SCIENCEVOL. 103 Friday, April 12, 1946 NO. 2676

In This Issue

Advisory Committee on Scientific PersonnelM. H. Trytten

Need for a Meaningful B.S. Degree

Canadian Researches on BAL

Leslie Young

Technical Papers In the Laboratory

U. S. News and Notes International News

Letters to the Editor Scientific Book Register Book Reviews

Complete Table of Contents Page 2

Published by the

American Association for the Advancement of Science

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SCIENCEEditor: Willard L. Valentine

Assitant Editor: Mildred Atwood Advertising Manager: Theo. J. ChristensenPolicy Committee: Malcolm H. Soule, Roger Adams, Walter R. Miles and Kirtley F. Mather

VOL. 103 FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1946 No. 2676

Contents

Advisory Committee on Scientific Personnel:M.H. Trytten ............................................ 437

Need for a Meaningful B.S. Degree:Advisory Committee on Scientific Personnel .................. 438

Canadian Researches on BAL (British Anti-Lewis-ite):Leslie Young ........................................... 439

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Thiamine Deficiency and High Estrogen Findingsin Uterine Cancer and in Menorrhagia:

J. Ernest AyreandW.A.G. Bauld ................................. 441

The Antibacterial Activity of Protamine Zinc In-sulin:Carol Houcck Bollenback and Sidney W. Fox ......... 445

U. S. NEWS AND NOTES .. ...... 447

INTERNATIONALNEWS ............................. 451

IN THE LABORATORY

A Method for Determining Bacterial Resistanceand Susceptibility to Sulfonamides and Peni-cillin:Roger D. Reid and Dorothy Trotter Anderson ...... 454

About the Chemical Nature of Syphilis Antigen:E.Fischerand F. Velasco ......................... ................... 455

A Cheap and Speedy Method of Cleaning OldMicroscopeSlides: G. J. Spencer ....................................... 456

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Sources of Our Future Scientists:ClarenceJ.Gamble ............................................ 457

B-Glycoside Formation in Plants From AbsorbedChemicals:Lawrence P. Miller .......................................... 458

On Recognition of High School Science Training:Roswell Ward ....... ..................................... 458

Recent Additions to the Dudley Herbarium:IraL. Wiggins ....... ..................................... 459

New Use for DDT: Ernst T. Krebs, Jr 459

BOOK REVIEWS

Photosynthesis and related processes. Vol. I:Chemistry of photosynthesis, chemosynthesis andrelated processes in vitro and in vivo:Eugene I. Rabinowitch.

Reviewedby Selig Hecht .................. .......................... 460

Sampling statistics and applications: fundamentalsof the theory of statistics:James G. Smith and Acheson J. Duncan.

ReviewedbyRaymondFranzen .......................................... 462

The bacterial cell: Ren,6 J. Dubos.Reviewedby C. H. Werkman ............................................ 462

SCIENTIFIC BOOK REGISTER ... 464

ScIEcNC: A Weekly Journal, since 1900 the official organ Communications relative to advertising should be addressed.of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. to THEo. J. CHIRISTENSEN, Massachusetts and Nebraska Ave-Published by the American Association for the Advancement nues, Washington 16, D. C.of Science every Friday at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Communications relative to membership in the Association

and to all'matters of business of the Association should beCommunications relative to articles offered for publication addressed to the Permanent Secretary, A.A.A.S., Smithsonian

should be addressed to Editor, Massachusetts and Nebraska Institution Building, Washington 25, D. C.Avenues, Washington 16. D. C. Annual subscription, $6.00 Single copies, 15 cents

Entered as second-lass matter July 18, 1923 at the Post Office at Lancaster. Pa.. under the Act of March 3, 1879.

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SCIENCEVol. 103, No. 2676 Friday, April 12, 1946

Advisory Committee on Scientific PersonnelM. H. Trytten, Chairman

THE EXTENT OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHunder government administration is clearlyto be greater in the postwar years than ever

in history. The military departments alone will befaced with the need for large-scale activities if theyare to keep pace with the unfolding of science. Butalso the other departments having scientific respon-sibilities will need to enhance the pace and scope oftheir activities. These facts have led governmentscientists to see the need to improve the employmentstatus of Civil Service scientists by revised CivilService rules and regulations affecting scientific em-ployees, so that government service in this field mayachieve a career potentiality on a par with any othertype of scientific employment.To attain this end, there has been established by

the Civil Service Commission an Advisory Committeeon Scientific Personnel. The recommendation forthe establishment of the Committee was made by theCouncil of Personnel Administration, the official gov-ernment policy-forming organization in personnelmatters. The members of the new Advisory Commit-tee were named in each case by the Secretary of theFederal department represented. The chairman wasselected from a nongovernment agency to provide rep-resentation of the point of view of organized science.

