BIO-CHEMISTRY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 304, 23 November 1937, Page 12

810-CHEMISTRY

ITS ROMANCE. ADDRESS TO ROTARY CLUB. An interesting address on an entertaining subject, that of the science of bio-chemistry, was delivered to the Palmerston North Rotary Club at its weekly luncheon yesterday. The speaker was Dr. T. A. Pullar, of the Palmerston North Hospital, and he was accorded throughout the keen interest of his audience. Bio-chemistry was, v briefly speaking, said Dr. Pullar, the chemistry of life. Amazing chemical processes took place in all forms of lire, both high and low, and these were very similar whether they occurred in the body of a man or of a guinea pig. Everybody at some time, probably wondered just what did go on inside one’s own body, and it was just as well perhaps that the average man did not know very much in this direction. In any experiments concerning the human body, the application of purely inorganic methods were of no value in obtaining results, as although a large part of the body was composed of water, the constituents of the remainder, a big proportion, were organio, containing compounds of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. There were two ways to approach scientific problems, continued the speaker. The first, the academic method, was to make a research exhaustive or otherwise, in order to gain a knowledge of the matter in hand, and then to go no further. The other method was the practical one in which use was made of the results of research. Such things were often determined by the subject treated, and its intrinsic value to the progress of mankind. Bio-chemistry was divided in like manner. The speaker went on to instance practical uses of this science (which is really a branch of physiology) in relation to the everyday necessities of life. He briefly mentioned its application to drugs and plants, and went on to speak of how it applied to Ills own work in the clinical field 1 and the fighting of disease. A RECENT SCIENCE. One of the interesting things about bio-chemistry was its very recent development, most of the knowledge concerning it having been gained in the present century. The first record of its use was by Dr. Garrett in 1847 in research in connection with determining the effect of uric acid crystals'on the blood and their relationship to the prevalent ailment of gout. In the field of diabetes research, bio-chemis-try had also contributed in no small measure, experiments in this direction having first been successfully made in 1922. Other important developments, including cancer research, had been made in very recent years, and the speaker wonderqd how far bio-chemis-try would go in the future. Touching on the practical application of bio-chemistry to clinical work, Dr. Pullar said that by means of this science one could determine the amount of sugar in the blood, and the amount of nitrogenous waste materials in the kidneys. Such information was of extreme value before operations were carried out. One could also estimate bow much alcohol there was in a man’s blood. ' EXPERIMENTS MADE. Dr. Pullar continued by speaking of interesting experiments made in the realms of bio-chemistry, first in relation to the isolation of the thyroxin gland, first accomplished by Kendall, in 1914, and later clone more extensively and in an interesting manner in 1925 by Harrington. Another experiment of interest was that of infecting mice with cancer by means of a coal-tar substaifce. On analysis, it had been found that the properties of the constituents of this substance were very similar to those of many of the carbon compounds in the human body. Speaking of drugs, Dr. Pullar said that curiously if certain drugs, such as quinine, were to be put in a glass vessel together with the bacteria which they were supposed to kill, no such lethal effect resulted. Such drugs were only effective if applied per medium of the human body. Dr. Pullar concluded by referring to what might be possible in the future. It might not be so roseate as the picture painted by Professor Huxley in his prophecy of a disease-free world, but the contributions of bio-chemistry would be invaluable in getting nearer to that goal. , The speaker was thanked for his address by Mr B. J. Jacobs. Mr A. A, Langlev was in the chair and there was a ‘large attendance, including the following visitors: —Messrs A. J. McEldowney (Christchurch). C. C. Odlm (Wellington), E. E. Weston (Christchurch). O. M. Wilson, S. E. Lambert E. G. Harper, and J. R. Reid (all of Wellington), and Dr. Whitehead and Mr J. H. North, of the Palmerston North Hospital.