Evening star., 1931-11-30
LIVE CANCER CELLS
RAISED IN TUBES
RadioIogists Watch Movies
of ProcesS-NeW Data
Is Obtained.
BY HOWARD w. BLAKESLEE,
Associated Press Science Editor.

ST. LOUIS, November 30.-The
worlds strangeSt and newest jobs, feed
ing meals to living human cancer cells
&hich are raised in glass tubes, are on
exhibition before the Pathological So
ciety of North America today
The cancer cell chefs are three New
Workers, two men and woman. They
are shown in scientific movie film OF
the latest things in cancer study at
Columbia University and at Johns Hop
kins University. The film is exhibited
to the X-ray convention by the Cheml-
cal Foundation, Inc.
Perfection of this artificial growing
Of human cancer cells is development
u the past few months. Yet already
A1e "impersonal" but living bits Of real
~ancer have yielded to their caretakers
considerable practical information.
Cells Are Delicate Things.
Raising these malignant cells is more
tickIish than an incubator baby. Re-
gardless Of their destructive powers
when organized in man, they are deli
cate things A single invisible mold or
bacterium floating through the air into
their glass homes while they are being
fed ruins the whole works.
So at Columbia they are kept in a
specially constructed tunnel, lighted by
glass windows. 1t is big enough to
hold table, upon which the cancer
cells live in glass receptacles Of various
shapes. The caretakers sit outside,
thrusting their heads inside the tunnel
through special openings.
The workers hands and faces are
sterilized, their bodies encased in ster-
ilized uniforms. They may not even
speak while their heads are inside the
tunnel.
These precautions are not to protect
the caretakers so much as to safeguard
the cells against contamination. Even
the air is washed before entering the
tunnel by being forced through damp
felt cloth.
Must Be Fed Regularly.
The cells come originally from cancer
removed from patients by operation.
There are all varieties. They are placed
in a mixture made of the clear portion
of cattle'S blood and certain salts and
then sealed alright. But they have to
be fed regularly every 48 hours.
This feeding, as we'll as the other
housekeeping duties, requires expert
work The feeding is done by sterilizing
a slender glass tube, pipette. in an
alcohol flame and filling it with the
cencer cell food, a substance called
"plasma." The sealed doors of the
glass cancer houses are opened mo-
mentarily TO inject little Of the plasma
into the queer homestead.
So long as they are fed regularly
these human cells live indefinitely. Ex-
periments have not gone on long enough
to say whether colony of them might
ultimately perish Of old age, but that
is unlikely, as they have the power Of
reproduction. The flm shows them
AxyG
cell Transforming itself into two cells.
Sometimes this birth process requires
only few minutes. Each living cell
has power to move from place to place
with swimming sort of molten.
Killed in Various Ways.
They are killed in various ways to
learn how best to destroy cancer. Some
are so sensitive to X-rays and radium
that small dose Of radiation kills
them. although it would not injure
healthy flesh. This kind of cancer can
be treated by X-rayS and radium.
other types OF cells resist the radiation,
showing that X-rayS and radium would
fail to cure.
These human cells die under radia-
ton IN precisely the same manner as
srtnnsi,,s animal cancer cells, q proof that the
extensive experiments by scientists with
animal cancers has possible value in
discovering human remedies.
Some OF the living human cells die
easily under heat, others not so easily. |
Along with these malignant cells,
healthy human flesh cells also are
raised artificially. And although the
healthy and the cancer cells can be
seen side by side. both living, DR.. Fran
els Carter Wood, head of the Crocker
Institute, told the radiologistS that "the
dlnerence between them remains as
profound secret as ever"
New x-Ray Tube Exhibited.
An X-ray tube taking a suapshot In
one -thousandth of a second. nlanyfold
the speed hitherto available, made its
debut in the scientific world here.
The new tube Is based on discovery
OF a method for damming UP electric
current, like collecting water behind a
dam, and then letting the dam burst.
1t is designed to enable physicians
to "see" inside the human body begin
nings Of disease hitherto blurred or
hidden by motion.
The tube was exhibited to the RADIO
logical Society.
The electric dam tube is an inven-
tion Of two scientists Of the Westing-
house X-ray Co. and the Westinghouse
Lamp Co., Montford Morrison and c.
T. Ulrey, Phi. D.
Members of the Pathological Society
commenting on the tube said that it
should reveal details not previously Vs-
tble in X-ray pictures.