Evening star., 1953-05-20
Elusive Element of Cell
Isolated for FirstTime
'GoIei Substonce' Studied
For Clue to Cancer Secret
By Thomos R. Henry

By Thomos R. Henry
The "Golgi substance" an evanescent
material which apparently is q con-
stituent of most living animal cells, but
whose function is almost completely
unknown. has been isolated for the first
time by National Institutes of Health
workers.
1t forms q tiny network of dark
strands in the cytoplasm between the
nucleus and the cell wall. It Is easy
enough to detect in dead cells. very diff.
flcult to discern in cells which are alive.
This has led some workers, both
American and British. in recent years
to question its actual existence during
life.
The work Of Dr. A. j. Dalton and
Mrs. Marie D. Felix at the Public
Health Services laboratory of biology
seems to have demonstrated 1t beyond
question.
They first identified the material in
living, unstained body cells of rats and
mice, photographed it, and then OBJ
tanned some Of the stuff itself through
use Of high-speed centrifuge.
Dark Strands Seen.
In photographs of isolated living cells
magnifled several thousand times, the
Golgi substance appeared as dark
strands forming cylindrical structure.
After isolation it remained visible less
than 20 minutes.
First to describe this material was
Camille Golgi. Italian neurologist, who
discovered it in nerve cells of the barn
owl. He called it internal reticular
apparatus" Ever since. efforts to iso-
late it have had no success. 1t has not
been seen in viruses. bacteria or SINGLE
celled animals such as protoZoa.
with the isolation of the Golgi
substance" DR.. Dalton said in a report
to the American Association of Anato-
niSts, "the way is open for us to learn
more about it's functions and its chemi-
cal nature. We have begun an analysis
of the substance in normal and cancer
cells to see if we can learn what hap
pens in the chemistry of cells when
they change from normal to malig-
nant."
DR.. Dalton has observed distinct
differences, he believes, between the
Golgi substance in normal and malig-
nant human tissues. In five-year sur.
vey, he found that in cancers of kid
ney, bladder, prostate, breast and
uterus the amount of the substance was
greater than in normal cells of these
organs. In cancers Of the gastro-in-
testinal tract. on the other hand, 1t was
somewhat less than in normal tissue.
The meaning Of these observations still
escapes Interpretation.
A method Of measuring in advance
the warmth of a fabric has been devel-
oped by Agriculture Department chem
lists.
This is expected to prove Of special
value In developing fabrics, particularly
of cotton, for military use in cold eli.
mates.
Prospective warmth has been very
difficult to determine in the past. be-
cause so much depends on the reactions
of individuals who may be either warm.
blooded or cold-blooded.
The usual test, the Agriculture De-
partment report points out, has been to
measure the difference in heat energy
required to maintain a metallic object
at constant temperature in still cold
air when uncovered and when covered
with the test material.
The apparatus developed by chemists
at the Bureau of Chemistry's Southern
research laboratory applies this prin-
ciple. but instead Of being tested in
still air., the fabrics are subjected to
simulated wind as well as low
temperatures.
Metal "Arm" Used.
A metal arm" clothed in a sleeve
Of the test fabric is lowered into a
home freezer in which fan has been
installed to maintain a wind velocity
of about II miles an hour over the
surface of the cloth. The combination
Of wind with low temperatures, which
can be adjusted as desired, it has been
found, provides a better evaluation Of
fabrics under conditions similar to
those north of the Arctic Circle than
any tests performed in the past in still
air.
The test is being used, it is pointed
out, to evaluate several experimental
cotton fabrics being developed for mill
tary use which promise to have much
better cold-resiStant qualities than
available commercial products. Prob
lens OF proper military clothing for
Sub-Zero weather remain quite difficult
despite experiments which have been
continuous since the beginning of the
war. Nearly all tradition fabrics have
various objections-protection against
cold being achieved only at the cost Of
too much extra weight, stiffness,
scratchiness of underclothing, or some-
thing of the sort. A major objective
naturally is the greatest lightness pos
Siole and good insulatinu roronertieS
must be combined with wind and mois-
ture resistance. Cotton in the past
has appeared somewhat unpromising
material.