effective in laboratory tests against athlete's foot fungus. Thiabendazole at present is widely known for its veterinary use in preventing parasitic worm infections in sheep. Drs. Lloyd J. Sorensen and Harry J Rob inson, both of Merck Institute for Thera peutic Research, Rahway, N.J., reported that the drug cleared up infections immediately in guinea pigs experimentally given the fungus that causes athlete's foot. The scientists said infections with the athlete's foot fungus were induced into the skin of shaven guinea pigs. Each day, new hair growth was taken from the infected areas and examined for fungal activity. When the drug was applied in a four percent ointment four days after the infec tion was introduced to the pigs, the fungus disappeared in less than one day, the sci entists reported Lower concentrations of the ointment were found not as effective as the four per cent dosage. A delay in treatment also gave less effective results in that 12 days were required before infections cleared up Science N e w s Le tte r, 86:291 N o ve m b e r 7 , 1964 PU BLIC HEALTH Defects Cause Guilt Sense > A MISTAKEN SENSE of guilt still exists among many parents today who blame themselves for their defective chil dren, Basil O'Connor, president of the Na tional Foundation-March of Dimes said in Washington. Parents still believe that some external cause such as a fright during pregnancy is the reason an abnormal child is born Or they think they must have sinned in some way. The word "harelip" got its name from its resemblance to a rabbit's mouth, and the mother of a child with this deformity was believed to have looked at a rabbit while pregnant. W ith 250,000 children born with birth defects each year and 30,000 annual deaths from such causes, public education is grad'Ually erasing the guilt feelings that have often kept abnormal children hidden away in attics Until research makes more progress in the prevention of birth defects, treatment can make them less tragic. The National Foundation is sponsoring 50 treatment cen ters for abnormal children,. In one, as many as a dozen specialists treat the many prob lems common to birth defects. Otherwise, a child might have to be shuttled between medical experts scattered throughout a city or even an entire state Three of these centers, in Madison, Wise., Boston and New Orleans, are particularly following up the earliest birth defects to be discovered, even minor ones. Outstanding among the achievements in overcoming birth defects are the blood test for phenylketonuria, or PKU, which enables the child to be put on a special diet to avoid severe mental retardation, and that for galactosemia, which causes blindness as well as retardation, if not discovered shortly after birth. Hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, can be treated by draining fluid so the head size becomes more normal. The new Salk Institute for Biological Studies at San Diego, under the leadership of Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine, is expected to probe into some of the basic problems behind birth defects, Mr O'Connor told S c ie n c e S e r v ic e , The insti tute will not work on any one disease, but in fields of microbiology, genetics and enzymes that could lead to specific practical results. Scien ce N e w s Letter, 86:291 N o ve m b e r 7 , 1964 PENGUIN AUDIENCE -- Carl Eklund, a biologist from Atlanta, Ga., moves an emtenna into position at McMurdo Sound as penguins watch. PSYC H O LO G Y W o rk Cures Boredom on South Pole N a v y Base > WORK KEEPS UP the morale of the Navy and civilian personnel confined with the same group of men for six to 12 months at the South Pole, The individual's ability to control his emotions, as well as his consideration and friendliness to his fellow workmen are also important, Lt. Paul D Nelson of the U S. Navy Medical Neuropsyschiatric Research Unit, San Diego, Calif., reported to the meeting of the Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S. in Washington, D C McMurdo Base, the largest of the research stations on the Antarctic Continent, is com posed of about 200 men. Smaller outlying stations, Byrd, Hallett and Eights, vary in size from 12 to 35 men. Scie n ce N e w s Le tte r, 86:291 N o ve m b e r 7, 1964 B IO P H Y S IC S Sound W a v e s Locate Tum ors in Eye Socket > SOUND WAVES are four times more sensitive than X-rays in locating tumors within the eye's orbit, or socket, a New York ophthalmologist reported in Chicago. Diagnosis of an orbital tumoi proved accurate in 32 of 54 cases examined by ultrasonography. This was later confirmed by surgery and medical tests, Dr Gilbert Baum of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, N.Y., said. Dr. Baum's study was reported at the meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology The study was supported by a National Cancer Institute grant. S cie n c e N e w s L e tte r, 86:291 N o ve m b e r 7 , 1964 292 Sc ien c e N ews L etter for N ovem ber 7 , 1964 --Questions-- SCIENTIA IATERMTIOML NOVAS DEL MENSE IN INTERLINGUA E p id em iologia, -- Le cu rren te augm ento d el in cid en tia de en cep h a li- A G RIC U LT U R E-- How has "a ir cond itioning" produced healthy fruits an d vegetables despite tis in c e r t e p a r te s de N ew J e r s e y , e le in u s u a lm e n te a lte p r o c e n ta g e high tem peratures? p. 297. de fem in a s in ter le v ic tim a s in ille stato, pare e s s e r attrib u ib ile (in M E D IC IN E -- H ow are new antifungal agents dire c te m ente) a l in clem en te tem p esta te que is te autum no ha a rriv a te anorm alm ente tosto in le Statos U nite orien tai. Le catena ca u sa i p o stu la te p er D r. H. D. P r a tt d e l s ta to u n ite se S e r v ic io de H ygien e P u b lic -- es que le m osquito C ulex pipiens (resp on sab ile pr le tra n sm is s io n d e lv ir u s de en cep h a litis in c ir c a 50 p r cento d el c a so s) te n de a in vad er cale fa ci te d o m ic ilio s hum an quando le tem p eratu ras al ex tero d eclin a subite m ente ante le fin d el no rm al cy clo vi tal de ille in se c to . Herbert Hoover, le tr e n ta -p r im e P r e sid e n te d el S tatos U n ite, te n e va grad os a ca d em ic h on orari ab 85 u n iv ersita tes e c o lle g io s; ille e s helping to elim inate superficial fu n g u s infec tio n s? p. 291, P H Y S IC S -- W h y can 3 -D p h o t o g r a p h s let o ne lo o k b e h in d o bje cts? p. 295. P S Y C H O L O G Y -- W h a t does a Perceptual Q u o tient, o r PQ, indicate to school a d m in istra to rs? p. 302. PU B LIC SAFETY-- H o w could three talllight colors help reduce a u to m o b ile c o llisio n s? p. 294. T E C H N O L O G Y -- H ow can a computer be used to get more accurate versions o f literary s e va m em b ro h o n o ra ri de 60 s o c ie tate s s c ie n tific e tech n o lo g ic; ille classics? p. 297 habeva recip ite 468 m ed a lia s e citation es honorari. Ante le prim e G u erra Mundial', H e r b e r t H oover - in c o lla b o r a tio n con su uxor trad u ceva le ude Re M eta llic a " de A g rico la (1556) ab le latino ad in le an glese. P o st ille guerra, in 1920, un astronom o a u stria c nom ina va un a ste r o id e (que ille habeva d isco p erite) H o o v eria in gratitude S C I E N C E N E W S L E T T E R j p r le e ffo r tio s de H e r b e r t H oover de a lim e n ta r E u rop a fa m e lic . In I su ca rriera c iv il H erbert H oover e sse v a in gen iero m inatori. Como VOL. 86 NOVEMBER 7, 1964 NO. 19 j tal ille travaliava in S ib eria, A u stra lia , China, S u d -A frica, e alterubi. 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M e e m a n , M e m p h is P re ss-Sc im ita r; Ludw ell Denny, Seripps-H ow ard N ew spapers; Edw ard W . Scrip p s I I , * * E d w a rd W . Scrip p s Trust. ` Presi dent; " Vice President; " *Treasurer.~ P h ysiologia C ereb ral. -- Le fortia del undas cereb ral es d ir e c te m ente correlation ate con le tension del sanguine secundo in v estig a tiones conducite a l C o lleg io M ed icai de V irgin ia a R ichm ond. Le in v estig a tiones e sse v a lim itate a su b jectos dorm iente proque le undas c e r e b r a l in sta to e v e lia te e s e x tr e m e m e n te c o m p le x ific a te p er un grande n u m ero de h e te r o g e n e e fa e to r e s n o n -c e r e b r a l. 5cienee N ew s Letfer, 86:292 Novem ber 7 , 1964 Staff- -Director: W atso n D avis. A ssistan t Director: D orothy Schriver. W riters: A nn Ew ing, W illiam MacLaurin, F a y s M arley, W illia m M cCann, Barbara Tufty, Judith Viorst, W alte r W in go , R uby Yosb'okn. Science Youth D ivision: Joseph H. 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TECH!- cre> ing See > A th o u 5 answ subm arou] capsi p ro v i p atic Tlthim any : Ever. freer liq u i Sit m e it "sce to ` till o spac* A brar and the h elc thre O su d nirr we hro* mci mei the be . / a c his sele litt] me me cor j ho, de* dif seE bo up .al dr ill- CO pi '-C 111 in TEC H N O LO G Y Membrane Filters Air g Using a new synthetic silicone membrane, subm arine ^ WARNINGS of possible human malformadons if pregnant women are treated He crew s m ay soon be sup plie d with a ir from the w aters su rrou n d with high-pressure oxygen have been sounded as a result of experiments with ing them, and patients m ay have a cheap o xyge n supply. golden hamsters. W ith increasing use of hyperbaric oxygen See Front Cover liquid. Carbon dioxide exhaled by the ham treatment in medical practice, Dr. Vergil H. A WISP of synthetic membrane, only a ster passes out through the membrane, Ferm of the Dartmouth Medical School, '-.y thousandth of an inch thick, may hold the dissolves in the water and is carried away Hanover, N.H., said other species should be answer to a simple system for supplying Since a small quantity of water with the studied to determine the effect on embry submarines with air drawn from the water salt removed would pass through the mem onic development. around them, the purification of air in space brane, the hamster, the crew of a submarine, Open spines, protruding brains, umbilical >4. capsules or moon stations, and a means of or the inhabitants of an underwater experi hernia, harelip and peculiar limb defects ed providing cheap, reliable oxygen supplies for mental station would be supplied not only were found in a small but significant num iry patients in hospitals or at home. with air but also with fresh water for ber of hamster fetuses after such treatment, The secret lies in a silicone film that is drinking. he said. thinner, and therefore more permeable, than The method of producing the membrane Fifty-three pregnant hamsters in the early any silicone membrane ever before reported. was discovered by Dr. Walter L Robb of stages of pregnancy were placed in a 22-foot Even though this membrane is completely the General Electric Research Laboratory, hyperbaric chamber, which was then flushed free of holes, it permits the passage of Schenectady, N Y., who is shown in the pic with 100% oxygen for three minutes. R liquids or gases. ture standing behind the fish tank. Possible They were then exposed to hyperbaric applications are being studied at General oxygen at 3.0, 3.6 and 4 0 atmospheres for Since different gases pass through the membrane at different rates, it is called Electric's Advanced Technology Labora periods of three and two hours. "selective." The ability of the membrane tories and elsewhere For ty-one animals survived the treatment to "select" those gases which will pass Science News Letter, 86:293 November 7, 1964 without apparent ill effects, but the fetuses through most easily could be applied in a PHYSICS showed gross malformations. pInucb.