Evening star., 1939-07-13
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henry.

By Thomas r. Henry.
There are no reliable seasickness
cures or preventatives.
Such is the considered opinion Of
Public Health Service physicians in an
which pour in at the beginning Of every
summer.
Most of the professionally dispensed
prophylactics and treatments" 1t says,
"are based on purely empirical founda-
tions. There seems, however, to be
some scientific grounds for the use of
sodium nitric which has the physiolog-
ical effect of the nitrites in lowering
blood pressure. Drugs with this action
should, of course, be taken under the
supervision of physician and are not
recommended for Standardization.
"A survey of the opinion of expert
enced ship physicians indicates clearly
enough that nearly every form of treat
ment has been used with and without
success. The chief dependence of one
physician is laughed at by another This,
if other proof were lacking, suggests the
non-specific action of practically every
recommended remedy"
Any suggestion of a diet to relieve
seasickness, the Public Health physi-
clans say, is without foundation. Above
all, they urge, do not trust to an empty
stomach for nothing is more rapidly
destructive to physical and mental sta
bility than continued retching. So long
as the food is something which one en-
joys ordinarily, they say, what one eats
is of little moment.
Moreover, their surveys show rarely
is any one entirely immune at all times.
Repeated sea voyages cannot be re-
lied upon to overcome the physiologi-
cal condition and some sea captains of
many years service become i'll in rough
weather. They can stand the sea better
than the average voyager only because
they no longer are afraid Of it.
H* AH.
Potential raw materials for the syn
thesis of the sex hormones are available
from the saponins, natural products
widely distributed among plants, &C
cording to a report to the American
Chemical Society by DR.. Carl r. Moller of
Harvard University.
The saponins probably occur in all
plants but are in especially high concen-
tration in the so-cailed soap plants. ;"
They contain one group of complex crys-
talline compounds which have a molec-
ular structure closely related to that
of the hormones
Chemically the saponins, which are
characterized by their foam producing
properties and by the fact that they are
toxic to fish and destroy red blood cor
puscles, are known as high molecular
weight glucosides, and can be split by
water into sugars and sapogenin or
soaplike material. on the other
THE fact that sugars are formed on
hydrolysis and that the saponins are fire.
quently in high concentration in the food
storage organs of the plant leads to the
belief" DR.. Moller said, that the sapo-
nins may function as reserve foodstuff
for the plant. Little work has been done
on the constitution of the saponins
themselves because of the difficulty of
obtaining them in a pure state and be-
cause the investigations of the ring
structure Of the saponin is more inter-
esting to the chemist than investigation
Of the way in which the sugar molecules
are related to the saponins
'The saponins have been known since
prehistoric times, having been used as
foam producing agents and for catching
fish by aborigines throughout the world
They are for the most part harmless to
man and are present in certain foaming
beverages, such as those using sarsapa-
rilla as the flavoring ingredient. Some of
the saponins are definitely toxic They
are used to slight extent commercially
as wetting agents, but their cost of pro-
duction is such they usually can be re-
placed by cheaper materials.
Industry has found way of putting
noise to work
The operation of an electric ear" in
the operation of mills grinding ore, ce-
ment, coal, coke, limestone and other
materials has just been reported to the
American Chemical Society.
The mills are controlled by the sounds
they emit. BY substituting microphone
for the less exact sense Of hearing of a
human operator and utilizing the energy
output of the microphone circuit to con-
troll the rate of feeding the machinery.
grinding efficiency can be maintained at
a maximum.
Both the character and intensity Of
the sound, according to the report, vary
when mill is grinding wet or dry ma
terial or producing coarse or fine prod
uct. The electric ear can be used to con-
troll mill operation only where 1t is pos
sible to control the feed of the mill by
its own operation. If the feeder is driven
by belt, chain or other mechanical means
an electrically operated clutch must be
installed to allow the feeder to be actu-
ated directly.
Calls Attention to Errors