Evening star., 1940-03-05
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
BY Thomas r. Henry.

And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.
Discovery Of an hitherto unknown
hereditary characteristic in man-ability
to roll up the tongue sideways-has just
been reported to the National Academy
of Sciences by A. H. Sturtevant, biologist
Of the California Institute of Technology.
DR.. Sturtevant has found this queer
quirk, he says, in 280 persons, both men
and women, up to date.
TN typical positive cases." he re-
ports, "the edges of the tongue can be
rolled together over a considerable por-
ton OF the back area of the tongue,
while it is slightly protruded In mega
tive cases there is no turning up of the
edges at all. A few intermediates have
been encountered and in numerous Gases
this ability at first absent, has been
acquired by practice. This phenomenon
is most frequent in children. Only one
clear case Of acquiring the ability by
practice has been found in an adult,
and here prolonged efforts were nee
essary. whereas in children few hours
were sometimes enough. Some children
appear unable to learn"
The ability, he found, is as frequent in
girls as in boys and has no relation
to race. One must be born with the
ability to do the trick. which apparently
involves a curious nervous and muscular
control. 1t may be necessary to learn
ho twin hut t..
out the basic character learning is impos-
sible.
This ability runs in families, he is
convinced, although 1t does not follow
any simple law of inheritance. Some
times he found ancestors of tongue
rollers who themselves did not have
the ability, but who did have noteworthy
speech defects. The two may be asso-
ciated IN a complicated way, he believes.
The strongest evidence for the heredi-
tary nature of the ability comes from
two pairs of identical twins All four
individuals had it. Each twin was the
exact hereditary counterpart of the other.
Further support of the genetics factor
is afforded by the fact that among the
families examined there was no corre-
lation between husbands and wives.
The actual use of the ability, DR..
Sturtevant believes, often depends on
imitation within a family. A person
may never start tongue rolling unless
he sees somebody else do it. In speak
ing some languages it would be a de-
cided advantage. yet the ability is not
especially distributed among those speak
ing these tongues.
Whales are playing a big part in this
war.
1t was in all probability to intercept
British whalers on their way to the
Falkland Islands whaling base that the
Graf Spec was lying in wait of Uruguay
in December
Tankers loaded with whale oil from
the same base are due to pass through
these waters in March and presumably
are responsible for the reported appear
ance of another pocket battleship in the
same general locality.
A Notwithstanding a factory ship
and dozen or more killer boats"-is a
rich prize, representing as it does an
investment of about $1,000, 900. The
killer boats alone may be valued at more
than 100000 each.
With the price of whale oil, almost an
essential war commodity, now advancing
rapidly an oil-laden tanker captured or
sent to the bottom may be even more
valuable. Whale oil is source of edible
fats, soaps and, perhaps most impor-
tant Of all, the glycerin essential in ex-
plosives
The significance of the whale war"
In the South Atlantic is indicated by the
latest figures received by Washington
experts, which show that, largely during
the period of the war. the price of whale
oil at European ports has advanced
from about $40 ton to approximately
$3.50. At the end of the first World War
1t had gone up to $3.50 ton. For the
1873 season, the last for which accurate
ngures are available, the Antarctic
catch was 44152 whales, yielding total
OF 325O,064 barrels, compared with a
total world yield of $685., ,Ol0 barrels In
other words more than 80 per cent of all
whaling Is In Antarctic waters.
The whaling season in the south, es-
taollshed by international treaty, runs
from December to March Is. The
factory ships have now been out for
two months and the first oil-laden
tankers soon will be on their way north
ward
Whaling, now brought to industrial
emclency, is almost entirely British
Norwegian. German and Japanese. It
Is doubtful If the German companies are
represented at all in the Antarctic waters
this winter. The Norwegian whalers
according to reports reaching Washing
ton, are out in full force.
Thus the presence of the German bat
tleship in the South Atlantic may be
1or the dual purpose of sinking British
whale oil tankers and preventing British
seizures Of cargoes destined for Nor
way and eventually for Germany,
Studiousness Of Immigrants