Evening star., 1937-04-29
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory and Study.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,

Discovery OF gene OF change" the
like Of which may play an important part
in the process of evolution, was reported
to the National Academy yesterday by
DR.. M. Demerec of the Carnegie 1nstitu-
ton of Washington.
1t leads to the paradoxical hypothesis
that change is hereditary.
Dr. Demerec worked with strains OF
fruit flies, the favorite subjects for ge-
netic experiment. Variations from the
parents occur frequently in the offspring
from generation to generation, but near
ly all such variations are such as prove
fatal to the individual.
These mutations" he found, occurred
much more frequently in some of his
fly families than in others He discov-
cred that in at least one of the strains
they were due to single gene located
in a specific chromosome in the germ
plasm 1t was the seat of an hereditary
organic discomfort which manifested
itself from generation to generation, not
in the direction of some specific char
acter, but in general inclination of
the body state to change things-usually
with lethal results.
This may indicate why some animal
changed almost since the beginning Of
life on earth, while others have varied
continuously both in the direction of
extinction and of development into new
and more fit forms The adventurous
gene, DR.. Demerec found. is a ''reces-
sive,' which tends to become submerged
when the stock is bred with line which
does not contain it. This tends to bring
about a saving stability in life forms
The gene, DR.. Demerec said, is very
specific in its action. 1t increases the
rate of change only in embryonic tissue,
so that an individual is born with the
changes already accomplished.
Ones breathing pattern changed
markedly with different types of vocali-
zation, it was reported to the academy
by DR.. Walter r. Miles of Yale Univer-
sity. He reported:
I'm oral reading the respiration rate
is about half as fast as In silent resting,
the amplitude is approximately twice as
deep, the inspiration is quicker, and
shallow supplementary breaths are in
terspersed at irregular intervals between
the deeper inspirations. There is fire.
quently very conspicuous change in the
level of breathing accompanying vocali-
zation.
"The average expiration level, known
to be usually quite stable, falls in sing
ing below that for normal resting. In
contract oral reading, conversation, and,
still more strikingly, impromptu speak
ing, all tend to show marked increase
in the reserve air, amounting frequently
to as much or more than the value OF
the tidal air in the same persons"
A new technique for detecting radium
in the body was reported by DR.. Robley
D. Evans Of the Massachusetts, 1nsti-
tute of Technology. In cases OF chronic
radium poisoning several micrograms
of radium element are stored IN the
bones. The usual metabolic exchange OF
calcium and other elements between the
bones and the blood stream includes the
removal to the blood stream of small
fraction of this radium.
Said Dr. Evans: "By increasing some
ten thousand fold the sensitivity OF the
detection apparatus previously used in
our studies Of the radium eliminated
daily in the body wastes we are able
to determine the radium content Of five
cubic centineter specimens OF blood.
Combination of these two experimental
results yields information on the EN-
cheney Of the eliminative organs In re-