-, spaAcne coappesnuilne.g covered with such a mem S u p e r c o n d u c t in g M a g n e t poTrthede tUhe sStudyP,uwblhicichHweaalsthrepSoerrtveidceinstuhpe O r ih banradnecawrboounld dailolxoiwde untowaenstceadpeweaatesirlyvaipnotor A i d s N u c le a r S t u d ie s PBrioocloegeydinagnsd oMf ethdeiciSnoec,ie1ty16f:9o7r5E, x1p9e6r4i.mental 3.00; cage the vacuum of space, while vital oxygen was A NEW SUPERCONDUCTING magnet Science News Letter, 86:293 November 7, 1964 n gle held in, because the first two gases pass --a magnet made of materials that lose all ants. ress: through much more quickly than oxygen. electrical resistance when cooled to near PUBLIC HEALTH actly Oxygen, on the other hand, passes through absolute zero--has been developed. M em bran e Helps Purify ipubTE R such a membrane over twice as fast as nitrogen, which makes up 80% of the air Believed by researchers to be the biggest of its kind, the new magnet has an outside Contam inated W ater >ther the we breathe. As a result, if ordinary air is diameter of 24 inches and a bore or inside vice. brought into contact with one side of a diameter of 10 inches. Present plans arc to FRESH DRINKING WATER can be NGS soles, membrane while the other side of the use it in conjunction with a particle accele obtained by forcing contaminated water ra ni membrane is maintained at a lower pressure, rator to study subnuclear reactions. The through a membrane and filtering out the 3 at the gas passing through the membrane will superconducting magnet was built by Avco- impurities. form X S be rich in oxygen. Everett Research Laboratory, Everett, Mass. This new, economical method, called the d e r 'f l A man consumes about three quarters of Science News Letter, 86:293 November 7, 1964 reverse osmosis process, uses a semiperme and u of a cubic foot of oxygen per hour. To meet able membrane of cellulose acetate which his requirements solely by means of a filters out most minerals and organic mate selective membrane system could require as rials. little as two and one-half square yards of membrane, plus a compressor or pump to leaDveintegrgfernesth imnopnu-rsiutidessy awlsaotera.reThreemmoveemd, L i remove the enriched air from the low pres brane may even filter out radioactive j sure side of the membrane. The membrane contamination. is more than 100 times as permeable as the icon fhol- membrane material of which the lungs aie la ce composed. >ees, tha For patients needing oxygen-rich air in \Aoe, vard hospitals or at home, a small air-enriching a lle r device with a compressor to provide a While fresh water and contaminated water are separated in this new process, under 11 normal conditions fresh water would natur ally flow by osmosis through the membrane into the waste water. However, by applying a force greater than neil: difference in pressure and a membrane to iety; Eric separate the gases could replace pure oxygen om i- bought by the tank, cutting costs sharply. ig el, ster, Underwater applications would depend the normal osmotic pressure to the contam inated water, fresh water is produced as the membrane filters out the impurities. Designed and tested at the Aerojet- jr ry , upon the fact that seawater is essentially fate; Lud- saturated with air to a depth of many hun General Corporation in Azusa, Calif., the process can convert 96% of waste water into vard dreds of feet. re si- The "aqua-hamster" penned in a sub freshwater with a purity exceeding pota bility standards set by the Public Health ctor: merged plastic tank, shown on this week's A vco-Everett Research Laboiato ry Service. ^ac haro cover, is kept alive by an artificial "gill," a SUPERCONDUCTING M A G N E T The process is easier and cheaper to run oka. loyd piece of the synthetic membrane stretched -- The ten-inch diameter supercon than other purification methods of distill Mon: ken- across the top, bottom, and two sides of its ation and freezing that require large underwater home. ducting magnet is lifted from its amounts of power to change water into Di vi- The "gill" extracts air from the surround container of liquid helium after a vapor or ice to remove impurifies. Si., I A. ing water, while resisting the passage of the test run, * Science News Letter, 86:293 November 7, 1964 294 SciKNCE N ews L e tier jot N o v e m b e r 11 1964 PRISMS, BIG SIZE $3.25 pp 2 for HARRY Crystal optical crown glass. Non- Striated. Dozens of wonderful things to do. C a p t u r e s u n l i g h t r a i n b o w s , Se cret pictures with cameras. See around corners. See upside-down, etc. 4" x 1 Vi " , 45-90 d eg A lu m in iz e d b a c k . U n m n iin te d . U S. 0V co st S20.00. $ 5 .5 0 p.p. P ro d u cts b u lle tin 25<S. DHCC Scientific & Lab /IpparattM K U J J 61 -L Reade S t . N.Y. 7. N.Y. TR-SONIC V Fish Call Sound and lig h t w aves lu re fish to yo ur exact spot w ith this new transisto rized d e v ice . Com p le le ly w aterp ro o f; na m oving p a rls For sa lt or fresh w ater fishing Com pact, pocket-sized O p erates on 2 sm all standard 1 5 batteries R e a so n ab ly priced For com plete d escrip tive lit e ra tu re , p rices, etc w rite E. & J. 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I Please send your free Telescope Guide. | Name------------------------------------- | Address___________________________________ | City-------------------------------------- S t a t e -------------- GENERAL SCIENCE San Salvador Seen First Studies of dim ate, topography, botany and archae* o lo g y indicate that S a n S a lv a d o r w a s the first land sighted b y C o lu m b u s in the N e w W o r ld -- By B a rb a ra Tufty T H A T MYSTERIOUS LIG H T seen by Christopher Columbus "like a candle falling and rising" 472 years ago as he approached the New World the night of Oct, 11, was probably caused by natives burning fires to keep away annoying sand flies. The light was not a hallucination or a "spiritual light" as many men have thought. The "white head of sand" which the famous navigator sighted at two o'clock the next morning was actually H igh Cay, a straight white rocky cliff rising 114 feet above sea level to the southeast of San Salvador Island These and other discoveries have led Ruth G. Duilacher Wolper, director of the New World Museum of San Salvador, to identify the first land sighted by Columbus and his crew as San Salvador. This land is the southeastemmost island of the Bahamian Archipelago above the Tropic of Cancer. For almost 500 years, scholars and lay men have been trying to solve the mystery of Columbus's light and to define the exact island the men first saw and walked upon. Practically every island in the Bahamas has been nominated for one reason or another to hold the honor of being the first. Mrs. Wolper recently released a mono graph, published by the Smithsonian Insti tution, describing her research to prove that San Salvador is the island,. W ith the aid of scientists and historians, Mrs, Wolper followed Columbus's state ments in his Journal word for word and spent seven years exploring San Salvador Island by plane, jeep, foot and boat, as well as making accurate measurements and exca vations on land and sea. Columbus approached the island at a dead reckoning at 23 47' 24" N orth in October near the end of the rainy season. At this time, states Mrs. Wolper, the foliage on the trees and plants is green, the lakes are filled with fresh water and fires are necessary in the evenings after the rains to ward off sand flies., By conducting an expedition on the 110foot long M V. Drake, at the same time of year and evening, Mrs.. Wolper and her assistants found similar conditions described by Columbus and his men "Rising and fall ing" lights glowed in the dark from fires built by the natives, following today some of the customs of their forefathers. They tended these fires by throwing on about three leaves of the waxy Saba I palmetto tree every half hour, a procedure that caused the light to rise and fall The light could be seen as far out at sea as 27 nautical miles, just the distance of the Santa Maria where Columbus was standing on the stern-castle Early in the morning, four hours after spotting the light, land was sighted straight ahead, records the Journal This "white head of sand" was glowing in the moon light, six nights after the full moon Columbus then ordered his fleet of three ships to "jog off-and-on" near the south eastern reefs until daylight, when they sailed around a long ridge of connecting reefs searching for a place to land. They dropped anchor in a quiet lagoon that opens to the sea through what is now known as Gar diner's Reef. Point by point, Mrs. Wolper examined the journal of Columbus and answered each fact to prove that San Salvador today is the island once called Guanahani by the Indians and renamed San Salvador by Co lumbus. She backs her arguments with facts of climate, topography and botany. She cites artifacts identified from scientific archaeo logical excavations where Columbus de scribed the Indians and villages he saw, and notes the links in the cultural development from the past to the older native folk of today. D uring the scramble for the honor of being Columbus's first island, San Salvador has also been called Watling, and other islands have been named San Salvador Science News Letter, 86:294 November 7, 1964 PU BLIC SAFETY Three T ailligh t Colors M a y Reduce Collisions YELLOW AND GREEN as well as red taillights would reduce rear-end collisiojis, the annual convention of the National Safety Council meeting in Chicago was told. The green lights would automatically be switched on when the car traveled at speeds exceeding 40 miles an hour Yellow colors would automatically appear when the car began mild deceleration from high speeds, remaining on while it was traveling below 40 miles an hour, Brake application would cause switching from either green or yellow to the red lights, which would stay on when the car was stopped. K. A. Harkness, director of the depart ment of agricultural engineering, Ohio State University, made this suggestion, which grew out of research into Ohio highway accidents involving slow-moving vehicles during 1961 and 1962 One of the major accident factors, said Mr Harkness, was found to be the failure of other motorists to recognize the slow ones soon enough to avoid rear-end col lisions Science News Letter, 86:294 November 7, 1964 Science N ews L etter jor November 7, 1964 295 UPI PROP. A. M. PROKHOROV TIPI PROF. NIKOLAY G. BASOV UPI DR. CHARLES H. TOWNES GENERAL SCIENCE Nobel Prize Winners W o rk on crystallography and the m aser-laser principle w on N ob e l Prizes in Chem istry and Physics for an English woman, two Russians and an American. FOR THEIR WORK on lasers and masers and contribution to the field of quantum electronics, an American and two Russians were awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize for Physics., Dr. Charles H. Townes, provost of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and recipient of half the $52,500 award, will share his prize with Profs. Nikolay G. Basov and Aleksander M. Prokhorov of the Lebe dev Institute for Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The revolutionary maser-laser principle of concentrated radio and light beams was discovered in 1951 by Dr. Townes and shortly after, Profs Prokhorov and Basov independently came upon the principle. Scientists have predicted that the ex traordinarily intense laser light will be used to map the moon, act as radar, serve for space communications and, some say, even become that seemingly impossible instru ment of warfare, a death ray It is already being used as a surgeon's scalpel, to illumi nate the moon and to pierce steel and diamonds, By observing the actions of a boy on a swing one can understand how and why a maser or laser works. If the boy sits per fectly still on a moving swing, the ampli tude of the swing's motion gradually de creases due to friction. However, by moving in unison with the swing's motion, the boy can "pump tip" or amplify the swinging motion. By opposite body motions--against the rhythm of the swing's motion--the boy can decrease the amplitude and stop the swing much more rapidly than by friction alone. These three varying effects of the boy's motion on that of the swing correspond respectively to spontaneous emission, absorp tion and induced emission, which arc the three effects on which masers and lasers operate. Radiant energy is used to force the maser's atoms into excited energy states, since they have absorbed the energy. Some of the atoms will then spontaneously emit radia tion and fall back to the lower energy state. However, by hitting the laser material with radiation of precisely the energy that would be emitted spontaneously, the atoms can be stimulated to emit their radiation in one great cascade. This induced radiation is the secret of the maser's operation and also the source of its name, an acronym for Micromave Am plification by Stimulated Emission of Radi ation. For a laser, light is used instead of microwaves. * Science News Letter, 8(5:295 November 7, 1964 Prize for Chem istry ^ FEW FIELDS of science have changed more in the first half of the 20th century than crystallography, the field in which Dr. Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 1964. The knowledge of the precise way atoms are arranged in crystals has given much new data to chemistry. It has brought about the general rewriting of inorganic chemistry in terms of ions, or electrically charged atoms Dr Hodgkin's X-ray crystallography unit at Oxford did the painstaking work, an- nounced in 1955, to detect the structure of vitamin B-12. Her unit also worked on the chemical structure of the drug cephalo sporin C, closely related to the pencillin family, but able to wipe out many of the infections resisting penicillin. Vitamin B-12 is the largest and most com plex molecule to be defined in complete detail. The final picture, completed after almost a dozen years of work on both sides of the Atlantic, shed new light on bloodbuilding processes. The compound contains cobalt and has a specific curative effect in pernicious anemia which can be fatal. Dr Hodgkin determined the atomic struc tures of this and other important biochemi cal compounds by studying the X-rays emitted by a crystal of the substance when exposed to an X-ray beam. The 54-year-old winner of the $52,500 prize is a research professor of the British Royal Society as well as an Oxford Fellow. She is at present in Accra, Ghana, with her husband, Thomas L Hodgkin, who is direc tor of the Institute for African Studies at the University of Ghana. The Swedish Academy of Science, in its Nobel citation of Dr. Hodgkin, praised her "exceptional skill in which chemical knowl edge, intuition, imagination and persever ance have been conspicuous." Science News teller, 86:295 November 7, 1964 MEDICINE Stillbirths High Am ong Diabetic W om en ^ UNTREATED DIABETES in pregnant women 30% of the time results in either a stillbirth or an early death for the newly born infant, a physician reported in Post graduate Medicine, 36:301, 1964. Dr. Elsie R. Carrington, Woman's Med ical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, said from the viewpoints of both individual and public health, a planned