SCIENCE TRIUMPHS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 134, 8 May 1945, Page 5

SCIENCE TRIUMPHS

DISCOVERIES IN WAR. BRITISH SUPERIORITY. [By HarJcy V. Usill, the well-known commentator on world affairs and author of “Tho Story cf the British People” and “The Story oE the , World.”]

Between the two world wars Britain was engaged upon the greatest experiment of all, scientific or otherwise, being nothing less than an attempt by example to maintain peace. The odds were heavy against her, since Hitler was determined to plunge the world once again into a blood bath. Although he always feared Britain, his advisers had succeeded in persuading him that the British were decadent, or, in any case, that by the time they woke up it would be too late. _ Whereas this assessment of the situation may have appeared logical, it left out of account two vitally important factors. First, the extraordinary facility of the British for improvisation when faced with a grave danger, and secondly, the qualitative superiority of her scientific and engineering skill. It was the latter, for example, which enabled the Battle of Britain to be won against tremendous quantitative odds, while the possession of the former enabled Britain to catch up with and finally overtake the Germans in every field of modern tyarfare. Once Hitler’s challenge had been accepted the whole resources of Britain were mobilised for total war. This gigantic effort resulted in the greatest war production per head of population and the highest quality all round of any other nation, friend or foe. And this, be it remembered when the enemy for the most part was only 25 miles from Britain’s shores, and when her chief cities and. ports were being subjected to the concentrated wrath of the Luftwaffe. It is in this setting of an island people at grips with a powerful enemy and dependent largely upon the sea for the very necessities of life that the following summary of scientific achievement should bo viewed. FREEDOM- OF SCIENTISTS.

For science to flourish it must bo free—it cannot flourish if made subservient to any extraneous agency or political ideology. It is true, of course, that under the compelling influence of the Hitler regime scientists produced weapons directed towards achieving a quick knock-out blow, or, like the flying bombs, aimed at disturbing civilian morale; but over a long period, if the initial efforts do not succeed, the mere possession of a party label is not an effective substitute for the concentrated effort required for waging a long war to a successful conclusion. It is important to remember, too, that the true scientist is objective in his approach to a problem, and, although liis fellow human beings may use the results of liis work for killing each other quicker and in greater numbers than before, it is no direct concern of his. It is because British scientists have been allowed to maintain this objectivity that they have played such

an important part when called upon to concentrate their genius upon outstripping tho enemy in every field of science. Had they been dragooned or “politically. unsatisfactory” members eliminated, then the ultimate results would have been very little, if any, better than the Germans’.

War conditions demand the highest degree of ' health throughout the entire belligerent population, both civil and military;, they also demand that the best treatment shall bo available for the unusual risks, physical and psychological, to which both combatants and non-combatants are exposed. It is appropriate, then, to commence this survey with a brief account of medical achievements, since the maintenance of health, both mental and physical, is vital to the waging of total war. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. The British medical profession has risen admirably to the calls made upon it. Medicine, i'or instance, undoubtedly contributed* to the North African victories, where incapacities through illness were held'to a remarkably Jow level. In the critical months, September to November, 1942, tile total of Eighth Army daily admissions to casualty clearing stations and field ambulances, on account of sickness and battle casualties, was below 2 per 4000 strength. In Rommel’s Afnka Korps, on the other hand, 40 to 50 per cent, of the front-line troops engaged at El Alamein w.ere incapacitated by dysentery alone. In Britain, although many thousands of people were living in shelters and underground tube stations, the preventive medical measures employed enabled the air attacks of 1940-41 to be faced without any serious outbreak of disease. The discovery which has attracted the most attention has been penicillin. The pioneer, Professor Alexander Fleming, of St. Mary’s Hospital, London, had been investigating for many years the growth of staphylococci, and by 1929 a number of organisms had been recorded whose by-products inhibited the growth of other forms of microscopic life. These discoveries, however, had little practical application to medicine, since there was still a vital missing link. The clue to this was supplied by the accidental contamination of a round glass dish containing an agar medium. Fleming noticed a mould was growing, in the neighbourhood of which the staphylococci colonies were dissolving. He immediately saw the significance o! this, but much patient work was needed before he and his all-British team could carry out the final trial on human beings. When six cases had been treated, certain facts stood out clearly. The first was that penicillin encouragingly benefited patients suifering from severe sepsis. The second was that vastly larger quantities of the drug were urgently needed as rapid excretion called for heavy and frequent doses. It was then that academic workers collaborated with commercial manufacturers, and in 1942, Florey, a fellow scientist, went to- the United States and placed at the disposal of the experts there all the theoretical and

