The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-10-09
DELVINGs OF SCIENCE.
What Topics Are Interesting the
Sages Now.

'Dogmatic statements regarding tic
nature of cancer have broken more rep
utations than they have made" and III
thus prefacing a review of the work
which has been done, and is being done,
SO unoStentatiously in the Laboratories
on the Victoria Embankment DR.. Bash
ford, the director suggests one reason
why s4at work has been hampered by
SO little public attention. 1t is because
before anyone can hope to say what
cancer is not is a most tedious one i'll
itself, as well as being task the
achievement of which will excite en-
thusiasm only among those who have
labored at 1T. The second reason for
the absencetof public attention is that
the directors of the Imperial Cancer Re-
search Laboratories have consistently
striven to elude it; because although
they test every theory (and every rem
edy in it in turn) and, SO TO say, suffer
fools patiently if not with gladness vet
they are persuaded that in the present
state OF positive knowledge concerning
cancer the less said about curing it the
better. From their indescribabIe
minute and patient investigations, how
ever, one fact which may be reassuring
to the public energies; and il is that so
far as can be ascertained it is not an
infectious disease. The occurrence of
the disease in man and animals, the
universal laws which seem to govern
Its occurrence at various ages of the it's
lations between cancerous growths and
the tissue in which they occur and with
which they are connected-together
with various other observed phenomens
all point, in Dr. Bashford's opinion, to
the probability that cancer arises de
novo in the individual attacked In
other words, nobody acquires cancer by
living in the so-called cancer houses or
cancer neighborhoods. There must be
in himself favoring causes for cancer
both in its beginning and in its contin-
uance.
In the sky there are many double
stars, which move one about the other
and within the last two years it has
been shown that in our universe there
is an analogous movement of all the
stars; in other words, that there is a
double drift of stars, and that many
of the stars are moving in one way
while many others are moving probably
at a different speed in another. Some
highly interesting notes on this subject
and on the new problems which arise
from the consideration that our uni
verse is not single but double are con-
tributed to Nature by Mr.. A. s. Ed
dington, of Greenwich observatory It
should be promised that the new in
vestigations on this subject, largely de-
pend on an examination of Groom
bridges great catalogue of 4,243 stars,
which was first published in 1888, and
on a comparison of his star positions
with those to be deduced from the re-
vision of this catalogue which has been
recently completed by Prof. Dyson and
Mr.. Thackeray. Mr.. Eddington shows
how In each of the seven regions into
which the GroombriGge stars were di-
vided the proper motion of the stars
therein can be dissected, and can be
shown to be the result of two simple
drifts intermingled.. Sometimes, how
ever, there are more complicated and
apparently local motions. For exam
pie, in one region "a stars appeared to
be moving where they ought not TO
have been. Presumably they formed a
local system, but such an ireguIarity
is small compared with the two main
drifts. which in that region each en-
braced more than 400 stars. Most of
the regions did not show even such a
small irregularity as this The ana
lysis of these star drifts is capable of
showing not only the directions in
but also their velocities; and,
roughly, one drift appears to be taking
place at relatively nearly three times
the velocity of the other. The stars
appear to be nearly equally divided be-
tween the two drifts, the lower drift
having, perhaps, a slightly greater pro-
portion. There is no indication of any
relation between magnitude and drift.
except possibly In the case of the very
bright stars, which seem to belong
mostly to the swifter drift. Where we
speak of velocity Of the drifts we mean
or to the motion through space of our
own sun, and one inference to be
drawn is that solar motion is in no |
sense an absolute motion. The the
cries thus advanced now await the test
Of spectroscope determination of the
star velocities in the line of sight.
1t may be of service to. indicate at