The. activities of the ACSP have been in two mainareas. Important from the first was the need tofacilitate in-service training for the rather large army(ca. 5,000-10,000) of Federal scientific and technicalemployees at the graduate level in the Washingtonarea. This problem has involved canvasses to deter-mine course needs and course offerings, and efforts toassist in solving educational problems associated with

this work. These and attendant problems are beingmet by an auxiliary committee, the Science TrainingGroup, under the chairmanship of Dr. M. W. White,Dr. Philip Powers, secretary.The other major area of interest of the ACSP has

been in the regulations under which the scientificCivil Service works. Here, too, an auxiliary commit-tee has been set up and has been working to developconcrete recommendations which, after concurrenceby the senior committee, are then taken up by theACSP with the Civil Service Commission and othersfor discussion. The members of the auxiliary com-mittee on Civil Service regulations are: Dr. A. H.Hausrath, Navy Department; Dr. K. E. Lohman,U. S. Geological Survey; Dr. W. H. Larrimer, De-partment of Agriculture; Dr. M. J. Shear, NationalCancer Institute; Dr. F. G. Brickwedde, NationalBureau of Standards; Dr. R. C. Duncan, Naval Ord-nance Laboratory; and Lt. Col. T. H. Whitehead,Chemical Warfare Service.Perhaps from time to time some discussion of par-

ticular recommendations may occur in the scientificperiodicals. In view of the increasing role of scien-tists in the Government, there can be no doubt thatall scientists have a stake in the matter. Some rec-ommendations have already been made, and, in fact, theExecutive Order of 16 February 1946, providing forreturn of Civil Service to a peacetime status, includesseveral provisions reflecting the thinking of the Com-mittee. Other recommendations are now under con-sideration. The article which follows is deemed of in-terest to scientists generally as a by-product of theconsiderations of this Committee.

MEMBERS OF THE ADvisoRY COMmITTEE ON SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL

M. H. Trytten, Chairman, Office of Scientific Personnel, National Re-search Council; Ralph D. Bennett, Capt., USNR, Naval Ordnance Labo-ratory; Edward U. Condon, National Bureau of Standards; R. E. Dyer,National Institute of Health (represented by L. F. Badger); StanleyB. Fracker, Agricultural Research Administration; Kenneth L. Heaton,Office of the Secretary of War; Thomas B. Nolan, U. S. Geological Sur-vey. (Ross Pollock, Civil Service Commission, liaison.)

437

Vol. 103, No. 2676

tubes for 24 hours. In order to test the possibilitythat the cells are prevented from proliferating becauseof engulfment within the solid, shake cultures were

TABLE 1LOWEST DILUTIONS OF PROTAMINE AND INSULIN PREPARA-

TIONS PERMITTING GROWTH IN SEVERALSPECIES OF BACTERIA

Microorganism

3 axa2 = a z

L. arabinosus on Bacto- 1 N.I.* 1 N.I.Peptone medium 20,000 85,000

L. arabinosus on syn- 1 N.I. 1 N.I.thetic medium 40,000 200,000

Staph. aureus Heatley 1 N.I. 1 N.I.20,000 50,000

E. coli 1 N.I. 1 N.I.10,000 25,000

* N.I. signifies no Inhibition by the undiluted solution.The undiluted solution of zinc insulin contained 1.8 mg. ofzinc insulin powder (Lillvy) per cc. Dilution figures In thetable refer to the fraction: weight of substance tested/weight of solution tested.

run on Lactobacillus arabinosus with a suspension ofprotamine zinc insulin at a concentration that wasclose to the threshold value in tubes. Results com-parable to those for cultures in tubes were obtained.

Effective concentrations were determined by testingsuccessive twofold dilutions of the original solutionor suspension. All solutions were sterilized by Seitzfiltration, and all mixtures were aseptically preparedfrom such solutions. The protamine zinc insulinpreparation was obtained from commercial ampoules.

Scanning Science-Almost the only power clearly and expressly vested

in Congress by the Constitution which has remainedpractically unexercised to the present day is that offixing the standard of weights and measures. Formore than a generation we lived with no legal stand-ard by which could be determined even the amount ofmetal which went into the coin that came from ourmints. Gallatin procured from France a platinumkilogram and meter in 1821 and from England a troypound in 1827, and in 1828 the latter was recognizedas the standard for mint purposes. In 1830 the Senatedirected the Secretary of the Treasury to have a com-parison made of the standards of weight and measureused at the principal custom houses of the UnitedStates and report the same to the Senate. This was

done, and large discrepancies and errors were foundto exist. Varying scales and varying measures inevi-

The zinc insulin powder and salmine sulfate were

the gifts of Mr. George Walden, of Eli Lilly andCompany, to whom our thanks are expressed.The phenol used as a preservative in protamine

zinc insulin preparations contributes but slightly to itsantibacterial activity. The data in Table 1 indicate in-appreciable antibacterial activity for .the supernatantliquid of centrifuged preparations. Substantiallythe same antibacterial activity was recorded forprotamine zinc insulin suspensions prepared in thislaboratory without the inclusion of any added pre-

servative. The observed antibacterial effeets are there-fore not attributable to the phenol found in commer-

cial preparations.The activity of protamine zinc insulin appears to

be approximately equivalent to the activity of thecontained protamine (3.5 parts of protamine zincinsulin contain 1.25 parts of protamine). It seems

reasonable to conclude, therefore, that the salminezinc insulin dissociates to liberate salmine. This be-havior is comparable to the gradual release of insulinfor its regulated action when administered in insolublecomplex form with protamine.