practical knowledge which the British team of co-workers had accumulated.

Whereas penicillin is the major contribution to chemotherapy by Britain’s wartime medicine, there are other important fields in which great progress has been made. The work of a London bacteriologist named Tildes, and of Mellwain, of Sheffield, in the mechanism of sulplionamides led to many more types of bacteria being led into lethal errors of diet by chemotherapy. Some valuable additions, too, have been made in the important work of synthesising-vitam.ns and hormones. Vitamins A, B, C and D are almost the subject of daily conversation, but there are others of equal importance, but mainly of interest, to experts. These few examples can only give a hare indication of the resourcefulness, ingenuity and inventiveness of Britain’s research workers in the field of chemotherapy and of the skill of manufacturers in high-grade improvisation when faced with the problem of supplying large-scale substitutes for drugs which formerly came from abroad. BOTANISTS IN THE CAMPAIGN. Peacetime visitors to London almost invariably find their way to Kew Gardens. Today, those ltoyal Botanic Gardens are the home of Britain’s leading botanists, who, shrouded in secrecy and under the watchful eye of Sir Geoffrey Evans, have been engaged in experiments which have contributed to the amazing progress of Britain’s scientific discoveries in substitute war materials.

Here, where before the war were immaculate gardens and lawns, has been encouraged the growth of common weeds, such as stinging nettles and dandelions. The dandelion, in particular, after the fall of Malaya, assumed considerable importance, since certain types have potential value for rubber production. By the study of specimens British botanists have been able to say which are valuable species and where in the world they are likely to grow One type, which comes from the Ukraine and Poland, has been found to yield between 651 b and 1001 b of rubber to the acre.

The fibre of the stinging nettle, which is composed of pure cellulose, is used for making a high grade paper, and the dried leaves go to the manufacture, of chorophyll —used _in certain medicines —and as a feeding stuff for animals.

Potato production has become of vital importance not only in Britain, but also in such, places as Malta, Cyprus, Kenya and Nigeria. The farmers abroad, however, depended upon an annual supply. of seeds from Britain, but the bulkiness of the normal seed led inevitably to a delay in shipping. To meet this problem the Kew experts set to work to solve this question of bulk and perfected a new system for raising crops from “eyes.” From the normal crops of tubers the rose end of the potato only is dried, and the resultant “chips,” weighing but one-fifteenth of the weight of the usual seed, are light enough to be flown, if necessary, wherever they

may be required. Much research, too, has gone t< the development of fertilisers fo various types of soils and to the dh covery of antidotes to fungoid and in sect pests of vegetables and fruit.* Tli Jodrell Laboratory has carried out wide range of experiments connects with fibres, timbers and medicinn plants. It has been found, for instance that elder wood, once considered use less, provides a valuable source o pith. So from such unpromising materia as garden weeds and . elder wood British botanists have built up an in valuable source of essential wa material, and much of the result o this research will have considerabb value in the post-war world. As in the case of potato seeds, si with other types of food transpor has presented a serious problem Normally the transport of food ove: long distances requires special refrig eration to guard against decay, and although improved methods of canning have helped to solve this difficulty there still remained the problem _ o bulk in transport. Decay is a chemica and bacteriological process which re quires the presence of water. Dehydra tion, or the complete removal of water solved the two problems—removal o the cause of decay and considerabh reduction in bulk.