Evening star., 1951-09-07
Coats Of Sugar Worn
By Pneumonia Germs
Help Prevent Multiplication
Of Viruses, Chemists Told
By Thomos R. Henry


NEW YORK, Sept. 7. - Pneumonia
germs wear coats of sugar. There are
more than so kinds of such germs.
Each is in a capsule made up OF a
slightly different type Of polysaccharide,
a very complex form Of sugar.
Experiments during the war showed
that some Of these sugars could be used
as vaccines against pneumonia. 1njec-
tions of minute amounts were effective
in preventing the disease for periods
of at least six months.
Now it has been demonstrated that
these same pneumonia sugars have a
considerable effect in preventing multi
plication of viruses, the invisibly mi
mute organisms which cause some Of the
most deadly human and animal diseases,
according to report to the American
Chemical Society here today by DR..
Maurice Stacy of the University of Bir-
mingham. England.
Jelly-Like Substances.
The sugars are jelly-like substances.
Each seems to be effective against its
own type of pneumonia germ. They diff
fer enormously in chemical structure.
Very dilute solutions give strong reac-
tions with the blood serum Of a pneu-
monia patient.
Injection of these sugars apparently
stimulates the production in the blood
Of pneumonia antibodies, DR.. Stacy said,
but there is as yet no explanation OF
the effects on viruseS.
my lady nicotine" came close to a
clean bill of health at the diamond
jubilee meeting of the society.
Eighty-flve per cent Of this supposedly
deadly alkaloid of tobacco which is abb
Sorbed from cigarette smoke is quickly
made harmless by chemical changes in
the body and most Of the remainder is
eliminated unchanged.
The pack-a-day smoker, according
to a report by DR.. Paul S. Larson OF
the Medical College of Virginia, gets
the nicotine effect Of only two ciga-
rettes at the most. All the rest is de-
toxified in the lungs, kidneys and liver.
Change Due to Engines.
This change of nicotine from a poison
to something essentially harmless, DR..
Larson said, probably is brought about
by engines. These are substances
which initiate and regulate the rate Of
chemical changes in living systems with
out themselves being included in the
process. It now e. is known that there
are thousands of such engines in such
an organism as human being. Most
of them still are unknown.
DR.. Larson also paid his respects to
the so-called cigarette cough"
"The acute, scratchy sensation ex-
perienced on inhaling a puff Of smoke
is primarily due to the nicotine in the
smoke" he said. But chemical anal
ysis of tobacco while it is still in the
warehouse can minimize much Of this
nicotine irritation. Nicotine is alkaline
in character and irritation is intensified
if the tobacco smoke has a high con-
tent Of other alkaline materials. Irri-
tation is greatly lessened when proper
amounts of acids are present in the
smoke to neutralize the effects Of the
nicotine, BY blending acid and aka
line tobsccos properly. irritation from
the nicotine in the finished product
can be diminished"
Nicotine does not cause swelling of
mucous membranes Of nose and throat,
DR.. Larson said. This is believed to re-
suit from excess acids and other ma
terials in the smoke.
Ways to Make Cotton "Shine."
- Ways to make cotton "shine" like silk
are being sought by Washington chem
lists and they already have some clues
as to how this can be accomplished.
This was reported to the society by
Drs. Lyman Fourt and Arnold H. Sookne
Of the Harris Research Laboratories,
working on an Agriculture Department
research project.
The key. they said, is in the directions
of the spirals in the molecules Of cellu-
lose, the chief constituent of cotton.
Cotton cloth becomes more lustrous
when these spirals are in the direction
of the long cotton fibers. The direction
can be determined by X-rays and
changed by various treatments.
Fuel Supply Increase Seen.
Americas motor fuel supply can be
increased as much as ID per cent with
out drilling another oil well by recently
developed methods of condensation
from available natural gas, r. D. Car
ney of the Warren Petroleum Corp. Of
Tulsa. Okla, told the society.
The new methods. he said. can pro-
duce about $50 million barrels year.
Unfortunately present automobile de-
signs make it impossible to use more
than a small percentage of these new
fuels in passenger cars. but they can be
used as direct fuel by tractors, trucks
and buses, Mr.. Carney said.