Evening star., 1934-12-28

senator Mlnton, Democrat, succ,
publican.
reaching revolutions in chemistry and
physics.
The two forms are "ortho-deute-
rum" and "para-deuterium" There
is also ortho and para common hydro
gen and the phenomenon Is repeated
with the heavier substance.
The deuterium molecule, like the
hydrogen molecule, consists of two
atoms. In ortho-deuterium the nu-
cleii Of both molecules are spinning
in the same direction. In para-deu-
kterium they are spinning in opposite
directions
The result is that the two sub
stances have different masses and en-
ergies, different vapor pressures, and
different freezing and boiling points.
The ortho-deuterium was the first
known and the para -deuterium was
obtained from it by means Of the cata-
lyst properties of charcoal at tenn
petature of 420 degrees below zero
Fahrenheit.
DR.. johnson Speaks.
A new theory of fatigue-with i'm
plications extending to drunkenness
and drug addiction-was presented be-
fore the psychological section today
by Dr. Harry M. johnson. professor
of psychology at American Uni
versity.
Actual tests with students. DR..
Johnson said, showed that skill at
a complicated test of letter substi-
tuition actually increased during the
day, when presumably fatigue poisons
were piling up in the blood and the
body fuel was being consumed, and
decreased after sleep. when presuma-
bly, the reverse processes were at work.
Other experimenters have reported, he
said, that with the consumption Of
alcohol or drugs skill does not de-
crease in proportion to the amount
of poison taken into the system. In
studies Of the effects of going with
out sleep, tests have shown no de-
crease of skill up to the point of
actual collapse.
Supply Controlled.
While there doubtless is . real
not been detected and cannot be
detected by any tests. He said
THE organism is a collection Of
machines, each doing its own kind
of work, in response to some set
of particular demands Of the mo-
ment. These machines have a COM
mon reserve supply Of fuel. When
the available supply runs low, or
some of the machines, by reason Of
fatigue. begin to run less efficiently,
the co-ordinating mechanism, which
is the nervous system, ceases to re-
lease energy to some Of the ma
chimes, so that more, will be available
to others. AS the subject becomes
more and more fatigued he neglects
other demands, one by one, In favor
of the demands Of the test.
Thus 1t Is that some effects of
fatigue and intoxication have escaped
detection by the usual tests. The
experimenter, considers only the test
performance, whereas the impairment
consists in the subjects neglect Of
concurrent demands. Nor Is 1t pos
sible to examine the state Of his
reserves. or take account of the dis
tribution activity among the various
mechanisms that he Is using"
DR.. Riddle Speaks.
Instincts, the basis of most human
and animal behavior, may be due to
specific hormones-chemical sub
stances which exist in the body in
extraordinarily minute quantities-it
was reported by DR.. Oscar Riddle Of
the Carnegie Institution Of Wash
ington.
The specific experiments upon which
the report was made concerned the
inducement Of broodiness in hens by
injections Of ''prolactin," substance
formed by the pituitary gland in the
brain which also excites milk secre-
ton in mammals, formation Of crop
milk In pigeons and reduces the
activity Of germ glands in other birds.
1t was first isolated by DR.. Riddle
himself three years ago.
Instincts" he reported, "are the
material of which much Of behavior is
made. The conscious behavior Of man
is no exception and the extent to which
consciousness itself was gradually
evolved from the elements Of simple,
ancestral, instructive behavior is yet to
be learned. The results Of this study
are therefore thought to have i'm
portant bearing on the problem of be-
havior."
Hens of various breeds, some actively
laying and some In non-laying state,
were studied. 1t was found that most
laying hens of breeds which normally
go broody now and then could readily
be made broody by three or four in
Sections Of prolactin. Such hens be-
gin to cluck two to four days after the
! first injections and begin to nest IL
to "a hours later. Two roosters were
made to cluck by the same procedure,
but they paid no attention to eggs or
nests provided for them. Other hor-
mones were unable to release the in
cubation instinct.
Taste Reactions Varied.
Every individual lives in q different
sensory world, DR.. Albert F. Blakeslee
of the Carnegie Institution Of Wash
ington reported to the department Of
psychology on the basis Of experiments
on taste variations. He tested the re-
actions Of At persons to the taste Of 10
substances-five bitter. two sour, two
salt and one aromatic.
The sensitivity Of some subjects, DR..
Blakeslee found, was 1000 times that
of others, with all sorts Of variations
in between. He found some persons
who could not detect any taste in dry
powdered quinine sulphate, although
most made wry faces over 1t.
Although there is some relationship
for acuteness Of taste for most sub
stances, DR.. Blakeslee found, it Is very
low.
IF enough substances were used 1t
might be poesible to show that no tYo