Evening star., 1936-05-13
Science
Continued From First Pape.l

tSOIltlLuGQ fTOul F1I6L EdR6.J
awaiting them Is old age and death.
Yet, DR.. Rush pointed out, there Is
no evidence that they are short-lived.
The grandfather in this particular
family now is hale man Of SO. They
start out as if they were going to be
giants, but, with growth stopping at
10, they remain rather under the
average size. The bass voice, as evi-
denced by the father. changes to the
high voice Of old age after 80.
1t long has been observed that some
races, such as those of southern Eu-
rope. normally mature earlier and
start the period of old age sooner than
others-Latin girls being in the full
bloom Of their beauty when their Nor
die sisters are just passing into an
awkward adolescence. This difference
between races may have been due
originally, it was pointed out by endo-
crinologists attending the meetings,
to some such hereditary tendency in a
much milder form which became es-
tablished in the prehistoric past. The
phenomenon reported today indicates
the possibility of a race of fully ma
ture 8-year-olds-except that they
doubtless would be eliminated under
the stress of modern life.
The child-men, DR.. Rush reported,
were fully normal in every respect.
Growth and development were SYM
metrical-inStead Of lopsided, as in
cases Of gigantism and dwarfism. They
were of normal intelligence for persons
Of their age. x-ray pictures showed
bone growth, the surest indicator of
age, keeping up with all other phases
of physiological development.
Thymus Gland Extract.
Before the same session Of endo-
crinologists DR.. Leon Asher, professor
of physiology at the University of
Bern, Switzerland, announced that he
and his colleagues have succeeded In
preparing an extract of the thymus
gland-long known as the gland Of
youth-in the chest. They have not
yet obtained the pure hormone, but
are sure that 1t exists in the extract.
Tests with dogs, DR.. Asher said,
showed conclusively that the thymus
substance in their extract Is q pro-
moter of youthful growth and Adde'S
cent sex development. In actual life,
however, its action is coupled with
that Of vitamin A, found In such sub
stances as cod liver oil and milk,
which has long been known as a pro-
moter Of animal growth.
This has led to much confusion over
the functions Of this gland of youth
in the past. The dogs used in the
Bern experiments were kept on q diet
low in vitamin A and the growth
spurts were evident with successive
doses of the extract. Much the same
result might have been obtained II
dogs from whom the thyroid had been
removed had been given heavy doses
of the vitamin.
Gland Later Degenerates.
At the beginning Of adolescence, DR.
Asher said, the thymus secretion evil
IDENTIFY begins to accelerate the develop
ment Of animals to physical maturity
AS soon as this Is attained, at about
the age Of IS, the glands usefulness is
over ard it begins to degenerate. When
this does not take place, there Is likely
to be serious condition, which may
end In sudden death.
DR.. F. c. Koch of the University Of
Chicago told Of experiments under way
at the University Of Chicago labora-
tories to determine the chemical
structure Of the male hormone, which
promises eventually to be of extreme
importance in medicine. Two forms
now are known and one has been syn