screening test for every woman about to have a baby should be made. Science News Letter, 86:295 November 7, 1964 I 296 Science N ews L etter for 'November 7, 1964 PSYCHO LOGY Mice Prefer Square W h ee ls to Round O nes FOR MANY YEARS pet fanciers have been providing rodents with round activity wheels for exercise. Now it turns out that they may like square wheels better. Drs. J. L,, Kavanau and D. H. Brant, zoologists at the University of California at Los Angeles, suggest that wild mice prefer square activity wheels because these require more split-second timing and coordination of movements. Captive rodents spend a great deal of their time running activity wheels. It appears that, in addition to providing a strenuous form of exercise not otherwise available to confined animals, wheel-running is fun to the animals. The manipulation and control of the movements of an activity wheel may be rewarding to them, quite independent of exercise, Dr. Kavanau says. In the experiments, wild mice were given a choice of three different types of round wheels and a square wheel. Mice, being very conservative animals, usually will stick to whatever wheel they try first, vir tually ignoring the others. After a wheel was selected and used for a time by a mouse, it was locked, forcing him to choose another. Each time a choice was made and. experience was gained with a wheel it was locked, and on down the line until a mouse had had experience with each wheel. Then the wheels were unlocked in reverse order to which they were locked. Results indicated that when the mice had experience with all wheels, they generally preferred the square one. It appears that the challenge of the square wheel (it re quired jumping at the corners at rates up to nine times per second) was more appeal ing to the animals.. Science N e w s Le tle r, 8 6 :2 9 6 N o ve m b er 7, 1964 M ED IC IN E Cancer Deaths Reported Equal to Cancer Cures > ALMOST AS MANY cancer patients in the United States have been cuted as have died in the past five years. More than 1.3 million former cancer patients now living in the United States are considered "cured" of cancer since they have had no evidence of the disease for five years. Another 700,000 persons who have been treated within the past five years are ex pected to join the ranks of the cured, the American Cancer Society reported. The Society's booklet, 1965 Cancer Facts and Figures, contains these announcements along with significant figures on the status of different kinds of cancer. Here are some of the statements: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. An estimated 52,000 new cases are expected in 1965, with 47,000 deaths. Three fourths of these deaths could be avoided if people did not smoke cigarettes. Next highest number of estimated deaths in 1965 will be 43,000 from colon and rec- turn cancer, although 73,000 new cases are expected. Examination with an instrument called a proctoscope once a year and prompt treatment could save three out of four of these cases. Breast cancer is expected to cause 26,000 deaths in 1965, and is the leading cause of death in women. Estimated new cases will be 62,000 Cancer of the stomach is expected to account for 18,000 deaths next year, al though recent studies have shown a con siderable reduction in deaths, 34% among men and 37% among women. Cancer of the pancreas will cause 16,300 deaths and cancer of the prostrate gland an estimated 16,000. Deaths from lymphomas, which arise in the lypmh system and include Hodgkin's disease, are expected to reach 15,000, out of 20,000 cases. Next year, 17,000 -cases of leukemia are expected, with 14,000 deaths In 1965, of every 100 cancer deaths, 55 are expected to be males while 45 will be females. Science N e w s Letter, 8 6 :2 9 6 N o ve m b er 7, 1964 PU BLIC HEALTH Packaged Baby Form ulas Could Prove Dangerous TH E COMMERCIAL PREPARATION of baby formulas in prepackaged "nurser units" could pose a potential danger to infants unless there are sanitary controls which are carefully observed. Edwin L. Ruppert of the U.S Public Health Service's division of environmental engineering and food protection, speaking before the American Public Health Associa tion in New York City said that the use of baby food formulas packaged in nurser units is a significant new pattern in baby feeding, estimated to be used in providing nourish ment to more than three-quarters of a mil lion babies in hospitals this year alone. While firms which process these formulas cite greater variety and formula choice as well as freedom from the trouble of formula preparation as advantages, Mr. Ruppert de clared that mass production of such liquids, if controls were lacking or inadequate, could possibly result in widespread infection or poisoning episodes. Mr. Ruppert pointed out that a number of communities had developed control measures but added that standardization of such controls by the issuance of a Federal recommended standard of operation is neces sary and will be forthcoming after a study of current infant feeding services and sys tems is made by the Public Health Service. The studies are now underway, he said, in cooperation with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Asso ciation and other' interested organizations including the baby formula manufacturing industry. A standard of operations would provide uniform guides for state and local health agencies just as do tire Public Health Service recommended Milk Ordinance and Code, tlie Food Service Sanitation Manual and the Frozen Desserts Ordinance and Code * Science N e w s Le tte r, 8 6 :2 9 6 N ove m b er 7, 1964 IN S C IE N M ED IC IN E Fear and Anger Appear The Sam e to the Heart > THOUGH ANGER AND FEAR are two different emotions, the heart cannot tell the difference Doctors from University Hospital, Colum bus, Ohio, told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Atlantic City how they hypnotized nine people repeatedly so that each experienced either intense anger or fear. While the person was hypnotized, the s u u c lu i lu u ii a senes of measurements to see how the heart and circulatory system performed. Results showed that anger and fear pro duced virtually identical responses; the heart beat much faster; the breathing rate more than doubled; blood pressure rose in the arteries. Generally, these and other mechanisms work together to improve tlie body's "de fense" capacity when threatened. However, in this study, when one of these defense mechanisms -- an outpouring of adrenalin in response to strong emotion-- was blocked, the heart turned to others. The adrenalin response, which for 40 years has been thought to represent the means by which emotions cause the heart to deliver more blood to the body, was suppressed by a new drug With adrenalin blocked, the normal emotion-induced speed-up in the heart rate was reduced by 60% But the heart still increased its output per minute by simply pumping out more blood during each beat. Drs. Willard S. Harris, Clyde D. Schoenfield, Peter H. Gwynne, Arnold M. Weissler and James V Warren, all of Columbus, reported the study. Science N ew s Letter, 86 :2 9 6 N ovem b er 7, 1964 M A R IN E B IO LO G Y Sea Anim als Show Resistance to Disease > FISH AND OTHER CREATURES of the sea seem to have fewer infections and fewer cancers than land animals In a study of how primitive animals manage to cope with infectious diseases, 200 fish are now under careful observation foi the Variety Children's Research Foundation, a non-profit organization conducting re search in children's diseases. Fifty sharks and 150 other varieties of fish swim around in large tanks and are readily identified by colored nylon tags, harmlessly attached to the cartilage of their dorsal fins. The continuing program is being con ducted by Dr. Michael Sigel and Dr. L. William Clem, at the Lernei Marine Lab oratory near Miami, Fla. Science N ew s Latter, 86 :2 9 6 N ovem ber 7 , 1964 tI CE r )J TEC H N C insu Squ >A ( more t botde, newly A m bottle,1 space, i fthroamt v sure a: by cor FlatZero, therm era! E tady, report The velope pad o ations and ft factur Fur non t P. Bi duced * TECKN Car She BE rcade of lit By wi ire catch thus inten Th nevei tired; can i ances print passa Dr at rfc geles the 1 critic cA\ the c John inns Perc cal c ]')< thou char also stud dex ar t are mot umican they that the :s to stem prothe rate se in lisms "de- these g of ion-- rs. >r 40 t the heart , was ormal t rate t still imply . beat:hoeneissler mbus, 7 l?64 LES of is and nimals :es, 200 ion for dation, ng re tries of nd are `1 tags, of their ig con Dr. L. ie Lab- r 7, 1964 Science N ews L etter jot November 7, 1964 2 97 Scrolls, the works of S t Thomas Aquinas A G R IC U L T U R E and other great writings Dr. Dearing says the computer is not only freeing scholars from a large amount of Fruitful Results from 'A ir C o n d itio n in g' Fruits tedious, repetitious clerical work but is giv ing them more rime for research and for BY "AIR CONDITIONING" fruits and TECHN OLO GY Insulating System Creates Square Vacuum Bottles the enjoyment of literature. Dr. Dearing points out, however, that a computer deals only with quantity--not quality. "It cannot decide whether a piece of writ vegetables with a fine spray of water, a scientist has produced healthy crops, even during a summer with above-average tem pera tuies. W ith tiny water nozzles, one-sixth of an ^ A GOAL that has eluded scientists for ing is good literature, nor can it tell us, at the present time, about the personality inch in diameter, Dr. Robert Carolus of Michigan State University, East Lansing, more than half a century, a square vacuum of the author," he said. bottle, has now been reached because of a sprayed tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries and newly developed vacuum insulation system. * S cie n c e N e w s Le tte r, 8 6 :2 9 7 N o v e m b e r 7 , 1964 other garden crops. By reducing the water A major obstacle to "squaring the vacuum M E D IC IN E loss from the leaves, a satisfactory water bottle," which would give it more storage C e r v ic a l C a n c e r N e e d space, was the need for a filler material balance in plants was maintained. Mist irrigation has several advantages that would prevent the walls of a bottle N o t In ju re B a b y over common soil irrigation, Dr. Carolus from collapsing under atmospheric pres > IN RARE CASES of pregnancy accom straaidn.spIitractiooonlsanthde cvoengseetravbelsest,herierdeunceersgythfeoirr sure and would not transmit too much heat by conduction, panied by cancer of the cervix or neck of producing higher yields. Flat panels of the new system, called P- the womb, babies need not be sacrificed for Dr. Carolus found that the "air condi Zero, have passed the atmospheric and early treatment of the mother unless the tioning" reduced transpiration or water loss thermal tests with great success, the Gen m a l i g n a n c y has invaded the womb, an Air by more than 80% when the air temperature eral Electric Research Laboratory, Schenec Force physician reported was 85 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity tady, N.Y., developer of the new system, Six babies were allowed to come to term 35%. reported. when the cancers were "in situ," or confined Science N e w s Letter, 8 6 :2 9 7 N o ve m b er 7, 1964 The system consists of a thin metal en to the site of origin on the outside of the velope that encloses a specially compacted womb, Dr. Calvin N. Ladner told S cience P U B LIC H EA LT H pad of glass fiber,. It has potential applica- Service. A sbestos W o rk e rs Live ations in the trucking, railroad, chemical Caesarian operations were performed when the cancer had become invasive, how Longer But Get Cancer and food industries as well as in the manu ' f facFtuunredaamndensttaolragsteudoifesliqounid trhoecrkmeatlfuienlss.ula epvaetire,ntswhwicehre otrcecautrerde,d ofincou1r1se,caasfetse.r Athlel > ASBESTOS WORKERS used to die tion by Dr Herbert M. Strong, Dr. Francis babies were delivered. young of tuberculosis or pneumonia brought P. Bundy and Harold P. Bovenkerk pro At Madigan General Hospital in Tacoma, about by poor factory conditions and lack duced this new system. where Dr. Ladner is on the staff, approxi of drugs to control these diseases. Now they Scien ce N e w s Letter, 8 6 :2 9 7 N o ve m b e r 7, 1964 mately one in 2,200 deliveries occurred live longer but get cancer. when cancer was present, he said. He Later effects of asbestosis, or lung disease ii TECHNOLO GY Computer Show s How warned that individual cases require differ ent treatment, and especially emphasized caused by inhaling asbestos dust, included severe bronchial conditions and enlargement Shelley Aped M ilton that no woman should allow herself to be of the heart, Dr. J. C. Gilson, researcher of come pregnant if she knows she has cancer Glamorgan, Wales, told an international ^ BECAUSE OF electronic computers "We were able to follow eight of our conference on biological effects of asbestos readers can now get more accurate versions patients for three years," Dr Ladner said, in New York City. of literary classics. "and only one mother had died." "Still more recently," said Dr Gilson, "the By comparing different editions of a Dr. Ladner made his report to the annual workers who have developed only moderate writer's work, literary data processing is scientific meetings of the Armed Forces degrees of asbestosis have survived long I: catching