Evening star., 1950-01-25
Hongovers Believed Due
To Exploding Alcohol
Office of Naval Research Reports
On Studies Made on Rats
By Thomas X. Henry

By Thomas r. Henry
Exploding alcohol, with radioactive carbon
incorporated in its molecule, may explain
hangoverS.
That, at least, is one of the eventual OBJ
jectives of study carried out at the Scripps
Metabolic Clinic at San Diego under a con.
tract with the Office of Naval Research. The
first report has just been issued through
the Quarterly Journal of Alcohol Studies
published at Yale by Drs. Grant r. Bartlett
and Harry N. Barnet.
They used the exploding carbon atoms to
find out what happens to the alcohol in the
body. The subjects were rats, the idea being
that the process is about the same in any Of
the arm-blooded animals as in man.
Great Chemical Changes.
That alcohol is quickly utilized by the
body is apparent. dose of approximately
l gram per kilogram of body weight is dis
tributed quickly through the body and then
is lost from the blood stream. Only from
2 to 10 per cent can be recovered in the
urine or in the expired air 1t disappears
from the tissues about as rapidly as from
the blood. 1t is obvious, the investigators
say, that alcohol undergoes great chemical
changes, but there has been considerable
dispute over the rate and place of such
changes.
The generally held theory is that the
alcohol first is broken down into a simpler
substance, acetic acid in the liver. This
breakdown is brought about by certain spe-
cific substances, so-called engines, which
initiate and carry out chemical changes
without themselves undergoing any alter
alton.
The acetic acid then is broken down fur
ther and eventually most of the carbon in
the original molecule is exhaled as carbon
dioxide. While there is general agreement
over this process it has been studied only in
test-tube preparations. 1t has been impos-
sible to observe them inside the body.
The radioactive carbon, however, makes 1t
possible to study the course of the alcohol
from the time of drinking to the time it
finally is excreted, perhaps hours later.
Findings in First Tests.
Among the findings from the first expert
ments are:
Alcohol is burned to carbon dioxide at
rapid rate with the peak of activity at from
one to five hours after drinking. At least
80 per cent of this conversion is completed
in 10 hours.
The kidneys are even more active than
the liver in the burning process. The liver,
however, still remains the main site Of the
conversion to carbon dioxide because Of its
much greater size.
The rate is the same for rats taking their
first drink and old soaks who demand their
drains regularly. Presumably it would be
the same in man.
There was no evidence that any alcohol
Is burned In the BRAIN as has been claimed
The study is intended to arrive at funda-
mental understanding of alcohol metabolism,
Whlch is believed the first essential to rational
handling of the problem
An instantaneous thermometer of extreme
delicacy that will measure the heat of the
sun IN fraction of a second has been
developed for the Air Forces by scientists Of
the Rhode Island State College.
It will be tried out for the first time in
February as part of the warhead of a rocket
at the Holloman Air Base in New Mexico
The object will be to determine the solar
radiation at an altitude of rs miles, before
1t has been filtered through the atmosphere. a
At this height more than 80 per cent of
the atmosphere has been traversed and the
rocket will be above the layers which absorb
much solar radiation. :.
The recordings will be automatically and
instantaneously radioed back to a station
on the held and comparison made with
ground conditions. ...--
Millionth of a Degree.
The instrument is of the type which is
capable OF measurements within millonth
OF degree. In the classical type invented
at the Smithsonian Institution and used
there for many years, it consists of two hair
like ribbons of platinum, one exposed to the
sun and the other sheltered by metal plate.
AS the rays of the solar spectrum fall on
the exposed one, they warm it above the
temperature Of its hidden companion. The
tiny temperature difference alters the elec.
trio current balance of which the two rib.
bons form parts.
An appreciable time is required, however,
Tor the change to become apparent. This
would be of little value for use in a rocket
which remains only for a fraction of a
second at its maximum height