Evening star., 1942-07-04
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henry.

An experiment has been reported by
two biologists OF the Catholic University
of America which might be interpreted
however far-fetched at the present-as
step toward weird possibilities even for
the human race itself in some far distant
future.
Drs. D. C. Braungart and G. E. OFT Of
the university staff injected into brains
of the larvae of fruit flies, the creatures
most frequently used in genetic expert
ments, small amounts of the drug COL
chichine, extract from the European
crocus and a 17th century gout remedy.
Cells in certain parts of these brains,
which are timer than pinhead, became
"polyploid," they report in the current
issue of the Journal of Heredity. That
is, these cells developed extra chromo-
somes, the bundles of heredity," which
constitute the nuclei of all body cells.
When they divide, as all body cells are
constantly doing, they will reproduce
themselves exactly.
Colchichine first was introduced in
American biology few years ago by
DR.. Albert F. Blakeslee of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington who found
that by soaking seeds in it entirely new
species of plants could be produced.
Since then it has been used widely In
botanical laboratories all over the world
and many new kinds of flowers and vege-
tables-nothing very sensational up-to-
date-have been produced
The great significance of DR.. Blakes-
lees discovery was that a process which
normally would have occurred only in
thousands of generations of evolution
ary progress could be telescoped into a
few months.
But up to the present all effort to
change with colchichine the heredity or
body constitution of animals have pro-
duced vague results.
Perhaps it is better that way" one
eminent biologist said. Il hate to think
what might happen to the human race
If race of rats with super-brains could
be produced with colchichine or some
related drug with similar results"
The significance of the Catholic Uni
versity experiments is that the thing
actually has been done with animals
far as the fruit flies may be from verte-
brates, they still are far closer to men
than to plants
The Two scientists found that when
fruit fly eggs we're soaked in colchichine
the period OF Matching was prolonged and
most of the larvae died soon after hatch
| ing.
N,,1y, r,,Lo ir,jo foJ lrJtcy {o
| the brain with hypodermic needle did
they get striking results. They found
| that only small areas were affected
| whereas they had expected that if they
got any results at all they would apply
| to the entire cerebral area.
For the anomaly, they say, they have
no explanation. Neither, it is likely, will
it be possible to study the effect on fruit
| fly behavior.
But they have crossed the line from
the plant to the animal kingdom with a
means of vastly speeding what ordinarily
have been considered evolutionary
| changes.
| *
Lives of more than 10000 mothers in
the British Isles who die annually from
disorders incident to childbirth could be
saved by diets adequate in minerals ano
| vitamins.
This was announced before the Roya
Society of Arts recently by Prof. J. C
Drummond, noted British nutrition
authority who described for the first
time results of an experiment with 5000
women who attended prenatal clinics ir
London in 1899.
All were from poorer homes where diet
is notably inadequate. Half were giver
supplements which brought them up tt
the standard considered adequate b,
scientists. The other half continued tt
eat as they always had eaten.
The complete results, Prof. Drummone
said, soon will be published in medica
journal but, he stressed, the chief findin,
was that the treated group showed re
duction in the incidence of toxemic con
ditions and their sequels Of such an orde
that, had the figures been applicable t.
the country as a whole, the lives of n
less than 10000 women year could hav
been saved. And London has relatively
low toxemia incidence compared witt
some other large towns.
This is striking confirmation, he SAID
of the experience in Toronto where pros
pective mothers, living on nutritional
inadequate diets, were given supple
mentary milk, eggs, oranges, tomatoes
cheese and vitamins B and D during tn
second half of pregnancy.
Said Prof. Drummond: THE number
of prenatal anemias, toxemic condition.
miscarriages, still births and prematur
births all showed striking reduction!
On this supplemented diet 80 per cent Q
the babies born were scored as good
The control group scored only 81 pc
cent.
mo record in vital statistics is NOR
striking than the fall in infant mortalit
that has occurred in the past quarter {
a century. But the reduction in tn
number of infantile deaths has not bee
paralleled by fall in still births an
deaths Immediately after birth. I
Toronto, for example, the former fell
per cent in the decade before 1899 whils
the latter fell only per cent. They al
believed to be much higher in hospit;
cases than in specialist practice. TIL
evidence that the faulty diet of tn
mother is more often than not tn
causative factor appears to be growing