changes and errors. The reader is Chapter of the American College of Obste enough to develop the associated bronchial thus offered a version closer to the author's tricians and Gynecologists at Andrews Air carcinoma." intent. Force Base, Washington, D C. In addition, and unexpectedly, the re i neTvehre-mcisosmpprouotefrreaisdear;lsiots beeyiensgdousneodt garsowa A G RICSUcLieTnUcReE N e w s Letter, 8 6 :2 9 7 N o ve m b er 7, 1964 smeeasrochtheerliorempaosr,tedar,isminagligfrnoamnt tthuemolirnsincgaslleodf tired, and its attention never wanders. It can rapidly compile indexes, and concord ances which are alphabetical listings of the principal words in a work and cite the N ew Kind of Onion Resists Storm D a m a ge the chest and abdominal cavities, are now occurring in workers after a delay of 40 or more years. Another speaker from the Pneumoconi passages in which they occur. THE LOWLY ONION can now stand osis Research Unit of Glamorgan was Dr. Dr. Vinton Dearing, an English professor up to the mighty thunderstorms J C. Wagner, who told the conference that at the University of California at Los An A new hybrid, dark golden onion called it is not known exactly how asbestos causes geles, is using a computer in his work on Sunburst has recently been bred to resist disease, nor how asbestos fibers migrate the 17th century English poet, dramatist and tipburn--a damaging burn on the plant in the body. critic, John Dryden. tips caused by ozone accumulated during Injections of the major varieties of asbes A computer has been used to show how thunderstorms. Tipburn is a serious prob tos--chrysotile, crocidolite and amosite-- the diction of the 17th century Puritan poet, lem to many Midwest farmers. have apparently caused mesotheliomas in John Milton, was apparently purposely This globe-type onion, developed by biol the chest cavities of animals. imitated by the 19th century romantic poet, ogists at the University of Wisconsin, is These pleural mesotheliomas have also Percy Shelley, to refute Milton's philosophic bred from two other onions called W4A been the result of injections of silica, which cal contentions. and W101B. The Sunburst has a dense up occurs naturally in asbestas as well as in Development of a writer's unconscious right top with leaves that do not break as sand and quartz. thought and die growth of language by the plant grows and scales that do not rub To find out more about the effects of charting changes in the meaning of words off when handled During storage the onion asbestos, Dr. Wagner said there is a need also have been the subjects of computer will shrink slightly, and over the winter for a joint effort by the experimental biolo study. Other computers have produced in months it will not sprout roots gist, mineralogist and chemist. dexes and concordances of the Dead Sea Science N e w s Letter, 8 6:297 N ovem b er 7, 1964 Science N e w s Letter, 8 6 :2 9 7 N o vem b er 7 , 1964 298 Science N ews L e her for November 7, 1964 PHYSICS Universe's Most Mysterious Force O n e of the most mysterious, yet weakest forces in the universe, the pull of gravity, is now also believed to be almost 300 years ago--only the energy' source was lacking. The zero giavity attained in an orbiting ^sponsible for the gravitational collapse of star-like objects. sfoatrellaitefeawlso sceacnonbdes acinhieavned aeixrpplearnime enfltyailnlyg along a path such that the plane's speed By ANN EWING launching rocket is such that the satellite and direction are temporarily what they covers enough distance to always miss the would be in a natural orbit at that altitude. GRAVITATION is the most mysterious --and weakest--force in the universe. It is weak in comparison to the other three universal forces known It only seems strong because the earth is such a massive object. Any child who has fallen from a chair or a tree is sobbing proof of the effect, and force, of the earth's gravitational pull. How ever, this seemingly strong effect is weak when it is measured between particles It is so weak that the force the entire earth exerts upon a particle is equal to the electrical attraction between two unlike charged particles placed three feet apart. Although gravity and gravitation are often used interchangeably, gravitation prop erly refers to the universal property of mat ter to attract, whereas gravity means that attraction as exeited by the earth, sun or another rotating mass. earth. Actually, there is no physical distinction between orbiting and falling--in both cases the object or person is reacting freely to the pull of giavity. This is in accordance with Newton's laws, the first two of which were stated informally by Galileo. Newton's three laws of motion can be stated as follows: 1. A body in motion will continue in motion, and a body at rest will remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force. 2. Change of motion is proportional to the force that acts on a body and takes place in the direction of this force. 3. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Newton then applied these laws to show there is a force of gravity acting between any two bodies in the universe that is di rectly proportional to the product of their U.S astronauts and Russian cosmonauts have experienced zero gravity in two situa tions--when in orbit and during their train ing when they were in the above-mentioned airplane. Gravitational attraction is the most widely accepted theory to account for the forma tion of the solar system's sun and planets. According to this view, the planets are chunks of matter left over when the sun condensed from a giant primeval cloud of swirling dust and gas. N uclear Force Is Strongest However, the great cloud did not go on contracting into a point because of angular momentum, changing the motion of matter from falling to swirling. Other forces may then come into play. One of these forces is electrical. The electrical force of repulsion between two electrons, for instance, is ten thousand billion billion billion billion times M o st Brilliant Objects in Cosm os masses and inversely proportional to the stronger than the gravitational force be square of the distance between them. tween them. When objects are considerably more mas sive than the earth or the sun, such as con Thus the laws that govern the launching and orbiting of space satellites were known The electrical force affects only charged particles, whereas gravitational force affects centrations of a hundred million suns in a relatively small volume of space, gravita tional collapse can occur. Such a super- explosion may result in the most brilliant light sources known and yields the greatest energy yet discovered in the universe, bil lions upon billions of times greater than that involved in the nuclear fusion of the hydrogen bomb. The recent discovery of objects, called "qua sars," a contraction of quasi-stellar sources, that may be undergoing gravitational col lapse is considered one of the most impor tant milestones in the history of astronomy Thanks to three of the all-time giants >f science--Galileo, Newton and Einstein-- scientists can describe and predict the way in which gravitation works. Scientists are sure of one thing--there is no known practical way to shield against the pull of earth's gravity. Nor can gravity be controlled. If it could be controlled, a gravity shield could lift satellites effortlessly into orbit or on space journeys. In a sense, however, the effects of giavity can be controlled, and this is done every time an earth-circling satellite is put into orbit In an orbiting satellite, persons or D 3 A ir Force objects are weightless, or under zero gravity Of course, the energy required to reach the zero gravity of a satellite is enormous. Giavity is always pulling on an orbiting satellite. However, as the satellite falls toward the earth, the horizontal velocity with which it was hurled into space by the FLOATING FREE--Two astronauti and their instructor momentarily ex perience the effects of weightlessness when the pull of earth's gravity has been reduced to zero by an intricate maneuver of the plane in which they are riding. Floating free are, from left, Dr. Edwin Vail of the Air Force Systems Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, and Astronauts Leroy G. Cooper Jr. and Virgil I. Grissom. all particles, And the electrical force is weak compared to the extremely strong nuclear force that binds the particles inside an atomic nucleus. The other known force is that of weak interactions, one example of which is the disintegration of radioactive atoms. This fourth force has a strength between electiical and gravitational forces. Although the motion of an orbiting satel lite is governed strictly by Newton's laws, scientists once proposed using a satellite to make another check of Einstein's relativity theory. Before this was done, however, the effect, called the gravitational red shift, was verified in the laboratory, confirming astro nomical observations made on distant stars. The reddening of light due to gravitation results from the slowing effect that strong gravitational fields have on time, whether time is clocked by the vibrations of atoms or by other rhythmic processes, Einstein's Influence Einstein's concept of general relativity brought a revolutionary change in people's ideas about the world. He showed that time and space are not separate, but joined in a framework, and this mesh of space and time is distorted by mass. One of the basic assumptions of the gen eral theory is that no detectable differ ence exists between the force of gravity and the force produced by acceleration out side a gravitational field Measuring the gravitational red shift has confirmed this assumption. Scientists for the past few years have been investigating the possibility of "quan tizing" general relativity, that is, treating gravitational radiation as if it were not continuous but consisted of tiny packets. This can be likened to the situation with light, which many years ago was thought to be continuous radiation but is now known to consist of tiny light packets, or photons. The packet of gravitational energy is the graviton. Unlike light, which will interact only with charged particles, gravitons can interact with neutral particles. Detecting G rav ity W av e s A device to detect gravity waves is in the final stages of construction by Dr Joseph Weber and his associates at the University of Maryland The existence of gravity waves, generated by any mass that is accelerated, is predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity. Dr. Weber's device is based on the small effect gravity waves are predicted to have on a relatively large mass. When a gravity wave penetrates the mass, small relative motions of different parts occur, setting up tiny internal oscillations. These internal jigglings can be converted by crystals and low-noise amplifiers into an electrical output in the radio wave range Successful detection of gravity waves would be another proof of Einstein's general theory of relativity. Three effects have so far been verified: 1. Changes in the perihelion (the point closest to the sun) of the planet Mercury's orbit, which observations have shown come very close to prediction. 2. The bending of light from faraway stars by the sun's gravitational field, which comes very close to the amount predicted by E in ste in 's theory. 3. T h e displacem ent, or redden in g, of spectral lines due to the gravitational attrac tion of the sun and certain other stars; laboratory confirmation of this gravitational red shift by measuring the change in fre quency of gamma rays given off by iron-57. Bold experiments on gravitation are sched uled for the future. Some are now in the planning stages. It is, however, difficult to devise new tests because the specific effects of general relativity on matter and energy are very small and hard to measure. P ap e r an d Pencil Experim ents Another way of attacking the problem of gravitational research is to use not appa ratus but the human brain. Scientists with paper and pencil or chalk and blackboard can perform experiments. Many are using their fertile imaginations to gain insight into how matter and energy are affected by gravitation, Among these arc Drs. Petci Bergmann of Yeshiva University, New York; Hermann Bondi and F. A. E. Pirani of King's Col lege, London; Nobelist P. A. M. Dirac of St. John's College, Cambridge, England; V. A. Fock of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR; Leopold Infeld, director of the Theoretical Physics Institute of the Univer sity of Warsaw; Otto Heckmann of the University of Hamburg, Germany; Oscar Klein of the University of Stockholm; Andre Lichnerowicz of the College of France, Paris; Christian Moeller of the Uni versity of Copenhagen; A. Schild of the University of Texas; J. L. Synge of the Dub. lin Institute for Advanced Study, Ireland; and John A,. Wheeler, Princeton University. They aie now turning their attention to the gravitational collapse of very large masses. Discovery of the vast energies re leased by the superexplosion of cosmic dust in objects 100 million times as massive as the sun at fantastic speed has called for a new analysis of the fundamentals of rela tivity. * Science N e w s Letter, 86:298 N o ve m b e r 7, 1964 M E D IC IN E Find Blood to Be P rim a ry in Hardening of Arteries ^ EVIDENCE that "fatty plaques" (or hardening of the arteries) are formed from the circulating blood was presented before the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Atlantic City. This finding contradicts the popular view that fatty plaques of atherosclerosis must start with initial changes in the artery wall itself, said Dis. I. Ernest Gonzalez and Fred Vermeullen, University of California Medi cal Center, San Francisco, Dacron ribbons were suspended in teflon tubes inserted into the chest aorta of rabbits with high fat levels in their blood. The scientists discovered that fatty plaques de veloped on these ribbons in 150 days. Since the dacron ribbon was in contact only with the blood, it was concluded that these plaques were formed from the constituents of the circulating blood Similar plaques have been observed by the scientists in syn thetic blood vessels grafted into human arteries Science N ew s Letter, 86:299 November 7, 1964 SCIENCE BARGAINS O rder by Stock N o .