Evening star., 1948-12-13
Stars, Men and Atoms
The Earth Sweeps Space
With Atmosphere Drognet
Particles Size Of Sand Gathered Up
And Finally Fall as Meteors :
By Thomas r. Henry

"
The Earth sweeps the dust-alled space
around 1t with an atmospheric dragnet.
It gathers up countless trillions of particles
about the size Of sand grains which revolvs
around 1t like microscopic planets In elliptical
orbits. These orbits decrease in radius until
eventually the sand grains fall as meteors.
suoh is the suspected phenomenon for study
and verification of which the Federal Conn
munications Commission has granted license
for a special radio station to the Carnesia
Institution Of Washington. 1t is In operation
during the period Of the Geminids, one Of the
years largest recurrent meteor showers, this
month.
Meteors In the high atmosphere can bs
detected by reflected radio signals These
signals are not reflected from the particles
themselves but from the electrically charged
wakes which they create as they speed through
the atmosphere.
Atmosphere Bulge Found.
For some months DR.. Charles A. Little, jr,
of the Carnegie staff, working at his home.
found evidence that there was bulge In the
atmosphere Immediately under the sun-that
is. that the reflected signals due to electrically
charged paths came from greater attitudes
Immediately under the sun. The probable
explanation is that the gravitational pull OF
which might be compared to q dragnet, or .
broom, sweeping through the Immediately sur.
rounding space.
The sand grains, 1t is assumed, are captured
in this atmospheric bulge and swept along
with it around the Earth They are slowed
down sufficiently to be swept into ellipticsl
orbits instead of continuing to fall directly
towards the Earth's surface.
The GeminidS supposedly the debris Of
defunct comet, appear regularly each Decenl.
ber and last about IS days. .--t
There is an anticancer substance In pollen.
This finding by DR.. William Robinson OF
the Agriculture Department has just been
announced by the National Cancer Institute.
It is based on the fact that appearance
Of hereditary breast tumors in strain Of mice
which ordinarily get these malignant growths
at certain age either escape them altogether
or acquire them much later than normal
when pollen is mixed in their food.
The discovery, 1t is emphasized, offers no
remedy for cancer and the delaying action
may apply only to this one form which Ii
not known to occur in humans. On the other
hand, it may apply to . large group Of cancer
diseases.
Normally mice born Of this particular strain
average of 80 weeks. When pollen was fed,
the average age when the malignant growths
appeared was extended to A weeks and some
Of the animals remained cancer-free at 81
weeks, when the tests were terminated.
Bees Gather Pollen.
The pollen used was gathered by bees at
the experimental laboratory of the Department
of Agriculture. Bees gather pollen from many
species Of plants as an essential food for their
young. They carry it to their hives In pellets,
each Of which contains about q 100000 grains
of pollen which supposedly has been discovered
indiscriminately.
No effort yet has been made to find the
active principle In the pollen. Presumably 1t
constitutes an enthusiastically small fraction.
The problem is greatly complicated by the
fact that grains differ greatly in the thick
ness Of their outer coverings through which
the substance must be extracted Ii the process
Of digestion.
The investigation started from work several
years ago which showed that maggots greatly
accelerated wound healing by excretion Of
urea, hitherto supposed to be entirely waste
product. It occurs, however, in all body tbs.
sues and it was postulated that 1t might have
a function in the normal processes of growth
and repair. A perversion Of this function might
be contributing cause Of cancer.
This study led to q belief that its ection
might be inhibited by a hypothetical sub.
stance contained in the male sex cells OF both
plants and animals. The pollen experiments
were intended tn test this hypotheSiS.