N
ATURAL gas travels from Texas to Cleveland, Ohio, via the new 24-inch pipe line, in six days. The lack of a uniform screw thread, according to an estimate by William L. Batt of the War Production Board, has cost the Allies $100,000,000. Resinous compounds have been developed by the Wilmington Chemical Corporation and Synvar Corporation for use in the sealing of oil wells. Accordine to Missoula oatholoeists. " . traces of cobalt are essential to the proper growth and development of sheep. Tiny gyro-stahiliners, with which certain American tanks are equipped, cnablc gunners to fire accurately while racing across rough bsttlefields. The ideal climate, according to S. F. Markham, is one in which man neither perspires nor shivers when at rest. With the advent of air conditioning of offices, homes, and shops, both mental and yhysical productivity should be stepped up. During 1944 the three synthetic rubber plants, which are operated by the Government, produced 53 new synthetic rubbers. Of these, eight types have been adopted for specific applications. When 2.4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid is applied to Lawns and grass plots to the extent of five gallons, of a solution containing 1 part in 2000, per 1000 square feet of plot, the weeds are destroyed without injury to blue grass. Relatively resistant weeds include broad-leaf plantain, crabgrass, daisy, sheep sorrel, and varrow. whereas the treatment is e5ective anainst broad-leaf dock, chickweed, dandelion, knotreed, lawn pennywort, narrowleaf plantain, pimeed. and wood \omel. Cell-tite, which isasynthetic rubber prorluct,isclaimed tohare the highest strength-weight ratio of any commercial product. Fibrin foam, a by-product of blood banks, has been used effectively in the treatment of hemophilia. The wrapper leaves of cabbage contain about two times as much vitamin C as do the inner leaves. It is reported that over 3W marketable products are produced from soybean and 200 from corn. The Brilish Medical Journal reports that penicillin lozenges have been used successfully "to combat strep sore throat, trench month, and other mouth and throat infections." W i u m chloride deficiency, according to s medical authority, may increase susceptibility to infantile paralysis. Rocket mail from New York to London in about an hour is both a possibility and a probability. I t is stimated that about one-fourth of all the water is beneath dry land. Preliminary experiments indicate that the i n vioo dyeing of trees to produce colored lumber is a probability. When an appropriate dye is fed into the trunk of a young tree by gravity, the dye is distributed uniformly throughout the structural tissue. Lavender, blue, orange, and yellow woods have been produced from small trees. The sweetness of licorice is attributed to glycyrrhizim, which is 50 times as sweet as canesugar. So-called gamma-globulin, which is a. by-product of hlwd banks, is the "material of choice" for protection against measles. Transfusions of whole blwd, as the result of methods now available to keep it fresh in its long journey, are available in the mid-Pacific and the Philippines. A recently drilled oil well in Texas has a depth of nearly three miles-15,279 feet. A $2,000,000 synthetic rubber plant is under construction in Sweden. Experiments by Campbell and West. British paint chemists, indicate that the use of DDT in interior paints provides satisfactory protection against 5ies and other insects. A vat with a capacity of 1000 cubic feet, filled with a certain
strain of meaty-flavored f w d yeasts, will produce as much protein per year as a 1000-acre field of corn or wheat. Uranine is a fluorescent oil which is used by airmen and sailors, afloat on rubber rafts, to signal by night to scouting planes. 2, Colorful, long-wearing plastic shoes, which aremadeof vinylite, areexpected to be availablesoon. AUicin, which is similar to penicillin, is a new drug, which has been isolated from garlic. The research group a t the regional laboratory a t Albany, California, has produced a highly elastic, synthetic fiher from chicken feathers. Folic acid, according to preliminary tests a t Mount Sinai Hospital, is dective against cancer in mice. Pulverized coal, mixed with water, may be transported economically by pipe line. About 130.000 miles of pipelinenow serve the U.S. in transporting crude oil, gasoline, and natural gas. About three tons of tin are nsed in the construction of a suhmarine. From 1920 to 1940 the number of industrial laboratories in the United States increased from 297 to 2350. From 1925 to 1942, the exports of U. S. chemicals and allied products increased from $40,000,000 to $4,000,000,000. Material and labor postwar costs of synthetic rubber, according to the Office of Rubber Director, is estimated as: neopreneGN, 19 cents per pound; butyl, 12 cents; Buna-S, 11 cents; butadiene, 7 cents; and styrene, 5 cents. Of 1200 chemicals tested for the killing of larvae in wounds, diphenylaminewas found to be the best. Dimethyl phthalate is reported to be an effective repellant for chiggers, fleas, flies, gnats, mosquitoes, sandflies, and ticks. About 25,000 tons of reclaim rubber are nsed per month currently, if available, in the production of camelback for retreading (8 per cent), heels and sales (17 per cent), miscellaneous items (25 per cent), and tires and tubes (50 per cent). About 16 per cent of the reclaim is obtained by the Hall-Bushnagel process, 80 per cent by the Marks alkali method, 3 per cent hy the Mitchell acid process, and the rest by other procedures. The reclaim of synthetic rubber is on the increase. When the War Production Board asked for a temporary house which is capable of withstanding heat, rain, snow, and wind, the answer was found in the production of a paper house by the Institute of Paper Chemistry. This paper house accommodates four, costs $110, and can he assembled in one hour. Hypholiu, which is obtained from Penicilliun noteturn. the producer of penicillin, is about 2000 times as potent as peni~illin. A new white paint pigment, tetra lead pyrophosphate, 1s superior in Light reilectiug tests to the usual titanium pigment. Dicumarol. 3,3'-methylenehis(4-hydro~y~0umarin),and heparin,anti-bld-clottingagents,may prove to be very effective in the prevention and treatment of coronary thrombosis. The production of tannin is one of the largest chemical industries of Brazil. The advances in the chemistry and technology of bonding materials or glues have been so marked that someone has predicted that "the world of tomorrow will be welded with a brush." The nroduction of oenicillin in 1945 is exvected to tride the to&io;tput in 1944. ' Styraloy, which is produced from styrene and butadiene, is the trade name of a new Dow product which is a cross between plastics, rubber, and wood. About 85 per cent of the total rubber requirements in the U. S. are being met sstisfactorily by the various synthetic products. - Gammexane, according to Roland Slade of Imperial Chemical Industries. is a new insecticide which is said to be five times as -potent as an insecticide as is DDT. -ED. F. DEGERING
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