-- S e n d Check or VI.O. S h ip m e n t same day received-- Satisfaction or money back. C R Y ST A L-G R O W IN G KIT ] Do a crystallography p io ic c t ilUis- w m tinted with large beautiful crystals you crow yourself. K it includes the hcok "C rystals and Crystal G row ing" anti a generous supply of th e chem icals you need to giow large display crystals of potassium alum inum sulfate (clem ), potassium sulfate m tri ^ M ^ > (p u rp le l. potassium sodium ta rtra te (c le a r). nickel su lfate hex- aliydrate (blue-green) or heptahydrate (gieen) sium feriicyankle (red) and copper acetate green ] potas (blue- Stook No. 7 0 ,3 3 8 -Q ................. $ 9 5 0 P o stp aid SCIENCE TREASURE CHESTS F o r Boys-- Girls----A d u lts! So la nee T reasu re C h e st-- J ix tr a-pow erful m agnets, polarizing filters, compass one- r7iC '?3iyi w ay-m irror film , p rism , d iffractio n g rat- ISSl V--' ing an d lota of o th e r ite m s for h u n d red s W *' of thrilling experim ents, plus a Ten-Lens K it for m aking telescopes, microscopes, etc. Pull instructions included. Stock No. 7 0 ,342-Q . . . $ 5 .0 0 Pstpd. Science T reasure Chest Deluxe-- F veiything in Chest above plus exciting additional item s for more advanced experim ents. Including crystal-growing kit, electric motor, m olecular models sets, first-surface m inors and lota more Stook No. 7 0 ,3 4 3 -Q $10 00 Postpaid W O O D EN SOLID PUZZLES 12 D ifferent puzzles th a t will V1GI s tim u la te yo u r a b ility to th in k and reason. H ere ia a fasci- eb| D ating a s so rtm e n t of wood ,, ,rt , I puzzles th a t will provide hours ___ , J * a a ^ of pleasure. Twelve different * K rj puzzles, a n im a ls an d geom et- --~ m no forms to take ap art and ,, ,. . ,, reassem ble, give a chance for all th e fam ily, young and old, to test akiH, patience and, beat of all, to stim ulate ability to think and reason while haying lots of fun. Order yours now. Stock No. 7 0 , 2 0 5 - Q . ............................... $ 3 .0 0 P o stp aid D u st-F ree! Transparent! Low Cost! NEW COLLECTORS DISPLAY C A SE rig h t-fittin g , ciyatal clear, edge- ^ 3 to-edge covers enable you to see all contents . . . rocks and m inera la. fish lures, science kndekknacks, gems, stam ps, etc. Covers iPT Z tf fc ^ * - securely hinged, y et open w ith W tw ist of fingers. L arge transparent " ^ a display box (5 * i 7 " i I K * ) V onens to approx. 1 0 % " x 7 ". M ounted vertically or hoiiz ontally for perm anent dis play. or dosed and stored for fu tu re leference. Rayon flocked in serts c u t to securely hold 2 4 individual black-bottom ed boxes (each 1 " x 1 " x % " deep]. STOCK NO. 8 0 ,4 5 8 -Q Display box w ith com partm ent In serts plus 2 4 specim en b o x e s........ . 5 2 . 7 5 P p d . STOCK NO. 8 0 ,4 5 6 -Q Pkg. of 1 2 specimen boxes .......................................................... $ 1 .0 0 Ppd. STOCK NO. 6 0,457-Q Display box (w ithout In se rts) ............................................................... $ 0 .7 5 P p d . 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Regular D odecahedron (12 sid es) ; 5 . R e g u la r Ico sah ed ro n ( 2 0 sides) ; fl. R ig h t C ircular Cone; 7. F ru stu m of a rig h t C ircular Cone; 8. R ight Circular Cylinder; 9. Sphere; 10 Right Priam w ith Square Base; 11. R ight Prism w ith Rec tangular Bose; 12. R ight Hexagonal Prism ; 13. Right T riangular Priam ; 14. Oblique P arallelepiped: 15 T riangular Pyram id; 16. R egular Square Pyiam id: 17. R egular Hexagonal P yram id; 18. Frustum of a Q uadrangular P y ram id ; 19 F ru stu m of a S auare Pyram id. Stock No. 7 0 ,3 1 4-Q ........... $ 3 9 .5 0 P o stp aid T E A C H E R S ! W rite for Educational Catalog Q -2 E d m u n d Solentlflo Co., Barrington. N. J MAIL COUPON for FREE CATALOG 1C om pletely new 1 9 G 5 E d itio n . 1 4 8 ,, pages. Nearly 4 0 0 0 BA R G A IN S 1 ED M U N D S C IE N T IF IC CO [ft | 1 B arrington, New Jersey I P lease R ush F ree Catalog " Q " "Q" | 1 ) I j j City Zone State J ____________________ _ ______ _ ! 300 Science N ews L etter jor N o vem b er 7, 1964 Books of the Week Listing is fo r readers' information, not advertising. For convenient purchase of any hook listed U .S. book in print, remit retail price (w e pay postage) plus 254 handling charge if price is less to Book Department, Science Service, 1719 N St., N W ., W a s h i n g t o n , D. C 20036. or any than 52 A D V A N C ES IN O R G A N IC C H E M IS T R Y AND R A D I O O H E M I S T R Y , Yol. 6--II. J Emeleus and A. G. Sharpe, Eds.-- Academic Press, 63 0 p , dia grams, $16 Among other subjects, deals -with anhy drous metal nitrates, the chemistry of astatine, and pertly compounds of transition metals. A T O M S A T T H E S C I E N C E F A I R : Exhibiting Nuclear Projects-- Robert G. La Compte and Bun ell L Wood-- USAEC, 52 p , illns , paper, single copies free upon request direct to USAEC, P. O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, Term. 37831. Prepared by the Atomic Energy Commission to help science fair project ex hibitors and their teachers with planning and con structing successful exhibits. B E Y O N D T H E S U G A R C A N E F I E L D : UNICEF in Asia-- Louisa R. Shotwell-- World Pub. Co.. 96 p.. photographs, S3.50. A book about what UNICEF is doing for the children in India, Thailand and Indo nesia. B I O C H E M I S T R Y A N D B E H A V I O R - Samuel Eiduaon and others-- Van Nostrand, 554 p . diagrams, $15. Attempts to bring together within the frame work of biochemistry those binds of correspondences that hare been postulated by the literature to exist between biochemistry and behavior B I O L O G Y D A T A B O O K -- Philip L Altman and Dorothy S Dittmer, Eds.-- Fed. of Am. Soc. for Experimental Biology, 633 p , illus., $10. An authori tative handbook for research worker and 3tudent, with tables arranged in IS sections, from genetics and cytology to materials and methods, includes appendixes giving estimated number of species and taxonomic classification, formulas, factors and constants C A L I F O R N I A C O N D O R : Vanishing American-- Dick Smith and Rohert Easton, intiod. by Brooks Atkinson-- McNally & Loftin (Lane Bk C o ), 111 p , photographs and illus. by Dick Smith, $3 50. A study of the largest bird in North America, "sym bolic link1' with the Pleistocene Age C A T S O F T H E W O R L D -- Armand Denis, preface by Roger Tory Peterson-- Houghton, 144 p., photo graphs, $5.95, Authoritative and readable descriptions of every recognized species of the cat family in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, and the outlook for aaving them for posterity.. Why Do You Read So Slowly? A noted publisher in Chicago reports there is a simple technique of rapid reading which should enable you to double your reading speed and yet re tain much more. Most people do not realize how much they could increase their pleasure, success and income by reading faster and more accurately. According to this publisher, any one, regardless of his present reading skill, can use this simple technique to improve his reading ability to a re markable degree. Whether reading stories, books, technical matter, it be comes possible to read sentences at a glance and entire pages in seconds with this method. To acquaint the readers of this newspaper with the easy-to-follow rules for developing rapid reading skill, the company has printed full details of its interesting self-training method in a new book, "Adventures in Reading Improvement" mailed free to anyone who requests it. No obligation. Simply send your request to: Read ing, 835 Diversey Parkway, Dept. 2648, Chicago, Illinois 60614. A post card will do. C O N F E R E N C E ON T H E V I B R A T I O N A L S P E C T R A O F H I G H P O L Y M E R S -- Glulio Natta. and Giuseppe Zeibi, Eds.-- lnterscrence, 226 p.. illus., papei, $10. Survey papers and other contributions on recent developments in theory and methods of infra red spectra of polymers. C U LTU R E AND T H E D IRECTIO N OF HUMAN E V O L U T I O N -- Albeit A. Dablberg, Theodosius Dobzhansky and others, Stanley M. Gain. Ed -- Wayne State Univ. Press, 98 p , illus., $4.95. Symposium considered dental evolution, the significance of in creased biain size, and the overall importance of cultuie in giving dhecticn to human evolution. D Y N A M I C S O F C H A R G E D P A R T I C L E S -- Bo Lehnett-- Intel science, 300 p., diagrams, $11.50 A study of the dynamics of ionized matter in electric and magnetic fields, mainly on the basis of a single particle pictuie. E D U C A T O R S G U ID E TO F R E E SOCIAL S T U D I E S M A T E R I A L S -- Patricia H. Suttlea with Wm. H . Hartley-- Educators Progress Service, 4th ed., 423 p., paper, $6.75 Annotated list of cur rently available audio visual and nther social studies curriculum aids. H O W T O T A K E A C H A N C E -- Dairell Huff-- Norton, 173 p , illus by living Geis, papei, $125 Reprint (10 59), disousse3 amusingly the laws of the mathematics of probability HUMAN JUDGM EN TS AND O PTIM A LITY-- Maynard W Shelly II and Glenn L. Bryan, Eds.-- Wiley, 436 p., illus . $8.95 Presents lesearch in the behavioral and social sciences and sets forth relevant developments in statistics, mathematics, and manage ment science INTRO DUCTION TO P R O B A B IL IT Y AND STA T I S T I C S --- Henry L. Adler and Edward B Roesaler-- Freeman, 3rd ed., 313 p , illus, $0 Examples and exercises are chosen from agriculture, business adminis tration, sociology, psychology and geology; treatment assumes only modest mathematical background. T H E K I N E M A T I C S O F M A C H I N E R Y : Outlines of a Theory of Machines-- Franz Reuleaux, tranal by Alexander B W Kennedy, Ed., new introd. by Eugene S. Ferguson-- Dover, 622 p . illU9 , paper, $3. Un abridged and corrected republication of 18 76 edition K N O W I N G Y O U R T R E E S -- G H Oollingwood and Warren D Brush; rev hy Devereux Butcher, Ed. --Am , Forestry Assn., rev ed , 34R p., 900 photo graphs, maps, $7-50. Popular sourcebook for identifi cation. describes characteristics and contributions of 170 outstanding American trees, showing in detail their leaves, bark, flowers and fruits. W RITE FOR M O N EY ! Enrich your style through Herbert Spencer's and Edgar Allen Poe's classic principles that have influ enced many of the world's great author a. Indispensable for writ ers eager to get published] Send $1 00 to PAGEANT PRE8S, 101 Eth AVE., N. Y. S. Dept. 8N COLLECTING ANTIQUE JEWELLERY By Mona Curran This unique manual by an . outstanding expert tells you w hat treasure to h u n t for. anda hn<ow to seek out " finda," P erio d pieces, etc. You learn to tell antique jewellery from junk, and treasure from trash. Loaded with precious hints for the collector, and w arnings of pitfalls to avoid. W ith this handhook, plus a willingness to explore and surprisingly little money, you can now acquire your own original and exciting collec tion of stones, lings, ear rings, necklaces and pend ants, bracelets, ornam ents, brooches, etc., etc. A single hint may save you many times the coat of the book. 32 crystal-clear photos and drawings show typical examples in great detail ORDER NOW! $4.50 Postfiee 10-Day Money-Back Guarantee EMERSON BOOKS, Inc., Dept. 230-P 251 West IGth Street, New York 11 M A N P R O B E S T H E U N I V E R S E -- Colin A lionan-- N at Hist. Piess (Doubleday), 156 p , photo graphs, diagrams by Sidney W. Woods, $4 95. Pub lished for tlia American Museum of Natural History, explains with the help of many illustrations and dia grams how astronomers, by analyzing radiation from stellar sources, can discover what elements they are made of, and develop theories about the universe M E N T A L R E T A R D A T I O N : A Review of Research -- Haivey A. Stevens and Rick Helier, E d s-- Univ. of Chicago Press, 502 d , 32 plates, $12.50. According to 1962 estimates, more than five million people in the U S were mentally retaided; tliia volume presents what research in all major scientific disciplines has contributed to better understanding of the complex phenomena involved M ETHODS OF ESTIM ATIN G T H E DEMAND FOR S P E C IA LIS T S AND OF PLAN N IN G S P E C IA LIZ ED TRA IN IN G W ITHIN T H E USSR-- K. G. Nozbko-- UNESCO (N Y ), 03 p:, paper. $1. Discusses annual and long-term plans, gives lists of specializations in secondary and higher education R E D P E A K : A Personal Account of the BritishSoviet Pamir Expedition-- Malcolm Slesser-- CowardMcCann, 25 6 p., photographs, SB 75 Less concerned with technical mountaineering than with presenting the life-cycle of an expedition and analyzing the impact of the British on the Russians and vice versa. R E P R O D U C T I V E P H Y S I O L O G Y : Comparative Reproductive Physiology of Domestic Animals, Labora tory Animals and Man-- A. V Nalbandov-- Freeman, 2nd ed 316 r : Uhl*., *7.50. Revised edition incor porates advances since 1958 R U S S I A IN T H E T H A W -- Alberto Roncbey, tiansl. from Italian by Raymond Rosenthal-- Norton, 249 p , photographs. $5 Italian journalist's observa tions as Russian correspondent during the years 1959-3961 S E L E C T E D P A P E R S ON T H E T H E O R Y O F T H E R M A L C O N V E C T O N with Special Application to the Earth's Planetary Atmosphere-- Bany Saltzman, E d -- Dover, 461 p., paper, $3 New collection of 25 basic theoretical papera. SO CIAL ORGANIZATION AND B EH A V IO R : A Reader in General Sociology-- Richard L. Simpson ana Ida Harper Simpson, E d s-- Wiley, 457 p., paper, $5.25. Selected readings representative of the chief fields of specialized sociological inquiry S P I D E R S I L K -- Augusta Goldin-- Crowell, un paged, illus by Joseph Low, $2 75 About spider webs, for the youngest readers. T H E STO RY OF T H E EA R TH 'S M AGN ETIC F I E L D -- Germaine Belser-- Dutton, 128 p , illua. by Joseph M. Sedncca, $3.80. Telia hew man learned about the earth's field, and about the theories and experiments that followed T H E T H Y M U S : Symposium Monograph No. Vittorio Defendi and Donald Metcalf, Eds.