Evening star., 1948-11-29
Stars, Men and Atoms
Baby Viruses Reported
By Public Health Doctor
Electron Microscope at Bethesda
Detects Immature Forms
Bv Thomas r. Henry

y
Finding of baby virlSes has just been re-
ported by q Public Health Service scientist.
BY use of the electron microscope, DR.. Ralph
w. G. Wyckof of the National Institute Of
Health at Bethesda has been able to detect
apparently immature forms Of the most min
ute Of living things and the cause of some Of
the most Vrulent diseases.
The achievement, reported by Dr.. Wyckoff in
the of1cial journal Of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science, probably con-
stitutes the farthest look into the inflnitesi.
mabiy small yet reached.
It affords strong evidence that the vruses,
in spite of their minuteness- are only
about a millionth of an inch in diameter
are Independent living organisms which are
born, grow and die and are capable of more
or less free movement.
Dr. Wyckon and his assistants worked with
the bacteriaphage, one Of the larger viruses.
Compared to the microscopic bacteria which it
infests 1t Is like flea on an elephant. Certain
forms Of bacteria exposed to these "phages'
disappear In q very short time. In the Public
Health Service experiments the bacteria were
exposed to the viruses and the processes Of
their destruction halted every few minutes by
chilling with ice water.
Dispersal Rapid.
At first, DR.. Wyckoff observed the bodies
Of the bacteria were broken up by the in
vasion Of single adult phage organisms. Pro-
toplasm flowed out. The spot marking the
presence Of the virus in this protoplasm rapidly
increased In size, and tiny dark objects were
seen dispensing in the area. These, 1t was
interpreted, were the babies notably smaller
than normal.
The dispersal of these forms, he found, is
much more rapid than can be accounted for
by the laws Of physics and chemistry. 1t can
be explained, he says only by Independent
movement requiring some kind Of life force.
He previously had determined that the viruses
look much like animals with what appear to
be heads and tails. There has been much
question In the past, however, as to whether
they were alive.
The amino acids-building blocks Of the
body-in virlses, however, differ widely from
those in bacteria and most higher organisms.
It may be . thousand years before the ult-
mate damage Of such radiations as come from
an atomic bomb explosion makes its appear
ance.
This IL the warning Of Or. Il. J. Muller Of
Indiana University. Nobel prize winner and
one Of the worlds foremost experts on hered-
ity.
This effect, he explains y On the heredity
Of the race. It Ii being piled UP even by minor
X-ray treatments or use Of the microscope
common in medical clinics. Any radiation
which hits the bodys reproductive cells DR..
Muller points out, Is bound to cause changes
and these are nearly certain to be detrimental.
These changes in heredity are, however,
known TO geneticists as "recessives." One never
will have any effect on progeny unless both
parents have the same altered gene" or unit
Of heredity. For any one generation this be-
comes highly unlikely. The changed genes
are carried along, however, from generation to
generation to the end Of the race. Sometime
in the course Of 10 centuries it becomes quite
probable that the right combination Of par
ents will come together.
determination Possible.
The result, Dr.. Muller says, almost certainly
will be the death or serious handicapping Of
the remote descendant. If the human race
as a whole were subjected to X-ray treat.
ments to which any of the germ cells were
exposed 1t might result in determination.
The changes, says DR.. Muller, are like minute
time bombs that are saving up their charges
for the distant future. This is likely to make
Us much more reckless of these effects than il
they were exerted mainly in our own or our
children's generations.
There Is possible however, long-deferred
effect on the individual. Cells other than germ
cells are affected by the radiations. The results
may not be apparent for many years, when they
will become manifest in the form Of malignant
tumors or the invariably fatal multiplication Of
white blood cells known as leuken1ia. Another
effect is not on the germ cells directly but in the
way they are tied together. This is likely to
appear in the first two or three generations and
ordinarily will result in still births The danger.
however, is relatively small.
The sad fact, DR.. Muller points out, Is that
nothing can be done about the remote effects.
Once q germ cell Is altered 1t is altered for all
time to come.
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