These observations indicate that there may be a

previously unrecognized medical utility in the inclu-sion of protamine in insulin preparations.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.6.

7.

ReferencesAMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. New and non-official

remedies, 1944, 431.Fox, S. W., BOLLENBACK, C. H., and FLING, M. Unpub-

blished experiments.Fox, S. W.. FLING, M., and BOLLENBACK, G. N. J. biol.

Chem., 1944, 155, 465.KUIKEN, K. A.. NORMAN, W. H.. LYMAN, C. M., HALE, F.,

and BLOTTER, L. J. biol. Chem., 1943, 151, 616.MCCLEAN, D. J. Path. Bact., 1931, 34. 459.MCMAHAN, J. R.. and SNELL, E. E. J. biol. Chem., 1944,

152, 84.MILLER, B. F., ABRAMS, R., DORFMAN, A., and KLEIN, M.

Science, 1942, 96, 4l28.

tably produced varying rates of duty. The TreasuryDepartment, therefore, in the exercise of its executivepower and as a necessary incident and means to theexecution of the law and the observance of the Con-stitution, adopted for the use of that Department theTroughton scale, then in the possession and use of theCoast Survey, as the unit of length, and the troypound of the mint as the unit of weight. From thelatter the avoirdupois pound was to be derived, assum-

ing that they were 7,000 grains in the pound avoir-dupois to 5,760 in the pound troy. By the Act of

March 3, 1881, similar sets of standards were directed

to be supplied to the various agricultural collegeswhich had received land grants from the United Statesat a cost not exceeding $200 for each set. This law

was complied with as best it could be under the limi-

tation of cost prescribed.-27 March 1896

446 SCIENCE

April 12, 1946

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SCIENCE 461

April 12, 1946

dimensions," should engender lively discussion. Per-haps "the methods employed by bacteriologists ratherthan the biological material" are defined by the micro-scopic size of the bacteria which impose certain physicaland chemical characteristics, rather than the biologicalmaterial.

In speaking of the phylogeny of bacteria, if weaccept with the author the principle of "retrogradeevolution by loss of certain characters," one may begthe question in reasoning that heterotrophs precededautotrophs. The latter possess so many physiologicalabilities, e.g. formation of vitamins and enzymes, thatthe argument works both ways, and no conclusion isreached. Apparently we have not determined what arethe essential losses which constitute "retrograde evolu-tion" or "loss variation."

Until the Twentieth Century bacteriology was ascience of new forms of life without much regard toactivities. The great productivity era in bacteriologycame with the realization that bacteriological phenomenaconstitute events of great importance to man-transfor-mation of organic matter and parasitism. During thepast few decades the problems of bacteriology have beenstated in terms of the classical sciences and of theprevalent biological, physiological, and biochemical phi-losophies. Dubos points out that much of our theoreti-cal knowledge was a by-product of the solution of prac-tical problems by empirical methods, and examples aregiven of the practical advantage of theoretical knowledge,e.g. development of vaccines, therapeutic sera.

Bacterial specificity is discussed from the point ofview of its various levels, i.e. strain, species, genus, etc.,and of its type, i.e. immunologic, enzymic, structural, orbiochemical.The author points out that a too narrow interpretation

of the dogma of the fixity of bacterial species led to aneglect for nearly 50 years of one of the most intriguingand important characteristic properties of the bacterialcell, namely, its ability to undergo environmental andhereditary transformations. Final recognition of thisphenomenon suggested powerful and original techniquesfor the study of cellular organization and provided newpoints of view which define the place of bacteriologyamong the biological sciences.

Pertinent to the systematic chaos occurring in theclassification of bacteria is the statement to the effectthat in the description of bacterial groups (e.g. species)descriptive characters are used which are precisely thosethat have been found to undergo variation. It seemslikely that the progress of bacterial taxonomy and thestudy of evolutionary trends among bacteria will requirethat cultures be described in terms of their multiplepotentialities and not of an accidental phenotype.

The chapters are well organized and interestinglywritten. The reviewer appreciated particularly theauthor's discussions of bacterial variability (Chap. V)and bacteriostatic agents (Chap. VIII). This book isessential to bacteriologists, biochemists, and biologists.

C. H. WERKMANIowa State College, Ames, Iowa

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SCIENCE 463