PROGRESS OF SCIENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 70, 23 March 1926, Page 7

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE

BRITISH ACHIEVEMENTS

(From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, 9th February. Many distinguished scientists were the guests of the Maecabaeans at a dinner in honour of British Science. Lord Bothschild, as president of the society, occupied the chair, and was supported by a large gathering of members. In proposing the toast "Science," he en- i larged upon tho great achievements of British scientists, and acknowledged the benefits resulting from modern methods of research. If they scanned the long list of Fellows of the Eoyal Society for the last 300 years they would find practically the whole history of scientific investigation. Science, whether considered as pure or applied, was the pivot around which circled the advance and progress of civilisation, and whether we looked upon pure science, which advanced civilisation by widening the outlook and increasing the brain power of man, or whether we looked upon applied science, which hy increasing the material advantages also put forward the advance of civilisation, we should find that wherever science was taken in its proper estimation humanity would recognise that knowledge was power. (Cheers.) Lord Askwith said there were certain common-sense reasons why every man who was British should take a keen interest in science. To use a jargon, science was a "bull" point; the market was on the rise, and they could not do better than support it. It was. a fact that matters were now improving in the direction of using waste substances that were unknown before, and turning them to scientific purpose. We were doing that here, and spreading the knowledge to other countries, and backward countries were using the results of the achievements of British science. Throughout all countries, and especially in this, there was a wave of eagerness going forward to take advantage of science and adopt it when it came in the mass. It must J.ot be thought that nothing was ever done by the Government or societies to support movements that were now going forward. Only three or four days ago ho was looking at a Blue Book, just published, and in regard to research he was surprised to lean that the Government had purchased 26 acres of land with the view to discovering what amount of alcohol could be obtained from certain plants if the petrol supply failed.'".The beetroot and the mango"'l, were to be examined, but it appeared that the best results were t-- be obtai.ed from the Jerusalem artichoke. (Laughter.) Another interesting matter he learned was that the Government had secured an estate, where they hoped to establish a School of Forestry to test and examine various kinds of wood in order to find out what could be grown in this country, and what use could be made of it. Further, the Government had committees sitting on different branches of trade, and an endeavour was being made to co-ordinate tho results obtained. A detailed examination was being undertaken with regard to fabrics and textiles to find out how long fabrics of different kinds would last, and to measure their strength and ascertain what dyes they would best take. Sir C. Sherrington remarked that the prosperity of British science was largely tractable to the first-hand support and interest that had been shown towards it by such influential and cultivated societies as those which the Maecabaeans represented. YEAST AC ELIXIB OF LIFE. Experiments which have been going on for several months have brought appreciably nearer the isolation of vitamin " D —t he fat-soluble factor that i 3 a preventive or euro of rickets. Already the vitamin has been synthesised by Professor J. C. Druinmond, Dr.. Bosent\eim, aud Mr. T. A. Webster. This has been achieved by exposing cholesterol—a substance commonly occurring in oil and fats —to ultra violet light and thus obtaining a product with a powerful action against rickets. It is hoped soon to obtain a quantity of the product and then to separate from it the anti-ricket substance in a pure state, and determine its nature and properties. There exists an erroneous idea that vitamins are hypothetical substance, and Professor Drummond expresses the hope that he has now dissipated this motion. Commenting c i the expeiiments, the "British Medical Journal" regards them as being within measurable distance of isolating tho vitamin in a chemically pure form. This, is says, is a step forward of great importance. Another investigator in this branch of science, Professor'B. H. A. Plimrner, has been devoting himself for two years past, to experiments with a view to ascertaining quantitatively how much vitamin "B" was needed to maintain health. He has experimented with chickens, pigeons, cats, and rats, and has found that rats receiving no vitamin "B"—that is, deprived of yeast extract—died in r.bout 19 weeks. From the fact that the amount of yeast extract required approximately by fowls was 12 per cent., pigeons 8 per cent., rats 4 per cent., and cats more than 4 per cent., Professor Plimm*- has come ta tho conclusion that man probably requires n vitamin "B" supply equivalent to about 8 per cent, of yeast extract in the diet. At a meeting of tho section of comj arativo medicine of the Royal Society of Medicine, Professor Plmmor stated that the population of this country was living on a diet partially deficient in this vitamin, and that his experiments | suggested that the amount of wholemeal bread needed for an adequate supply of it was about 75 per cent, of the total diet. Ho disapproves of such foods as milk puddings made from vitamin—free rice with :i little milk.