Evening star., 1939-02-25
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook of Science PROGRESS
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henri.

Journalism has democratized science
Such was the declaration of James T.
Grady, veteran public relations repre-
sentative of the American Chemical So
ciety, upon the occasion of receiving a
fellowship from the American Institute
in New York the other night.
Contact between the scientist and the
journalist, Mr.. Grady said, is giving sci
ence new sense Of direction.
Scientific endeavor divorced from
humane ends invites social blindness and
catastrophe penalties to mankind. It is
journalism, mirroring human aspiration
and human needs, that makes science
see. Santayana tells us that ever since
the days of Socrates the dice of human
thought have been loaded. Science
working with journalism is changing the
rules of the game. AS social and
political animal the scientist is yet an
infant, but he is a lusty fledgling and
1t is now plain that the ambitions of
political states which he has Implement
ed with the power to engulf civilization
in chaos have shocked him into starting
OIL OA1CllO1EC 1Ol plCtGllllUll VI lIlleT-
national mischief.
'The amazing advance of science and
its impact upon every day life have
made serious science reporting impera-
tive. Hence a new journalistic species
has been evolved, the science writer.
Almost overnight he has become one of
the most influential forces in the max
ing of modern newspaper. His dis
tingulshlng characteristic is that he
speaks two languages-the language of
science and the language of the mar
ketplace-With all that this implies of
abundant knowledge and intellectual
mastery. The newspaper has become the
Vulgate of science. The science writer
has founded new school of writing in
which color and austerity of phrase are
achieved. Thus he unites two worlds,
and in so doing promotes one of the most
vital educational objectives of our time
an alliance of science and the hu-
manities.
This dynamic association of science
and journalism breeds implications to
journalism far more significant than sur
lace observation indicates. In dealing
with science Journalism deals, above ALL
with integrity. Science strengthens the
fiber of the news and the fiber of news
papermen. The emergence of science in
the press means that science has chal-
lenged the capacity of journalism for
leadership in society transformed by
scientific research. Relentless science
presses the question whether Journalism
rests on an intellectual basis, whether the
Journalistic mind can cope with the on
rush of new fundamental knowledge,
whether it can grasp the significance of
and give true meaning to the scientific
forces which are creating new order.
The journalist family realizes as vet
that science is taking his measure"
X
Reptiles grew feathers to keep warm In
an ancient ice age, and became birds.
This theory is advanced by DR.. Edward
L. Troxell of Trinity College, Connecti-
cut, in the current issue of the Scientific
Monthly.
Use of wings for flying, he holds, was
an acknowledgement.
Feathered creatures, he says are known
to have developed during the Permi, =
geological period, more than 200 900 900
years ago. This was time of intense
cold and drought following a summer of
the ages during which vegetation grew
lushly and the great coal measures were
laid down.
DR.. Troxell pictures some lizardlike
reptiles in that ancient winter. who, &C
tive in pursuit of their prey or getting
away from their enemies, started to run
on their hind legs. Thus they developed
softer and flufier scales, which ap-
preached closer and closer to feathers.
These, in turn. protected them from the
cold and constituted a great advantage
for survival. Thus eventually they be-
came fixed character of the species.
For vast PERIOD" he says, such q
type of bird would have carried on its
existence much as other animals of its
group. But from generation to genera
ton the feathery covering would vary,
The feathers would be softer or more
brlstly, longer or thinner, etc. Where
.iiCy Welc loIlScI, ny ClldilCe, Cnere might
be an advantage or a disadvantage, If
longer feathers happened to be on the
after parts of the body, behind the limbs
or on the tail, they would not greatly
interfere with the animals progress.
Feathers that stuck out in any other
direction would be handicap and would
be eliminated by nature
Now it is entirely within reason that
these longer feathers, extending back
ward from the limbs for wings and from
the body to form TAIL increased in stiff
ness and came to be the instruments of
flight. Flying, in our opinion, was not
done by cold, scaly reptile, but by q
bird that was already equipped with a
warm covering of feathers"
X A*
Like tearose blossoms turned to stone
in the full flush of their blooming are the
shells of two remarkable new seashells
collected by deepsea diver, Sozon Vati-
kiosis, near Tarpon Springs, Fla.
They have just been identified by DR..
Paul Bartsch, curator of mollusks of the
Smithsonian Institution, as representing
two new species of marine mollusks and