ON TRACK OF INFLUENZA

Taranaki Daily News, 10 February 1934, Page 22 (Supplement)

ON TRACK OF INFLUENZA

THE GERM AND ITS POISON. WORK OF A ROYAL MEDALLIST. On Dr. P. P- Laidlaw, who has received from the Royal Society a royal medal, the thanks of .the whole world may some day be bestowed, for he has put science on the track, of the cause of influenza (says the Children s Newspaper). t * u Influenza, like the common cold, from which so many are now suffering, is not caused by a germ that can be seen, but by an organism so small, that .the greatest microscope cannot disclose it as an individual. ■ ■ - . ' „ It is only by its effects and. its powers of growth and multiplication that .it can be recognised; and even when it is present in possible billions it can still be only described in bulk as a virus, or by a simpler word as a poison. . Six years ago Dr. Laidlaw, pursuing the study of virus diseases in general examined with the most successful results the cause of distemper in dogs. He proved that distemper was caused by a virus and not by a'germ, mid he found a way of preventing the onset of distemper by inoculation. AN OPENED DOOR. Distemper was the first virus disease to yield to examination and treatment, and it opened a door to further research iii other virus diseases, 1 in yellow fever, for example. But research into the very important virus disease of influenza could' not be pursued as in dog distemper, because it could not be made the subject of experiment. It attacks human beings, and possibly chimpanzees, but apparently no other animals.

Dr. Laidlaw found the way out of the experimental difficulty. He discovered that though a ferret, for example, could not be inoculated with human influenza under ordinary conditions, if at the same time it was inoculated with a recognisable and visible germ usually, present in patients suffering from influenza it would incur influenza. ' . ' ■ Two things were necessary- for. infection: they, were the invisible virus and the visible .microbe. . With this: knowledge in its hand science, knowing how influenza actually arises, can go on to find a way -of preventing it. CROSSING ROADS BY CLOCKWORK. NEW KIND OF TRAFFIC SIGNAL.. Experiments are being made with a new kind of traffic signal at Geneva, and it is hoped it will aid both motorist and pedestrian. • In place of the three coloured lights in separate holders the three colours are included in a clock-like dial with figures round its edge and a pointer sweeping round it. The dial is in four sections, amber, red, amber, and green, and the position. of the revolving pointer indicates at a glance how many seconds must elapse before the next change occurs and it points to safety or danger. A motorist approaching a signal of which the pointer is almost past the amber and nearing the green will be able to slow down instead of preparing, to pull up and start again.* A pedestrian, too, will see clearly how long the green is due to last and will be able to cross the road without nervousness or flurry. The amber sections, of course, need be very brief in such a device, for an intelligent and loyal obedience to the clockhand would eliminate the need for them. ALICE IN WINDOWLAND. 3 PROPOSED MEMORIAL. Alice in Wonderland is to be one of the figures in a memorial window to Lewis Carroll in the Church at Daresbury, near Warrington. It was at Daresbury Parsonage that the little Charles Dodgson lived, for the first eleven years of his life. He was the oldest of eleven children, and spent much of his time playing with .strange pets, such as toads, frogs, and worms. Many of his memories of the Wonderland he created for himself at Daresbury must be woven into his story-books. Children of to-day and for centuries to come will love this painted window, which will show the Christmas scene at Bethlehem with Jesus* in the manger. On one side of the design is the kneeling figure of Lewis Carroll with Alice ing near him. St. Francis of Assisi and Gabbio, the wolf, are seen on the other side. ’

At the bottom of the window are some of the quaint little figures from Tenhiel’s famous illustrations. We like to think that Lewis Carroll, who had a deeply religious mind, would have been pleased with the reverent way in which the design has been carried out, for, the characters have a natural and harmonious association with Bethlehem. •

TOO MANY SMALL FISH. WIDER MESH FOR THE NET. A recent Act of the British Parliament increased the size of the mesh of the nets used by fishermen at sea. This was done owing to the', fact that during the past 20 years there has been a great increase in the number of. small fish caught and marketed, amounting to twice as many in the case of haddock, and raising the percentage of small, to large fish of that species to the high figure of 86 per cent. Other countries are now thinking about this question. The depletion, of the seas of the younger fish was, of course, an act. of folly on the part of the industry, but to let to-morrow take care of itself was a principle more and more acted on until, the State stepped in. .. . Other nations have realised that it is harmful to take small fish from, the sea, and this problem is to be considered at an International Council for the Exploitation of the Sea.

WHERE ARE DICK WHITTINGTONS ? GOLDEN OPPORTUNITES MISSED. Dick Whittington had not half the chance of succeeding in life that London boys possess to-day. . Behind the doors of the Kennington Commercial Institute a golden opportunity is awaiting every intelligent student who attends L.C.C. evenmg classes three times a week. The wonder is that so few make use of a chance which may lead to fame and fortune. By paying only 22s it is possible, for a boy after leaving school to gain in bis spare time a London University degree which would put him well on the road to becoming a barrister. . From September to June the student, if he is a Londoner, attends courses for three nights a week, paying a fee of 18s for this period. If he makes 80 per cent of the possible . attendances he is entitled to enter for the second year, paying a fee of only 2s. This low fee is repeated for another year if he has again made 80 per cent of attendances. When he has gained his LL.B, the student who wishes to be called to the Bar would have to enter one of the Inns, eat his dinners, buy a gown and a wig, and pay the necessary fees. But. at a cost no greater than the .fees paid by a student training as a butcher at the Smithfield Meat Trades Institute it is possible for Everyman to gain his LL.B. Where are our Dick Whittingtons?