Evening star., 1954-04-28
Some Cancers
Found 10 Yield
Nerve Spawn
Scientists Told of
. Mystery Substance
Produced in Mice
By Thomos R. Henry

Some kinds of mouse cancers
contain a mysterious substance,
which stimulates growth of the
sympathetic nervous system.
governor of many of the auto
matte, unconscious activities of
the body.
1t is strictly selective and has
no effect whatever on other
parts of the nervous system.
This was reported to the Ma
tional Academy of Sciences here
today by DR.. Viktor Hamburger
of Washington University, St.
Louis.
From the cancers he was able
to extract a material, which was
tested on chicken embryos in
an early stage before differenti-
alton of the nervous system was
clearly detachable. Very soon a
great number of nerve fibers
began to appear. enmeshing the
developing viscera, which ordi-
narily have very little, if any.
nerve connections.
Motor Nerves Unaffected.
There was no development of
motor nerves or of the nerve
cells that eventually would be-
come the brain of the chicken.
The material is a protein like
substance of some sort. Dr.
Hamburger has determined. The
work has been carried out large
ly under the auspices of the
National Cancer Institute.
Brief exposure to excessive
amounts of vitamin A can make
living cells alter drastically their
growth pattern. DR.. Paul Weiss
of the University of Chicago re-
ported to the academy.
Vitamin A long was known
only as a preservative of night
blindness, but within the last
few years it has come more and
more to the front as one of the
major activators in body chem
iStry.
1t has previously been shown
by British workers, DR.. Weiss
said, that, when normal chicken
skin tissues are grown in a me-
dium containing excess vitamin
A. the cells fail to develop prop
erly. The horny substance
known as keratin. from which
feathers normally would be pro-
duced, failed to develop.
Skin Cells Altered.
The University of Chicago
biologist carried this work fur
ther by exposing the chicken
skin cells for a very brief time
to the excess of vitamin A. after
which they were removed and
grown in a normal medium.
Their growth was profoundly
altered, he found, and took on
fantastic patterns.
Experimenters with cancer
have known, he said, that the
malignant growths can be
caused by long exposure to Ger
tain chemicals. The present ex-
pertinent shows that something
of the same sort can be caused
by very brief exposure to too
much of something normally
present in the body.
New light on the way proteins,
the building stones of the body,
are injected into the blood stream
was reported by DR.. Paul r.
Cannon and his associates of the
University of Chicago.
Weight Affected.
All proteins are made up of So
called amino acids, of which II
are necessary in the human diet.
When the amino acids are ar
ranged in different chemical
conf1gurations larger molecules
known as peptides are formed.
Previously it had not been known
whether body cells could use
these peptides when given by
injection.
In DR.. Cannon's experiments,
rats were deprived of their nor
NAL proteins and their bodies
were built up by injections of the
necessary elements in peptide
form. Under these conditions
they gained weight and thrived.
When deprived of a single amino
acid, however, they quickly lost
weight. Inclusion in the peptide
OF the missing acid soon brought
normal weight gain again.