Evening star., 1948-08-02
Probing Natures Secrets
Radioactive Isotopes Serve Science New and Sensitive
Microscope Making Hidden Processes Visible

Here also, 1t was predicted, were the posse
bilities OF great advances in medicine-espe-
cially for the treatment Of cancer. Artificial
radium" of several hundred different varieties
could be made to order and quite cheaply.
This also has been, by and large, q delusion.
Two isotopes, one of phosphorus and one Of
iodine, have found q limited and still not
entirely accepted place in clinical medicine,
but not in the treatment of cancer. One or
two others show some vague promise. Very
few of the 800 could be used safely In the
human body. 1t must be remembered also
that radium was never a sovereign remedy,
was valuable only in a limited number OF
cases, and that very few in America or Western
Europe who could have benefited by 1t were
denied its Use because of cost or scarcity.
Problems Highly Specialized.
All this time the real great value of the
isotopes-as a combination of X-ray machine
and microscope thousands of times more sensi-
tive than either and able to penetrate the
most minute interstices Of matter-has been
little appreciated. 1t is, by and large, un-
sensational Most of the problems are intricate
and highly specialized. In some of the projects
years will be required before any definite an
swers can be expected.
1t is highly doubtful. just now, whether any
radioactive isotope will prove of very much
value, per Sc, in the treatment of any kind
of cancer-that is any one of the score or
more known diseases of which uncontrolled
cell proliferation is symptom But there is
an excellent probability that in the next decade
some of them will reveal the basic factors
that precipitate the loss of control over cell
division in few of these diseases. Once this
is known appropriate steps may be taken to
forestall these factors. The microscope is
ohohl fhe iy, rnol{ nft
but microscope itself never cured anybody
of anything.
Relatively few of the great number Of iso-
topes promise, at present to be Of much value.
Some of them have too short lives remaining
active from few millionths of second to a
few hours. Some of them are too dangerous
to handle Some simply do not ft into any
Granny Of Nature Still there Is offered wide
enough variety of possibilities to suit almost
any Investigator with imagination and pa
tience.
IsotOpes Can Be PLANTED"
From one or another Of them can be OBJ
tanned all the known radiations-gamma radi-
alton, or extremely high-powered x-rays; beta
radiation the emission of electrons or POSITIONS
(partcles of the same mass as electrons but
with positive instead Of negative electrical
charge; alpha radiation or the emission OF
the nuclei of helium atoms, the same as Is
obtained from radium.
They can be synthesized into any chemical
or biological preparation which can be made in
the laboratory. They can be planted" In al
most any organ Of an animal or plant. The
minutest traces of them can be instantly and
accurately detected.
The technique of using these tracers still IL
in its infancy. Perhaps the major accomplish
ment to date has been in making q start in
learning how to use the marvellous new tool
that has been placed in the hands of scencs
"a tool as revolutionary in its implications as
telescope. microscope or camera