Evening star., 1942-08-06
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
Bp Thomas r. Henry.

There is Pickering dot Of red In
the South Pacific-Great Britains van
ishing island Of Fonuafo'o.
1t recently has been rediscovered for
the third time by Sir Harry Luke, Gov
ernor OF Fiji, according to report to
the Royal Geographic Society.
The rediscovery came at just about
the time when geographers were about
to drop 1t from the map.
Located about so miles north OF Nu-
kualofa, capital of the British protecto-
rate OF Tonga, 1t was first charted by
the Admiralty in 1855 as reef barely
sticking out OF the water and a menace
to navigation. Twenty years later 1t
was rediscovered-a low, barren island
about three miles long-and established
as one Of the British possessions.
The next time the site was visited was
in 1894 1t then was a tiny patch Of
land washed by the waves and barely
emerging from the ocean. But in that
very year . submarine volcano erupted
and sizable island again appeared
with coast cliffs so feet high.
Then 1t disappeared completely until
1927, when a massive island rising more
covered on the site. King George the
Second Of Tonga, who rules the pro-
tectorate under a British governor, made
special expedition there, raised the
Tonga flag. and took possession Of the
island with much ceremony.
Then 1t appears to have disappeared
again. There was serious doubt as to
whether 1t ever had existed. No.r Sir
Harry Luke has proved that neither the
mariners who reported 1t nor the King
who took possession Of 1t were suffering
from hallucinations. He and his party,
they report to the Royal Geographic
Society, came upon an island rising
about 80 feet out of the sea with
steep beaches Of volcanic ash and cin-
ders. swept by heavy surf. There was
no sign Of an active volcano.
Landing by means of a lifeboat was
extremely perilous but the Governor 5
party determined they would feel solid
| ground under their feet lest they them
selves be accused Of suffering delusions.
They climbed the beach, ankle deep in
cinders which were uncomfortably hot.
THE surface of the island" Sir Har-
ry reports, was a series Of low, parallel
ridges with wide. shallow depressions
between them. Its appearance was
desolate in the extreme, q waste Of
blackened cinders simmering under the
sun and rejecting its glare without any
relief to the eye.
There was no sign of life except one
small coconut palm, about three feet
high, struggling to keep alive. There
were few dead nuts nearby. swept up
from the sea-"
A new and dramatic effect Of alcohol
has just been reported from Johns
Hopkins Hospital.
It is described by It's discoverers, Drs
Thomas M. Brown and A. M. Harvey, a.
Spontaneous hypoglycemia" and results
from the drinking by chronic alcoholic,
Of smoke" This Is Z mixture in waite,
Of denatured alcohol obtained from var
|
lures and similar preparations. Re-
markably enough, the symptoms nevel
were recognized during prohibition wher
smoke" drinking was far more common
The blood sugar sinks to about tenth
of normal after a prolonged Smoke
debauch. The two Baltimore doctor!
have studied six cases. The real sig
nificance. they say, is the physiological
reaction and the light 1t may shed OF
basic mechanisms of the body. From {
practical viewpoint spontaneous hypo
glycemia probably always will be rar'
malady.
Cases in the past, they believe, hav
encountered in the course Of a debauch-
conclusion of the brain or brain hem
orrhage. When samples Of the alcoho
drunk by all the cases brought to John
Hopkins were analyzed, traces Of woo|
alcohol were found. Yet none Of the vic
Tins showed wood alcohol symptoms
such as blindness.
All were in deep comas. They ap
peared to have been knocked out, bu
they were restored very rapidly to nor
NAL by intravenous injections OF sugar
While they were unconscious their re
flexes were typical Of persons who ha
suffered severe brain injuries.
"It was only to rule out other cause
Of coma" the physicians report, "tha
the blood sugar determination was made
Once this entity was discovered, the sub
sequent cases, for the most part, wer
diagnosed before the blood sugar deter
mination was made. Bizarre neurology
cal signs, such as rigidity Of the extremi
ties, unequal deep refiexes, deviation Q
| the eyes and occasional spasmodi
twitching, were observed.
"All the patients came from a lo'
economic level and undoubtedly ha
been on poor diets for considerabl
time. In addition, most Of them ha
eaten almost nothing for the period i'm
mediately preceding their attack.
TT is clear that denatured alcohol ha
been responsible for the development c
the hypoglycemia in these patients. Tn
; knowledge of the manner in which tn
poison has acted to produce the chang
in carbohydrate metabolism has re
manned obscure. The reduction of live
sugar by starvation, associated with con