-- Wistar Inst Press, (Philadelphia), 145 p , flius., paper, $5. Papers and discussions dealing with the influence of the thymus on functional capacity of the nonthy mic lymphoid organs, immunological responsiveness, and the role of thymus in carcinogenesis. A U N I V E R S I T Y IN T H E M A K I N G --- Alb ert E . Sloman--- Oxford Univ. Press, 90 p., map, $3-25. The Vice-Chancellor of tho new University of Essex in England outlines plana for this university which incorporates many new ideas V I T R E O U S L I T H I U M S I L I C A T E S : Properties and Applications -- Sarra Konstantinovna Dubrovo, tiansl. from Russian hy E . B Uvarov-- Consultants (Plenum Press), 46 p.. illns.. $12.50. Focus is on investigations of the physical properties of simple lithinm silicate glasses in comparison with other alkali silicates W A T C H H O N E Y B E E S W I T H M E -- Judy Hawes -- Crowell, unpaged, Him. by Helen Stone, $2 75 For young leaders W H E R E DO B A B I E S O O M E F R O M ? -- living Oienstein-- Pyramid B k, 03 p., illus, paper, BOA Answers the growing child's questions about human reproduction W H E R E F O U R W O R L D S M E E T : Hindu Kush, 1959-- Fosco Maraini, tiansl. from Italian by Peter Green-- Harcourt, 290 p , photographs, maps, $12.50 Tlia story of a mountaineering journey through Paki stan. meeting on the way the historical civilizations of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and the influences of Communism. W H E R E IN T H E W O R L D ? -- Philip S Egan, foreword by Jane McGuigan-- Rand McNally, 104 p., illus by David Cunningham, $3 95. Provides, in question-and-answer form, a wide variety of informa tion about land areas, seas, weather, climate and space, for young browsers. W O N D E R S O F T H E A N I M A L W O R L D -- Walt Disney, text by Vezio Melegari-- Golden Press, 176 p , 150 full-color photographs, $4 95 Explores some habits of the beautiful and grotesque among animals. W O O D A N D C E L L U L O S E S C I E N C E -- Alfred J . Stamm-- Ronald, 549 p , lllug , $15 Emphasis in this reference work is on the fundamental physical properties of wood and wood components. YO U, M E AND T H E A N IM A L W O R L D -- M artin Wells-- Houghton. 114 p .( illus. by author, $3.50. Zoologist's entertaining and informative observations about bats, birds, octopuses and other animals. a Science News Latter, 86:300 November 7, 1964 Bran bool The fa easier i applica every t In I disci in I payi In f In !> And i you a line vi A. A. our re able FILES $2 OO TU1 I - .1 : v 1180 VEN (ErU classi ahou Anta 4- G 767. BRC betw 120! FOL oE il iftK lui'e aria 1 22 OF 'vol itisi, moi io liti. of ta.il tha fav ily 14 tl TE Sii un 10' tir 1( D lei w V 1 II d 0 il a e a 3 1 i ! rand new books explaining The farther we get from oar grade school days the easier it becomes foi us to forget these operations and applications of arithmetic th a t aie so important to us every day: In figuring out the real value of compound interest, discounts etc. In determining the actual cost of confusing timepayment plans in filling out tax returns In keeping household or business budgets And in dozens of other ways. Now \?s a t Dover offer feinue a y ban our dy hook methods t hat and is re specifically designed sharpen your arithm to eti streamc skills. A. A. K laf's arithmetic refresher is the last in one of oui m ost successful series, and i t ia every b it as valu able as its predecessors, TJUGONOMETRV R E FRESHER and CALCULUS REFRESH ER (Dover. $2. 00 eaGh) U n iq u e / effective a p p ro a c h Phis new boob, neter before published shares with tha other Klaf volumes several unique features th a t have proven their effectiveness with thousands of students, leaders ia self-study programs, and peoolo out of school b u t in need of reminders and refreshers. Every aspect of arithmetic is formalized in an easy-to-follow Question and answer format. The traditional ways of presentation and explanation are combined with the author's own, often more efficient, ideas. And the pres entation is extremely clear, bringing out all the truly im portant points and making the book very easy to use These are approaches th a t will really awaken your number sense b o that you understand what, you are doing when you add. subtract, multiply or divide; work with common denominators, decimal fractions, percent age, powers and roots, ratio, proportion, averages, loga rithms, graphs and charts, or any of the other basic topics. Spend a few home with this hook and you will work more efficiently and more rapidly. All this material ia covered within a framework of familiar yet frequently knotty areas ol everyday ex perience: scale measurements on maps, filling and emp tying receptacles, percentage tax problems, measuring angles, mixtures and solutions, monetary conversions. and the like Four sets of helpful tables aie appended Dozens o f short cuts/ alternate methods/ over 800 problem s w ith answ ers! In addition to the basic how-to's, the book contains alternate methods and short cuts. These time-saving tips, together with the more than 800 problems (all answered in an appendix) to test your grasp of the material and give you practice in handling numbers in a variety of ways, will help yon increase your profic iency and speed Anyone who has any figuring to do-- housewife, metohantj student, even scientist or mathematician who is weak in calculations or who would like to develop some short cuts-- will profit from this publication, while parents will find i t an excellent source of m ate rial for helping youngsters with their homework In sum. this is a book long oveidue and invaluable. A Dover original. SO9 ptoblems, answers Introduction. Preface. Index. Appendices; Answers to problems; Tables, viii 4- 438pp 1241 Faperbd. 52.00 1180. THE TIME STREAM, THE GREATEST AD VENTURE, THE PURPLE SAPPHIRE, John Talne (Eric Temple S ell). A great mathematician wrote 8 classics of modern science-fiction; three full .novels about the nature ai time, prehuman civilization in Antarctica, super-science of the past llllis. by Paul, v 632pp Faperbd $2,00 707. GHOST AND HORROR STORIES OF AM BROSE 8IERCE. The best American ghost stories between Poe mid the moderns xxii -l- 199pp. Paperhd $1.00 i 205. PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH AMERICAN FOLK ART, H, J- Kauffman. New, enlarged edition of a beautiful introduction, with 279 photos illustrat ing hex signs, ceramics, metal, woodwork, toys, furni ture, etc. Will reward anyone louring the Pa, Dutch area, or antique collector 14tipp. 7 % x 1 0 % . Paperbd $2 00 1228. SEMANTICS: STUDIES IN THE 9CIENCE OF MEANING, M. Breal. The book th a t created the word and the science; filled with fascinating word- histories, im portant concepts. Pieface by J. What- meugh, Harvard. Ixxv -}- 341pp Papeibd. $2.00 1009. THE FRIENDLY STARS, Martha Evans Mar tin. Newly revised, brought up to date by Pro! Menzel of Harvard Most nature hobbies are stopped (or cur tailed) by winter but amateur observation is better than ever, A true classic of naked-eye obseiration, a favorite with both professionals and beginners; as eas ily followed as can be 28 new star charts xii 4- 147pp. Papeibd $1 00 917-8 CELESTIAL OBJECTS FOR COMMON TELESCOPES, T. W. Webb. If you bare a moderate sized telescope, this is your beat guide foi _observing, undeistanding stars and planets. Non-technieal, newly revised by Mrs. Mnynall, head of Variable Star Ob servers. 48 illus. Total of 0 4 Sup Two volume act. Paperbound $4.SO 1059. 1800 RIDDLES, ENIGMAS A CONUN DRUMS, collected by D. A. Hindman. Largest col lection; we all scoff a t this corn, #but if we're honest with ourselves we m ust admit liking it. Kids love it. lOOpp Paperbd. $1.00 1169. AN INTRODUCTION TO PATENTS: FOR INVENTORS AND ENGINEERS, O. D. Tusfca, for mer director of P atent Dept., R.C.A. `What you should do when you come up with a new process, apparatus, or other advance; how to protect yourself;while apply ing for a patent: wbafc does patent protection mean ex actly; other important situations fully coveted in an easy way based on specific instances. Has saved many an inventor headaches and money 45 illus vi 4- 192pp Faperbd $1.50 121. PROBABILITIES AND LIFE, Emile BoreL World-renowned mathematician, teacher explains prob ability at work every day (death, disease, heredity, weather predictions, eta-). Appendices of statistical studies, tables, vi -J- 87pp Papeibd. $1,00 1 292. THE PHYSICS OP BLOWN SAND, R. A. Bagnold. The basic study of the surprisingly complex movement of sand in. air and the physical principles involved. Covers formation and origins of sand, its com petition, deposition of sand-- even the phenomenon of soand-producing sands 27 photos 84 figs. 7 tables, xxiv 4- 285pp Clothbd. $7.00 1234. MIRRORS, PRISMS AND LENSES: A Text book of Geometrical Optics, James P. C. Southall. Introductory-level account of the theory of modem op tical instruments is still a vital source of material on light and shadow, refraction, reflection, combinations o! lenses, the microscope, other basic topics 329 photos, sxv 4- 806pp Paperbd. $ 8 ,S0 1217-8. PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF A PILGRIM AGE TO AL-MADINAH & MECCAH, Capt. Sir Richard Burton. Burton's greatest adventure, and one of the great masterpieces of adventure, exploration, literature. Vivid, perceptive chronicle, written in vig orous style 47 ills. Olopp Two-vols Faperbd, $4,00 1120. PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL PSYCHOLOGY, N- R. F. Maler, T. O. Schnelrla. For 30 years, the definitive treatment, duo to readable style, wide range of life covered (not just mammals), historical develop ments, information on methodology, etc. Includes 5 later papers by autboTn, 155 ills., tables. Bibliog raphies. Rev indices xvi 4- 883pp Paperbd $3 00 1285, THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BODY, c . U. NI. Smith. How the actions and reactions of biological molecules cause the phenomenon of life. Richly detailed " book explaining science'' for readers with little biological, medical background. Never be fore available in U 9. 24 photos 33 diagrams. 44 figa. 244pp Clothbd $6,00 371. TRIGONOMETRY REFRESHER FOR TECHNICAL MEN, A. A. Klaf. 913 Questions and an suers to help you brush up or clear up diffi culties in. plane and spherical trig and their appli cations (navigation, surveying, architecture, astro nomical and terrestrial problems, etc ). Also 1,78S problems, oddnumbers answered. 494 figs, x 629pp. Papeibd. $2.00 370. CALCULUSREFRESHER FOR TECHNI CAL MEN, A. A. Klaf. Same foi mat. as above: 756 Questions cover all aspects of simple differ ential calculus, fundamental ideas of integration, reduction, mean value, applications, etc. 566 prob lems, most answered. 38pp. of contents, formulas, v + 431 pp Paperbd $2.00 1247. THE SYMPHONIES OF MOZART, Q do Salnt-Folx, Essential brief supplement to any record libraryl Ail of Mozart's symphonic music explained, analyzed in lion-technical. entertaining style by the top Mozart expert. 6 ills. ISSpp 5 x 7 i Clothbd. $2,00 1212, SYSTEMATIC AND THE ORIGIN OF SPE CIES: From the Point of View oi a Zoologist, Ernst Mayp. W hat biological factors make a species? How docs geography `'create" new species? etc. Now-classic study, with author's new preface Bibliography. 14 tables 29 figs xviii 4- 334pp . . Paperbd. $2.25 1195. DESIGN AND EXPRESSION IN THE VIS UAL ARTS, John F. A. Taylor. Nover before pub lished! Solid common sense about what art is all about. Rembrandt and Mondrian, cave painters and Picasso-- what do they have in common? 59 reproduc tions. 