Evening star., 1941-12-29
Researchers Report
Discovery Of Secret
OF Consciousness
Temporary Falling Apart
Of Engines Causes
Como, Scientists Told
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
DALLAS, Tex, Dec. 29.-Discov-
cry of the secret of consciousness
was reported to the American Asso-
citation for the Advancement Of Sci
ence today.
Consciousness, it was found, is
due merely to activity of the body S
engines, the minute. potent chemi-
/ calls that produce both chemical and
physical reactions. Unconsciousness
is the temporary falling apart OF
those engines.
The report was made by Prof.
Frank H. johnson of Princeton Uni
versity and Dugald E. s. Brown and
Douglas A. Marsland Of New York
University.
Engines Self Renewing.
Recently, in many laboratories. it
was discovered that engines are
| self-reneWing They enter q cheml-
cal reaction which momentarily
seems to destroy them, and imme-
diately come back, ready 10 use
again. This they do by absorbing
a little energy from the tissues
around them.
But all this had been done only
in test tubes. The New York and
Princeton scientists for the first time
did it in living bodies.
The experiment was done with
bacteria which emit light, like the
frefiy and the glow worm. This
light is the flash Of an engine,
known as luciferase.
They gave the microbes alcohol,
ether, chloroform novocaine and
other narcotics and anesthetics.
Each time the glow extinguished like
switching of light.
Quantity Causes Deep Jags.
The germs went into deep jags
If given a lot. Too much put them
out permanently
But if the jags were not lethal
the lights would come on again
whenever anything was done to re-
activate the luciferase enzrmes.
Pres 9ure would turn Oh the lights
With lights off the enzvne5 had
been like tiny bro.-en eno-'>a'ls
The pressure squeezed them back
into complete balls.
Certain cool temperatures woulc
also bring the engines back anc
turn on the microbe lights.
The scientists said these expert
ments further provide a reasonable
basis for understanding the actor
Of pressure and temperature or
muscular contraction, rate Of hear
beats and use Of oxygen in the body
Engines are known to be active ir
all these familiar processes.
New Attack on Cancer.
The other scientists, Prof. Howard
H. Beard of Louisiana State Univer.
sity and DR.. Walter B. Coffee Of Sar
Francisco, reported success in slow
ing up cancer by injections OF
amino acids, the substance which
form proteins
This is a new attack on cancer
and was reported. not as a cure, bu1
as part of lot of accumulating evil
dence that cancers may be due tt
the faulty metabolism or impropel
nutrition.
At the Hartman Research Labo
ratories. San Francisco, Prof. Beart
said, a combination of amino acid
and a hormone extract developed
by DR.. Coffee had been used on q
cancer patients. Ten, he said. i'm
! proved enough to 60 back to work
At New Orleans a rat cancer ex
pertinent is now under way will
amino acids as a remedy. Ten o
these acids are used on the animals
Some of the animals have died o
cancer. but 80 per cent got rid o
their cancers under the acid treat
| ment.
| DR.. Beard said that no conclu
| sions are to be drawn now, but tina
| the experiments suggest in thes
| cancers the growth causes an upse
| in the normal protein (amino acid
| metabolism in the area where tn
tumor grows. and that extra amin
acids restore the balance and bloc
the cancer. Or he said the acid
| may attack some compound essen
tial for the cancers growth.