Evening star., 1940-06-27
Of Stars. Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science PROGRESS
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henrv.

By Thomas r. Henry.
Many deaths of babies and young
children attributed to pneumonia
whooping cough, measles and dyaentery
actually are probably due to lowered
resistance resulting from malnutrition
declares Surg. Gen. Thomas Parran.
1t has not been possible to confer any
immunity from childhood diseases with
an optimum diet, says DR.. Parran In the
Technology Review of the Massachusetts
Institute OF Technology, but it is be-
coming more apparent that the better
fed children usually recover.
I'm upstate New York." he says, "ir
the eight years from 1915 through 1922
about 10 per cent OF all measles deaths,
a total of 203, occurred in institutions
Tor children The children in these homes
were described as marasmic, rachitic
ana otherwise undernourished In
eight years beginning with 1881 only
two deaths from measles have occurred
IN these institutions. The case fatality
rate actually has been lower than in
the general population. Better nutri-
ton was not the only factor In the i'm
provement but as part of an intensive
program to lower infant mortality in
these institutions 1t was insisted that
the diets be supplemented by cod-liver
oil and more milk, fruit and vegetables.
Animals suffering from a deficiency
OF vitamin A are susceptible to a variety
OF infections. The loss of resistance ap-
pears before other symptoms of vitamin
A deficiency, even in animals receiv-
Ing a diet which is nearly adequate.
Like nearly fresh fish, nearly adequate
diet Is not good enough"
Animal experiments also are show
ing. DR.. Parran says, that an ADEQUATE
diet actually brings about a higher
resistance to some diseases, notably
paratyphoid infection. This effect is
shown to be even more pronounced In
the second generation.
There Is also no further question. DR..
Parran declares, that children are
stunted by an inadequate diet and
teachers comment almost uniformly on
the noticeable improvement of physical
vigor and mental alertness following a
mid-morning meal or well-balanced
school lunch.
4
Seven radiation pulsations OF the SIN
have been confirmed by Harvard Uni
versity mathematicians, who have COM
pleted rigid mathematical analysis Of
data gathered by the Smithsonian In.
stitution over Is years.
Measurements by Smithsonian obsery-
ers with delicate instruments on cloud
less mountainous scattered over the
world have shown that the solar heat
received at the outer edge of the earth's
atmosphere varies from day to day The
sun, upon whose radiation all life de-
pends, is variable star,
Increases and decreases, however.
were interviewer into an almost III
extricable pattern. Sometimes the peaks
OF two or more conceded and sometimes
several depressions came together. Sew
eral years ago DR.. Charles G. Abbot.
secretary of the Smithsonian Institu-
ton. found by splitting up the total
curve of the suns radiation that it con-
sisted of IL subsidiary pulsations, all of
which had a least common denominator
of approximately % years. That is.
every % years the star went through
complete pulsatjpn cycle.
The analysis, however, was extremely
difficult. Some of the radiation differ
ences, insofar as they could be detected
by any instruments 90,0O0,00o miles away,
were very minute. All the complex
effects OF passage of solar radiation
through the earth's atmosphere had to
be discounted. There was at least a
possibility that some of the apparent
pulsations were statistical illusions,
difficult to recognize.
DR.. Theodore E. Sterne of Harvard
University undertook, with the aid of
his graduate students, to analyze the
data by different, more laborious and
more rigid mathematical procedure. A
mathematician familiar with the pit
falls of statistical illusion, DR.. Sterne
approached the problem with an objec-
lively skeptical attitude.
Only 10 of the II periodicities proposed
by DR.. Abbot were susceptible to the
method of analysis used by the Harvard
mathematician. Out of these 10, his
work shows, 7 are certainly real and
must be considered as actual happenings
on the sun, although the mathematics
merely shows that they exist and offers
no explanation of them. The Smith
sonian observations show, he SAYS, that
the periods of 9a4, II, 81, Is, 391z, 46 and
68 months must be considered as actual-
ties.
That is, every nine and -fourths
months the suns heat, for some un-
known cause, seems to rise to a certain
peak and then decline. Every II months
there is similar rise and decline. The
same is true for the other five periods.
Each period may have a different solar
cause. If they all started together
and presumably they did in the begin
ning-they all would approximately
coincide at the end of % years. Their