5 color plates 74 figs x 4- 245pp. Papeibd. $1.75 1294. ANIMAL GEOGRAPHY, Wilma George. Re markably informative look a t the animal life peculiar to each of the eaith's six geographical regions and how it got there. Profusely illustrated Over 200 drawings, dozens of maps, charts, xii 4- 142pp 7 x 9 % . Clothbd $3-50 1007. CHANCE, LUCK AND STATISTICS: The Science of Chance, H. C. Levinson. Best non-technicn.1 introduction to theory of probability, science of statis tics as revealed in gambling, insurance rates, stock speculation, etc s ir 4- 365pp Paperbd. $1.85 1219-20. STUDIES IN THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE SONG SPARROW, Margaret Morse Nice. 8 years of observation and field research lie behind this remarkable monograph. Vol. I ; Population Study Vol. I I : Behavior of Song Spanow, other Passerines. Vast bibliographies. Total of 59 tables, 14 maps, 4 plates. 6 figs, xxii 4- 574pp. Two-vols Paperbd. $3.50 1220. CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE, Isaac PIs rael I. Modem selection (30 essays, all but 2 complete) from one of the all-time great classics of English l i t erature. Hours of rending pleasure in a wide, wonder ful variety of subjects. Selected, with pieface by E_ F. Bleilcr. viii 4 . 284pp Paperbd $1.75 415. BEST GHOST STORIES OF J. S. LeFANU, ad. by E. F. Bleller. " Best ghost stories in English language." D. A Her Ex. Regarded highly by M. R, Jnme3, Henry Jame3. svii -{. 407np Papeibd $ 2 00 713. PAPER FOLDING FOR BEGINNERS, VU. D. Murray, F. J. Rigney, Easiest-to-follow introduction to art of origami. Make objects of interest and beauty. 279 diagrams, illus 95pp. Papeibd. $1.00 1248. DING DONG BELL, Percy Young, E. Ardizzone. One of England's greatest composeis h as set old nuisety rhymes to new, easy-to-play music; delightful illustrations by Aidizzona Fresh and imaginative, will delight your children. 143pp.. 7% x 9 % . Clothbd. $3.50 295, HOW TO CALCULATE QUICKLY, H. Sticker. Not a collection of tricks, but a tried, true course to awaken number sense; increase speed, accuracy- 2 6 6 pp. Paperbd. $1.00 1096. RECREATIONS IN THE THEORY OF NUM BERS, Alfred Beller. In oiu opinion the most interest ing collection of mathematical recreations in recent yeais, with a great deal of new, challenging, broadening material, vi 4- 247pp. Paperbd, $2.00 1249. TEACH YOURSELF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC, Allen Perolval. A music history hook with a difference: 818 pocket-sized pages crammed with back grounds, analyses, discussions of changes in musical sound, much more, 3,000 B. C right up to the modem age of experimentation. SO ills. 318 pp. 4 ^ r 1 Clothbd. $2.00 1253. TEACH YOURSELF ELECTRONIC COM PUTERS, F. L. Westwater. No other book prepared specifically for laymen, beginning science and engineer ing students is os successful in explaining just what a digital computer is, how it works, what i t can do as is this one. 39 ills viii 4- 191pp. 4 % x 7. Clothbd. $2.00 683. TEACH YOURSELF CALCULUS, P . Abbott. Variations in functions, differentiation, solids of revo lution, series, elementary differential equations, much more. 970 problems, solutions. 89 illus. 380pp. 4% x 7 Clothbd. $2.00 680. TEACH YOURSELF ALGEBRA, P. Abbott. Formulas-, coordinates, factors, graphs of Quadratic functions, logarithms, irrational numbers, eta- 1241 problems, solutions 52 illus. 307pp. 4 % x 7. Clothbd. $ 2 .00 682. TEACH YOURSELF TRIGONOMETRY, P. Abbott. The geometrical foundations, indices, circular measure, trig ratios of angles of any magnitude, much more 465 problems, solutions. 102 ills. 204pp. 4% x 7 Clothbd $2.00 All books 5 % x 8 % unless otherwise indicated Dept. 487, Dover Publications, lno., 180 Varlck St., New York, N. Y. 10014. Plea.se send me the books indicated below: I am enclosing $ . . . . . . . . . . . in full payment. Payment in full must accompany all orders except those from libraries or other public institutions, who may be billed. Please adef l d per book to remittances on orders under $5 00 for postage and handling. please print Name ............................................ ti Address ................................ .. . I City . . , . . .................................. . S ta te .......... I Zip Code ............... .............. . J GUARANTEE: A L L DOVER books unoondi- * tionally guaranteed. Return any book for any 1 reason whatever within 10 daysfor full cash refund. No questions asked. | ____________________________________________________ I 1CTrr~TSt32c2BaS5J j| 302 Science N ews L eiter for N ovem ber 7, 2964 Doctors Trim 2 Inches Off Flabby W aists! Germ an doctors at the fam ous M a x -P la n c k Institute have discovered an Instant-w orkout method that can reduce w aistlines In 30 days. C a lle d " Iso m e trlo C o n tractions," one QQ-second dally workout can reduce w aistlin e fast. 1 0 sim p le ex ere Isos can p u t the w hole fam ily In shapo fast. N o sweat, stra in or t lr ln a repe titions. Acclaim ed Internationally by physiologists, coaches, athletes Results guaranteed. Free, Illustrated Inform ation. W rite A W A R D - W IN N IN G IS O M E T R IC S , M inu te Hom e-Gym , Ino., Dept. B , 37 Centuck S ta tion. Yonkers. N. Y 1 0 7 1 0 PSYCHOLOGY 'Perceptual Quotient' Devised for Children > ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS may soon be using a "perceptual quotient/1 or PQ, to detect children w ith retarded perceptual abilities. Like the familiar intelligence quotient, the IQ, this newly standardized PQ com ATOMIC E N E R G Y LAB A T O M IC C LO U D C H A M B ER W ITH PRO JECTO R [ILLJM INA TO R. See tho v a p o r Ira lli pares a child's level of ability with that of his peers'. o f alp h a a n d beta p a ritie s, o n d o f cosrw : ra ys from oufer space. SPIN TH AR ISC O P E gives a dram atic, m agnified rin g But while a low IQ score is accepted as side v ie w o f exp lod ing alam s. ELECTROSCOPE. M eral-housed. w ith Seal a n d M a g nifying View er. M easures background rodioiion and lis ts sam ple sources S A T E R A D IO A C T IV E M A T E R IA L S . A l p h a Source In h a n d y container, o n d U ra niu m O re IU s Ot 0.22W), Atomic Energy M anual eavan theory and p r a |c ili A comptele Lab that epens up I ha (aicinaling field of Nuclear Physics -only i.9 ? a valid explanation of a child's lack of progress in school, a low PQ score indicates that a child needs help Researchers at the Marianne Frostig School of Educational Therapy, Los An rOUM SA T ISFA C T IO N O X T O O * M O N E T SA C K A M E R IC A N B A SIC SC IE N C E CLUB, INC., D E P T . l- 1 0 M l E CROCKETT ST. 5AN A N T O N IO TEXAS 71302 geles, who developed and standardized the perceptual quotient, found that above aver age PQ scores do not generally indicate GRAPHIC sm FILE H ow lo Sa v e Filing & Sto rag e Time future achievement in school, as high IQ scores do. However, children in kindergarten and first grade with low PQ scores arc likely to W ith D ISPO SABLE D R A W E R S have difficulty in learning to read and to Y o u store m aterial easier and find be poorly adjusted to school. things faster with fe a th e rw e igh t box drawers. Stro n g corrugated draw ers give extra service outside cabinet. Sa ve transfer time -- store or These early difficulties may be overcome by remedial training and readiness school programs, the researchers stated. The sub-tests used to evaluate a child's discard draw ers with con te n ts - add econom ical replacem ents E ig h t s iz e s , all PQ deal with different areas of visual per ception. In each test the child attempts a series of carefully graded tasks, To assess eye-hand coordination, for ex- Interchangeable in s t e e l cabinet., U s e s in g l y o r in a n y s e q u e n c e to fill y o u r n e e d s . 800 ELEMENT FACTS AT YO U R FINGERTIPS Y o u r m ate rial is s to re d flat. H in g e ty p e d r a w e r lid g i v e s e xtra p ro te ctio n . Price only $ 4 9 9 5 plus draw ers, : 9 i : > i.- V j . 1 h u * . 5 -- ! i u i- -`-T* t u U 16 Page BOOKLET No. 10-AE Mailed Without Obligation ' . f l ` s s ` --. *r- .1 a g' N m a rrn 1 ... 9 GRAPHIC SYSTEMS, Box 398, Yanceyville, N.C. T he E lem ental Slyd-R ul tells you, a t a glance, sym bol, w eight, density, num bei, valences, color, m elting and hoiling p o in t In "G for 98 elem ents. An ideal educa tional aid for science, physics an d chem istry students $1 po stp aid . S t u d e n t rate: 1 2 or more. 7 6 0 ea. M o n e y -b a c k gua rante e . S o r ry , N o C O . D . 's KIT THE SLYD-RUL CO., 1 0 4 0 W est Broadway Woodm ere, New York $24.50 Postpaid F u lly assem b le d $39.50 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 Volts, as lllut., can be assembled w ith pliers and screw driver. 1 7 " h ig h . 7 " dlfl.. 1 .5 to 2.5 m lcraam p current, 0 . 9 0 % relative hum idity range, life of service over 1 0 0 0 operat ing hours 11 Ov 6 0 cycle A C motor Insulating colum n of un breakable vinyl chloride, oil Im pregnated bronze bearings, a lu m in u m base, housing, fram e and charge collection-- 5 lbs. 500,000 Volts Kit or atscmblcd 3 6 " high, 1 4 " alum , oblates and fram e . . . kit includes draw ings and all necessary parts except motor. K i t 3 9 . 5 0 postpaid. " Experim ents in Electrostatics"-- a book with experim ents you can do . . . send 6 0 0 . F R E E catalogs . . . send 1 5 0 for postage. Low priced physics equipm ent for schools and science projects. MICRO-ADS E q u ip m e n t. su p p lies and services of special in terest to scientists, science teachers and students, science-m inded laym en and hobbyists. 2 6 0 per w ard, p ay ab le In ad v an ce C losing d ale 3 weeks prior to publication (S aturday] SNL. 1 7 1 9 N It., N W., W a sh in gton , D C. 2 0 0 3 6 BINDERS FOR SNL -- BUFF-COLORED BUCKvam. S nap-in m etal stiip s hold 5 2 copies. $4 00 pp Send order w ith rem ittan c e to Science News L etter. 1 7 1 9 N S tr e e t, N W , W a s h in g to n , Ti C 2 0 0 3 6 . F ACTS-1 N-F MJ E ! F A S C I N A T I N G N E W W O R D game challenging your ability to lecall facts under tim e pressure K now ledge of science, arts, history, governm ent, and m any other areas tested from basic to difficult levels. Scoring system differen tiates betw een g en eral a n d specialized a b ility U n lim ite d n u m b e r of individuals/ team s can play P rim arily for ad u lts/ advanced students. Ten-day refund guarantee $6 50 postpaid. Advanced Ideas Co . 6S Rroadway, A rling ton, M assachusetts. FOR INFORMATION ABOUT A PHILOSOPHY based on natural, not supernatural, phenom ena, w rite to the A m erican H um anist Association, D ept SN L-3, H u m an ist H ouse, Yellow Springs, Ohio M O R R I S and LEE I DepL NL-11A, 1685 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo 7, N.Y. | F R E E P A P E R B A C K C ATALO G UE. G R EA T SAVines. New York P aperback R ecord C lub, 4-H W est 43rd S treet. New York C ity 1003 6 SU R PLU S W IR ED IBM M E M O R Y P L A N E S SOLD for pennies on th e dollar Inquiries invited. M eshna, Lynn, M ass ample, the child must draw straight and curved lines between increasingly narrow boundaries, or draw a straight line to a target. Similar tasks have been developed to measure perception of figure-ground rela tionships, form constancy, position in space and spatial relationships. Researchers Phyllis Maslow and Marianne Frostig of the Frostig School, D Welty Lefever of the University of Southern Cali fornia at Los Angeles, and John R. B. Whittlesley of the Brain Research institute, University of California at Los Angeles, re ported their work in Perceptual and Motor Skills Monograph Supplement, 1964. The researchers believe that testing these different abilities enables evaluation of more specific assets and liabilities and study of the relationships between these abilities, school achievement and personality measurements. Science N e w s Letter, 06:302 N o v e m b e r 7, 1964 The O possum > TH E VIRGINIA OPOSSUM, Didelphis, is the only pouched animal living wild in the United States A member of the marsupial order, the female opossum has a warm, fur-lined pouch on her abdomen into which creep the tiny babies as soon as they are born, only 12 days after conception. At this time the babies weigh about 1/ 15th of an ounce --over a dozen could fit into one teaspoon \ s soon as the babies struggle into the pouch, they attach themselves securely onto one of her 13 nipples which are no bigger than the head of a pin., If there are more than 13 children in the brood, the excess soon starve to death The surviving babies grow rapidly In about a week they are ten times as large as they were at birth. When they are ten weeks old, they start to emerge from their snug pouch and climb onto their mother's back, holding tightly to her long hair. After about 14 weeks, they are independent and on their own When fully grown, the opossum is an unattractive creature, about the size of a ait, with a pointed rat's face, naked ears and long black or grey hair growing over a dense, creamy-white undercoat Its tail, bare or scaly and furred at the base, is prehensile and can be used as a fifth paw to hang from a tree or hold onto food. Considered one of the ugliest and stupid est of creatures in the United States, the opossum has the peculiar habit of "playing possum/' or going into a coma-like state of shock when frightened and rolling over as if dead. Yet this unattractive tree-climbing noc turnal animal is aiding research, for scien tists are able to observe the tiny babies at different stages of their embryonic develop ment. Other animal embryos develop inside the mother's uterus and hence are inacces sible.. Science New s Letter, 86:302 November 7. 