SCIENCE SIFTINGS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 48, 6 December 1923, Page 54

SCIENCE SIFTINGS

= By” VOLT” 1~~~

Plants Keep Us Healthy. The plants growing in pots which w e use to decorate our rooms play a great part in keeping us fit, especially in hot, dry weather. The roots of the plant dig deeply into the soil and spread themselves in every direction. Their mission is to collect water, which is pumped up into stem, leaves, and flowers by means of a mechanism more efficient than anything the engineer has been able to design. When it reaches the foliage this moisture is given off into the atmosphere, which it makes fresh and cool. A single plant may give off into the air from a pint to a quart of water in 24 hours. Plants also serve to keep the air pure. We take in oxygen from the air and breathe out carbonic acid gas. I lants, however, take in this gas and give out oxygen. Electrical Cures; Will Operations Become Obsolete? Wonderful discoveries in surgery have been made during the last few years. A hint is even thrown out that, at some future date, many surgical operations may be dispensed with, and electrical treatment administered instead. In the realms of pathology and bacteriology, experiments have been carried out which will be. far-reaching in their results. Progress has been made in other directions, declares a writer in the London Evening Standard. Take for instance, the treatment of X-ray, massage, and electrical methods. It is generally understood that X-ray apparatus is used merely tor locating fractures, gallstones, etc. This is only part of its purpose. To-day it not only discovers the why and wherefore of disease; it cures it. Eczema and many other skin troubles have been successfully treated in this way, and patients suffering from nervous disorders have derived considerable benefit. Many leading physicians and surgeons believe that rheumatism, which is the root of many physical evils, can be completely cured by the new process of electrical treatment. But in surgery the most notable progress has been made. How many people have a deep-rooted hatred of ‘The knife”? The very mention of the word “operation” sounds like the death-knell to them. Let me describe a recent invention. Some years ago a growth o,n the bladder could only be removed by means of an operation. The patient would have to remain in a nursing home or a hospital for from four to six weeks, and then there would be the usual period of convalescence, in addition to the expense, discomfort, and pain, there was the shock to the nervous system which all operations involve. To-day many of our surgeons are using what is known as the Diathermy Apparatus. No operation is required; the growth is dispersed by electrical treatment, and in some cases patients have been completely cured in less than a week. Scientists are busily engaged on other quests which may make operations for certain • well-known complaints unnecessary. Much of their research work is based upon the experiences gained during the Great War. In France pathologists are taking the ordinary practitioner into their confidence, and the' outcome cannot fail to be productive of good. It will not be surprising to learn that another Pasteur has arisen. The French temperament is peculiarly adapted for (research work. Their laboratories are a model in perfection. “That which is obscure finds a challenge in their powers of elucidation; that which at present seems to be beyond control appeals to their capacity for inventiveness.” The Allied nations co-operated for war is it too much to ask for a similar co-operation in the fight against disease? The respective medical councils might convene an Allied scientific and medical committee in order to analyse and systematise the results of the war. The ideal of medical science is .a world free from physical pain. Its realisation has been hindered by such things as medical etiquette, professional jealousy, and insular prejudice. Y