Evening star., 1948-09-01
By Thomas R. Henry
Science Editor of The Stor


far greater naval applications.
Poured Onto Cloth.
The plastic, of the type known
as "polyesters," is poured over g
piece of stretched cloth as liquid
1t Is spread "like jelly on toast,
Dr. Gallagher said. Alternate layers
of plastic and cloth are prepared
until the desired thickness is
reached. 1t is like a four decker
sandwich. The whole sheet is put
under pressure and hardens in a
few minutes when placed in hot
water.
The type of cloth used is import
ant. Best of all are glass fabrics
and fabrics of synthetic f1bers. such
as rayon and nylon. Woven cotton
is not very good.
Some years ago, a non-Woven
type of cotton cloth was devised for
babies diapers, intended Ito be
thrown away, since they were un-
washable. This made no great stir
in the diaper market but DR.. Gal
lagher and his associates found it
one of the best materials for the
new product. Science can look for
ward to one long jump from diapers
to hulls of destroyers.
Similar Type In Use.
A similar type of plastic, DR.
Gallagher explained long has been
used for table tops, electrical insu-
lation and machine parts. 1t has
been difficult to produce and is
weak and relatively expensive. With
the new material, high pressures and
temperatures are not necessary
Large, complicated structures such
as airplanes fuselages can be made
4 The construction possibilities, DR.
Gallagher said, "are limited only by
mans Imagination"
The polyester type of plastic was
developed first just before the war
but had a somewhat limited use.
Once the war was over, the Navy
proceeded to finance the investiga
ton of every available textile ma
terial.
The Chemical Society meeting
also was told of Cinderella of coke
ovens-pyridine.
A few years, ago this colorless,
foul-smelling liquid, bi-product of
the gases produced in the coke ovens
of steel mills, was worthless
nuisance, burned to get rid of it.
Brick" for Chemicals.
Today, according to reports be-
fore the society, its curious ring
molecule has become one of the
basic bricks with which chemists
are building products ranging from
vitamin complex pills to synthetic
rubber.
From it, reported DR.. F. E. Cislak,
Indianapolis chemists, an Indiana
chemical firm has just made the
most potent of all fungicides to fight
the parasite little plants that cost
American agriculture about $2000,-
100000 year and cause such
human maladies as athletes foot
and ringworm. 1t kills fungi in a
water dilution of one part to 100000.
he said.
Like any other medicine" report
ed by chemists, it still is far from
the stage where it can be used on
human beings. There must be first
lot of laboratory tests by trained
medical men. But it is ready to be
turned loose on crop diseases.
Hundreds of Thousands.
The fight against fungi, among
mans greatest nuisance, still is far
from won. There are several hun
dred thousand kinds. More than
half of them attack only living
things.
A few years ago streptomycin, ex-
cretion of an earth mold and sub
ject of another report today, was
hailed as one of medicines great
est triumphs. 1t cured half dozen
bacterial diseases which were highly
resistant to sulfa drugs and bacteria
and even held forth bright prom
ise of curing tuberculosis.
Lately an outstanding weakness
appeared. Bugs" develop an i'm
munity to 1t. Eventually they get
so they like it, and a few strains
have developed that cannot live
without it.
This has put medical chemists on
the spot. One theory of the drugs
failure is that it doesn't reach all
the recesses of the cells where germs
have found refuge. A few nearly
always are protected from the first
shock of the drug and learn to pro-
tect themselves.
Derivatives Potent.
One answer is to make streptomy-
Gin more soluble. Various deriva-
tives have been prepared which have
all the potency of the original drug
but can circulate much more freely
through the body, DR.. Walter A.
Winston of the Food Research Labo-
ratories, Long Island City, N. Y,
reported to the chemists today.
Here again it is up to doctors to
say whether any of the new products
can be used safely in practice.
One of the newest tricks in medi-
cine is jet injection. A spray is shot
against the skin with Sucn 1orce
that it drives medicines through the
pores in such thin streams that
there is felt little more than prick
ing sensation. 1t promises to do
away with the pain of hypodermic
needle punctures for millions of dia-
betics who keep alive on insulin
injections.
This spray probably will be on the
market sometime next year, it was
reported to the chemical society by
DR.. James NJ McKibben of the r. P.
Scherer Corp. of Detroit. Thus far
it has been used only experimentally.
It will probably find wide use, DR..
McKibben said, in dentistry, and
especially in the treatment of
children.
c. B. Shoemaker Dies;
Ill e Aide in Relniun