Evening star., 1939-02-02
Of Sturs, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.

BY Thomas r. Henry.
An hitherto unknown relationship be-
tween diet and the toxicity of sul.anila-
mide has Just been found in experiments
conducted at the National Institute OF
Health here.
Now used successfully In the treatment
of IA serious diseases and considered one
Of the most notable medical advances Of
a generation, the problem of the relative
toxicity of the drug has not been clearly
etermined-especiallyw with regard to the
delayed reactions which may follow its
administration.
Most experiments have been performed
with rats and mice. These animals ap-
pear to be much more resistant to the
poisonous effects than some other ami
mails.
Two experiments were carried out by
DR.. Sanford M. Rosenthal, senior phar-
macologist Of the Public Health Service.
One was with rabbits to determine the
effect of diet on toxicity. The other was
with hens in an effort to produce q
counterpart to the polyneuritis sometimes
observed In men. The drug was given by
mouth and in varying doses.
The results, DR.. Rosenthal reports,
show clear cumulative toxicity in rab-
bits Repeated doses led to nervous symp-
toms, weakness, emaciation and a high
death rate. The dosage of the drug
which was tolerated by rabbits on pure
cabbage diet caused higher percentage
of deaths when the animals were fed
with a mixed diet of oats and cabbage,
or on oats alone.
Daily administration to hens produced
neuro-muscular weakness and emacia.-
ton. Death frequently occurred and was
often delayed for from one to four weeks
after the treatment. The appearance of
many of the hens, DR.. Rosenthal said
suggested peripheral neuritis, but it was
not possible to establish this condition
on pathological basis in other birds
given the same doses.
DR.. Rosenthal then tired out the dou-
BILE sulfanilamide molecule developed at
the National Institute Of Health. He
found that this was slightly less toxic
than the original compound but that it
had both cumulative and delayed poison
Gus effects. With this drug the diet OF
the rabbits made no difference in the
death rates.
1t is still undetermined, DR.. Rosenthal
says, to what extent cumulative toxicity
occurs in man particularly under those
conditions most often present when 1t is
given-restriction of diet and more or
less poison in the system anyway.
Glaciers are everywhere in retreat,
suggesting slow emergence of the world
today from the last ice age, DR.. Arthur
F. Coleman Of the Royal Ontario Mu-
scum, has just reported to the Geological
Society of America
This ice age can by no means be con-
sidered at an end, he said. Only about
half the area covered by the ice, in COM
parison with the ice-free period at the
end of the tertiary geological period, has
yet been cleared, he points out. More
than 100000 square miles still remain
blanketed about as they were 10 million
years ago. When all this is melted the
level Of the ocean may be raised as much
as $50 feet, spelling doom for some of the
big cities of the Atlantic seaboard.
with little Imagination" says DR..
Coleman, "one can picture Oslo or Rio
Janiero. seaports with high ground in
the rear to which to retreat, sending pa
latial holidays cruisers to see New Yorks
deserted skyscrapers rising from q shall
low sea. Still further in the future is the
probability of return of the ice sheets.
At least twice New York has been close
to the edge Of continental glacier, and
1t is not impossible that once more ice
may gather in Labrador and slowly
spread over Northeastern America, final
ly halting at Long Island to pile up
moraines or stone heaps. Then New
York harbor, may once more be covered
with ice foes, where seals and walrus are
at home and white bears prowl for their
prey as they did along the Atlantic Coast
25,000 or 10000 years ago.
"A few million years ago the earth was
warm to the poles. and the ancient cli-
mates of the world have usually been
much warmer than at present. Never
theless there have been few times of
much greater cold which have profound
ly influenced the life of the world. Four
OF these have left their records strongly
marked on the earth's crust"
The ice of glacier, DR.. Coleman said,
is hard and brittle solid that can sup
port any load of rock rolled down from
mountain side, yet under the pull of
gravity it moves slowly like a plastic
body such as pitch. 1t piles up the stones
1t carries in heap at the end, grinds of
and polishes the rock beneath.