Evening star., 1934-12-27
SCIENCE OBTAINS
PARALYSIS VIRUS
Vaccinations Seen Likely to
SuppIant Injections of
Blood Serum.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
staff Correspondent Of The STIR.

PITTSBURGH, December 27.-Ap-
parently successful poliomyelitis vac
cinations with an attentuated prepara-
ton of the living virus were reported
to the American Association for the
Advancement of Science today by DR..
John A. Kolmer of Temple University.
This is the same disease, infantile
paralysis, with which President RooSe-
velt was stricken 10 years ago and
which at first threatened to leave him
a permanent cripple. Hitherto the
most successful treatment during the
course of the disease itself has been
with a serum from the blood of per-
sons convalescing from the malady or
from those who have permanently re-
covered. This also gives an immunity
for a short time.
DR.. Kolmer at first succeeded in
immunizing monkeys, which also are
susceptible to the disease, with his at
tenuated vaccine. He then tried it on
himself and his laboratory assistant,
although both were warned that they
might contract the dreaded disease.
Since no bad results followed he vac
cinated his own children and then %
other Philadelphia children.
Three Doses Given.
The vaccine is administered in three
doses, a week apart. All the cases
thus far treated have shown the
formation in the blood of antibodies
indicating an immunity to the disease.
While antibodies are found naturally
in the blood of many adults, DR.. Kol-
mer pointed out, nearly 80 per cent
of children under 4 years of age are
susceptible to the disease, and wide
spread vaccination might be advisable
in case of threatened epidemic.
The reasons for the immunity of so
many adults is unknown, but some
suspect that the disease is much more
common than generally has been sup
posed, and that many have had mild
attacks without knowing it,
Delving far into the depths of life
phenomena, Drs. Alfred Brauer and
A C. Taylor of the University of Ken
lucky presented concrete evidence of
some discrete factor with a definite
localization in the protoplasm of the
egg which determines the form of the
organism about to come into the
world.
Embryos Form Monsters"
Specific parts of various insect eggs
can be destroyed by burning with
hot needle, and when the eggs hatch
the creatures will be monsters" lack
ing the organs which normally would
have developed from the destroyed
portions. Thus it is possible to pro-
duce insects without heads, or only
with heads and abdomenS.
But, working with eggs of the pea
weevil, the two Kentucky biologists
found that a great deal depended on
the time of their egg protoplasm sur
gerry. The embryonic insect begins to
form very soon after the egg is laid.
II the hot needle is applied to very
small portion of the anterior end OF
the egg less than two hours after it
is laid, cell division takes place in the
rest of the egg, but it seems to follow
no guiding principle and no embryo
is formed. At about the second hour
the destruction of the same area does
not prevent the formation, but appli-
cation OF the needle little farther
forward does accomplish this result.
In the third hour, in order to prevent
the formation of the embryo, it is
necessary to destroy the protoplasm
still farther forward. After six and
half hours the embryo formation
process cannot be prevented by this
means.
The implication is that the body
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