1964 Science N ews L etter jor November 7>1964 INVENTION Patents of the W e e k The nose cone of a gun-toting rocket, which could dow n enem y missiles w ith d e a d ly accu ra cy , co n ce a ls its w e a p o n until the missile is a irb o rn e -- By W illia m M c C a n n 303 T1 TU2 NfoIrNG$ 0.0F0OpRluKs S7 5$04.p0p0,. p.p. L a te st type, h ig h ly p o lish ed C hrom e-plated tem pered steel. T ines 5 /1 6 x n / j inch tem pered steel. L ength 6 ", 7 " 8 " , 2 x % w round stem (rubber coveied). Scale le tte r p lu s frequency (C .P .S.) e n slav e d . A ccurately tu n ed P hysical pitch. E ither C -256; C -5 1 2 or G -3 8 4 . 2 tu ning fo lk s In re so n an ce d em o n strate sy m p ath etic vi- b i a t i o n . A b o u t VS* p r i c e . F R E E " S t r i k e r " w i t h e a c h o r d e r . S to c k lim ite d . 25C for- b u lle tin s .. HARRY RH^? n ilK K I & S c ie n tific Lab Apparatus 6 1 -L Reade St., N .Y . 7, N .Y . * li i! ; i * I > A "PISTOL-PACKING" MISSILE that has a gun cleverly concealed in its nose cone to shoot down enemy missiles and satellites earned a patent from die U S. Patent Office. Once the missile is in the air its nose cone folds away, revealing a gun designed to fire an explosive charge, such as an atomic shell, from a stabilized platform. As the missile comes within about 80,000 feet of an oncoming target, a fire control system inside establishes a line-of-sight de tection and takes deadly aim. Thus, rather than aiming itself at an enemy ICMB, the gun-toting missile need only come within "shooting" range. Coinventors Dr. Frederick W . Ross, Del Mar, Calif , and Morris Kaswen, San Diego, report a number of advantages of this weapon over conventional anti-missile mis siles: 1) increased maneuverability, 2) less weight, 3) high intercept accuracy, and 4) less need of a highly accurate launch. The inventors claim the missile, which earned patent 3,153,367, will improve de fense against high-speed enemy missiles from ground level to altitudes of more than 50 miles. They assigned patent rights to the U S Army. The missile is now under develop ment contract to the Army Materiel Com mand and the Solar Aircraft Company, San Diego. B ase b all Pitching A id Johnny Sain, former Boston Brave and New York Yankee pitching star, was awarded a patent for a device that helps train young baseball players to pitch. A baseball with a hole drilled in it is attached to a rod and handle. The baseball is mounted on a spindle so it can twirl freely. A youngster can hold the handle in his free hand while practicing various pitches on the rotating ball with his pitch ing hand. Jn addition to teaching a young ball player the proper way to throw curves, sliders, sinkers, screwballs or fast balls by spinning the ball different ways, the device can be used to develop and coordinate arm muscles, Mr. Sain reported in his patent. Mr Sain, of W alnut Ridge, Ark., who recently signed a 1965 contract as coach for the Minnesota Twins, earned patent 3,152,803 for his pitching aid. Artificial H eart Three pioneers in research on the arti ficial heart have been awarded a patent for an improved version, which they hope will someday be an adequate substitute for the human heart. Profs. William J Fry, his brother, Francis J Fry and Reginald C. Eggleton, all of Champaign, 111,, earned patent 3,152,340 for their improvements of the overall design features and pumping apparatus in an arti ficial heart. The researchers, who assigned patent rights to Interscience Research Insti tute, Urbana, III ., have been working on the substitute heart since 1955 and have used it experimentally with dogs in the laboratory The ultimate goal of the artificial heart is the complete internal replacement of the human heart, Prof William Fry told S ci e n c e S ervice It is designed for long-last ing use. O ther Interesting Patents A parking garage shaped like a water wheel was awarded patent 3,153,488. This new rotary garage is designed to handle a number of cars and yet take up as little space as possible. It was invented by K y o suke Mori of Tokyo, Japan. A device that counts and measures the size of raindrops earned patent 3,153,727 for Alan M. Nathan, New York City. The rain drop sizer and counter relays its information to a memory or counter unit which can be placed in a shelter some distance away. Patent rights were assigned to the US.. Army. A steering mechanism for a portable dam used on irrigation ditches earned patent 3,153,330 for John E. Melin, Livingston, Mont. The mechanism allows the dam to automatically adjust to the contours of a ditch. David K... Bosshardt, Berkeley Heights, N.J., Eugene E. Howe, Somerset, N J., and Jesse W. Huff, Westfield, N.J., were awarded patent 3,153,615 for their method of reduc ing the cholesterol content in the blood, The method consists of incorporating lithocholic acid or hyodeoxycholic acid in the diet. Patent rights were assigned to Merck & Co., Rahway, N.J. S cience N e w s Le tte r, 8 6 :3 0 3 N o v e m b e r 7, 1964 Sbo VjouJ(now? Approximately 92% of the money spent in the U.S. space program goes into ground facilities. W ater pollution killed more than an estimated 7.8 million fish in 1963, the U,,S. Public Health Service says. A 1963 survey showed that only 47% of the motorists with seat belts in their cars use them during local travel. The Alaskan tidal waves last March were caused by the shifting of a piece of the earth's crust larger than Florida. S cie n c e N e w s Lo ite r, 8 6 :3 0 3 N o v e m b e r 7, 1964 GAME THEORY GAME FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY in a simple matching game that clearly demonstrates ex citing mixed strategy that's heart of game theory Send fo r " MATCH ME" , p o s tp aid a n y w h e r e , $ 2 . 9 8 . 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A d d IO C fa r c atalo g) S e n d 10c Jf gtr oi s , /a mTl iavi zSe i n1ag n i c m a a t l a s l , o g l u n of nmi a k n e o r ve s, l tie ho s b & boats, lak e artlc al seeds, g a d g e t tim e s eras, o p tica l goo d s, p ro je cto rs, m o vie s, jew u i rjr, a ia y v iB U B ) a u iin p a p t-uii3| p u M | c a ( auto & b . ire a c c e s s a r i e s , r a d i o s , h a n k s , s m io k e r s " g a d g e ts , a rtis ts' su p p lie s, p rin tin g se ts, m oto rs , k n i v e s , g u n s , s p e r l s b o o k s , g a m e s , m u s i c ,. s: c i o n p la n ts,'fir e w o rk s, etc R u sh 10 c ro w ! JO H N S O N S M IT H CO , Dept. 5 7 4 , D etroit 7 , M ich. *2 5 .0 0 0 Plan for Success A prom inent steel executive once paid $25,000 fo r the sa m e basic ide a used in t h e M e m o g e n d a . N e w i t Js y o u r s f o r $3.00 . Avoid confusion of scraps of p ap er . . . lost opportunities . . . forgotten duties and a p pointments. Use the Memogenda Constant survey of w ork a h e a d . . . results in working without strain. Checks out complete tasks and builds valuable history of accomplish m ent. If m ak in g p ro p e r use of your time m e a n s success th en M e m o g e n d a is a w a y to success, whatever your goal One user said: "Please send us two more M em ogendas. it takes only a few weeks to prove that the thing is terrific." MEMOGENDA is a 9 6 -p ag e book, wire b ound in a flexible leather-like covering. The righth a n d p a g e s (8V2x 1 1 ) h a v e n u m b e r e d lines, one for each item . . . checked off as com pleted. Opposite pages are far additional memos Includes instructions for use, an annual reminder, 3-year calendar, and active te le p h o n e list. Price $30 a dozen F O B factory, or send $3 for sample, postpaid. Start M emogenda habit to d ay . Refund if it isn't your best investment. KAN O LABORATORIES 1010 Thompson Lane, Nashville 11, Tenn. i J ___ ~53-- 304 Science N ews Letter jot November 7, J964 Ask for Gadget Bulletin 1273 for sources of new things described. Send a self-addressed envelope to SCIENCE SERY1CE, 1719 N St., N.W., Washington, D C. 20036 To receive this Gadget Bulletin without special request each week, remit $1.50 for one year's subscription. f t WHEELLESS LAWN MOWER floats on a cushion q air. Weighing just 30 pounds and powered by a 21/2 h.p. engine, the rotary mower is easy to operate and maneuver. Only finger-tip pressure is re quired to guide the mower which trims dose under trees, shrubs and bushes. Its height of cut can be adjusted from 5/16 to 1-7/16 inches. The mower hugs the ground keeping the blade away from hands and feet. Science News Letter, 86:304 November 7, 1964 f t POCKET TIMER is a personal time reminder that is attached to a key chain and can be carried in the pocket or purse. The timer, which can be set for periods of five minutes up to one hour, softly buzzes an alarm when the pre-set time interval has passed. It is useful as a reminder for taking pills, making phone calls, keeping import ant engagements or parking time.. Science News Letter, 86:304 November 7, 1964 f t FLUORESCENT MARKERS for school or home can write with fluorescent colors on any surface, including paper, leather and plastic. Useful for making posters or signs, for artcraft, or for marking children's bi cycles for safety at night, the felt-tipped markers come in five colors. The ink in the markers dries instantly and is smearproof and waterproof. Science News Letter, 86:304 November 7, 1964 f t "AFTER FIVE" COFFEE TABLE is a walnut grain Formica top circular table 36 inches in diameter with a 17-inch circular clock face at its center. The clock dial, having brushed copper finish and walnut hour markings, is covered with a heavy dust-tight plate glass crystal sealed in place. The clock movement is powered by a mercury battery that will operate the clock for approximately two years. Science News Letter, 86:304 November 7, 1964 f t CLIP-ON TIRE CHAINS, shown in photograph, can be quickly placed on tires without jacking even if vehicle is mired in snow or mud. Easily installed dips are permanently fastened to the inside and out side rim of the back wheels and a cross chain assembly is then fastened to the clips and across the tire whenever traction is required. Sizes are available for U.S. and foreign cars, and light trucks. No special tools are required. Science News Letter, 86:304 November 7, 1964 f t MULTIRULE CALCULATOR provides children in grades five to eight with a wide range of mathematical activity from ratio, proportion and fractions to the use of the slide rule. The device, consisting of two matching straight-edge scales numbered from. to 100, helps children learn to use the slide rule by themselves. A teacher ri&huai cpmes with each set of six multi rules. ' Science N e w s Letter, 8 6:304 N o ve m b er 7, 1964 f t THERMAL WIRE STRIPPER that pro tects the operator against burns, automati cally centers the wire to be stripped over the1warmest area. The stripper, built like hand pliers, is flexible and easy to operate, and can be utilized in the tightest quarters without burning adjacent wires. The tool is supplied with a compact control box, treadle rest to turn off power and on-off indicator light Science N ew s Lelte r, 86 :3 0 4 N o vem b er 7 , 1964 Better H elm ets N eeded to A v o id Football Injuries ^ THE STEADY INCREASE in the number of head and neck injuries in football calls for better helmets, a physician indicated in GP, 30:106, 1964, Journal of the American Academy of General Practice Head and neck injuries are responsible for 72% of all deaths directly attributed to football, said Dr. H. A Fenner, Jr., Hobbs, N.M.. The number of deaths directly due to football injuries over the past 31 years is 539, he said. A good way to cut down on serious football injuries, he recom mends, is to use helmets of tough, durable materials that are not flexible, as are leather and plastic helmets now used. One helmet in particular that has proved valuable is a model that has a tough fiber glass shell and a nonresilient liner Its ad vantages are that it is safer, more comfortable, and does not strike the shoulder pads when the player is in a "football stance " Cat-Scratch D isease M a y Afflict Brain Cat-scratch disease, an infection caused by virus transmitted through cat scratches, may lead to encephalopathy, an affliction of the brain, a physician reported in Postgraduate Medicine, 36:368, 1964. If encephalopathy does follow cat-scratch disease, the onset is sudden, with resulting fever, coma and convulsions, said Dr. Fred S. Brooksaler, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas. M a n y Suicides See Physicians Before They Act About 60% of all persons who commit suicide see their physicians a short while before their deaths, a professor of psyschiatry reported in GP 30:133, 1964 For this reason, Dr. Eugene R. Inwood of the Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D C , said physicians should be aware of suicide clues. Some of these "cries for help" include feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, or may come out as an exaggeration of physical discomfort. Heart Beats Transm itted b y Telephone Transmitting heart beats by telephone has shown to be practical, accurate and easy to perform, a team of researchers reports In a three-month study of 71 patients, in which 102 tracings were made, telephonocardiography was found to be extremely valuable in five of the cases. In 11 of the patients, the method was of considerable value in allowing immediate diagnosis for needed treatment. Drs. Constantine T. Cerkez, B, Batongallo, George W Manning and Mr. Gordon C. Steward, all of London, Ontario, reported the study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, 91:727, 1964. Science News Letier, 86:204 November 7, 1964