Science of the Day

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21326, 29 October 1932, Page 7 (Supplement)

Science of the Day

IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM. % X-RAY FOR CRIMINALS Criminals of the future may have to submit to being X-rayed instead of having their finger-prints taken, if tho new system' of identification evolved by an American doctor is adopted. Tho system has been submitted for the consideration of Scotland Yard, and Chief-inspector Batley, tho finger-print expert, has spent many hours examining it, says tho Daily Mail. At his invitation Dr. Thomas A.' Poole, of Washington, visited London recently. Dr. Poole is a nose and throat specialist, and he conceived the idea of his new identification system as a result of taking many thousands of X-ray photographs in connection with his work. He claims that his system is simpler than finger-prints; that it dispenses with measurements as a basis for identification; and that it indicates the presence of affections causing criminal tendencies. Dr. Poole says:—"Briefly, tho system makes possible the establishment of an international bureau for tho identification of criminals without recourse to measurement's. When a person comes into the hands of the police an X-ray photograph is taken of his -face. This gives a record of all the bony structure, and the dozens of different cavities of the head. Most important is the record of the cavities above the eyes, termed tho ' frontal sinuses.' By these positive identification may be assured. A close study of the congestion of the sinuses and a reference to tha past history of the criminal may readily throw light on the reason for his criminal tendencies. " Treatment of the sinuses, to-day a simple matter, would in my view restore the mind to a normal healthy state. And, since a normal healthy mind is not a criminal mind, you have then removed the prime cause of the criminal tendencies. Thus do you combine crime prevention with your positive identification system." ELECTRICITY IN A DAIRY Here are a few of the things done by electricity iu a modern English dairy in Birmingham. The milk when it arrives, travels in cans along an endless belt driven by a motor. The empty cans are washed by an electric machine. Another electric machine washes the milk bottles, another sterilises them, and in turn, the bottling of the milk and the capping of the bottles are done by electric robots. Tho milk and cream are mixed to a perfectly uniform liquid by an electric homogeniser before being bottled, and when ready it is transported to people's houses by a fleet of electric milk vans. More than 150 electric motors are used in one dairy for driving the various machines. THE COMMON COLD Medical science, which has so far been baffled in its attempt to find a cure for the common cold, now advances tho theory that it is more a symptom rather than a disease. The journal of the American Chemical Society says that experiment indicates that when vitamin deficiency is overcome, the cold disappears. Just as a headache is a symptom, perhaps of worry, sleeplessness or nerves, it is suggested that a cold likewise may be a sign indicating infection of tonsils or an acid condition of the system, or a decrease in •the defences of the body due to insufficient vitamins. While vitamins may not be anti-infective agents, it has been suggested that, infection may follow the weakening of the tissues due to a vitamin deficiency. HEAT OF HUMAN BODIES Some races have been found to " live faster " than others. The rate at which certain vital-energy changes go on in the human body varies with different racial groups, according to Dr. Francis G. Benedict, of the Carnegie Institution. He studied measurements of the heat production which accompanies these changes in Mayas in Yucatan, in pure-blooded aborigines of South Australia, in groups from Madras and pure-blooded Chinese girls. He says he found wide differences in the heat production of these groups, which could not be explained entirely on account of differences in size, dietetic habits, climatic conditions or sex.