RESEARCH of
fluorine-containing synthetic fibers? W a t e r Piping—The chemist might turn his attention to the improvement of water piping. The fining of steel pipe with plastic would not only mini mize the problem of corrosion but would also lower the pipe's resistance to the flow of liquids. Smog—The problem of smog is caused, in part, b y the fumes of oil re fineries, backyard incinerators, trucks, and automobiles. Why don't we ap ply our knowledge of oxidation cata lysts t o all these sources of trouble? These problems can be solved a t a price.
Virus Destroys Cancer Cells In Animal Experiments
Harry Ν. Holmes (right), professor emeritus of Oberlin College, receives Norris Award for outstanding achievement in the teaching of chemistry· Making the presentation is C. Richard Morgan, chairman of the ACS Northeastern Section
Chemical Cure for Polio Chemists face countless unsolved problems in fields of medicine, textiles, plastics CAMBRIDGE, MASS.-Many of t h e great medical discoveries in recent years have been made b y chemists. A n outstanding exception, says Harry N . Holmes, professor emeritus of Oberlin College, is Jonas E. Salk's brilliant work in polio. "However, I venture to predict," says Holmes, "that the cure for polio, when found, will come from a chemical laboratory." Holmes made this prediction at a meeting of the ACS Northeastern Sec tion, which honored him with its James Flack Norris Award for outstanding achievement in the teaching of chemistry. Holmes lists these other important fields where chemical research is needed: New Fuels—Intensive study is needed in new types of fuels. The chemist already knows how 10 convert abundant coal into liquid fuels and other chemicals. At present, however, t h e process is not competitive with r>etroleixm. Oil shales, found in large quantities in Colorado, involve tough refining problems, partly solved by the U. S. Bureau of Mines and just now be ing tackled by a leading oil firm. In addition, the extensive oil sands of western Canada are being explored. Clearly, the end of liquid fuels is a long w a y off. Nuclear Energy—Although atomic power i s a threat to t h e coal industry, 2294
i t is not feared by petroleum producers. T h e fraction of oil used for electric power generation is small. It may be nearly 10 years before atomic power will compete economically with coal, except in large installations far from coal fields. The chemist's contribution to defense against atomic bombs will be the dis covery of drugs to combat the effects of radiation, especially from the fall out of radioactive dust. The chemist may also b e asked to develop means of combating nerve gases. Synthetic Fibers—The great success of synthetic fibers has stimulated re search leading to improvements in the old stand-bys, cotton and wool. Cot ton takes on new properties when partly acetylated. A fiber is produced that is n o t only stronger b u t also more resistant -to rot and mildew. More attention should b e paid to the fiber, ramie. This material, silky in luster, is one of t h e strongest natural fibers known, especially when wet. Ramie grows well in Florida and can be used effectively to give improved properties to mixtures with other fibers. P e r m a n e n t Paper—The old problem of manufacturing permanent paper for use in important books and journals is still unsolved. Modern paper cannot begin to compete with the durability of the clay tablets of ancient Babylon. Why not make an enduring paper out
Certain viruses can destroy cells of types of cancer n o w considered incur able, according to several reports pre sented before t h e recent New York meeting of the Society of American Bacteriologists. However, these results have been obtained only in animals, and n o sound conclusions as to advis ability of treating human cancers can yet be drawn. These are the reports SAB h e a r d : Injections of t h e Newcastle disease virus kill an Ehrlich ascites t u m o r in mice with no damage to animal tissues, according to Alfred M. Prince and Harold S. Ginsberg, Western Reserve. Meningopneumonitis virus kills can cer cells in mice, according to research b y Alan Bernstein, Lila Pope, a n d M. Michael Sigel, Public Health Service Laboratory, Montgomery, Ala. Vaccinia virus has a greater affinity for destroying certain types of cancer cells than for noncancerous tissues, ac cording to R. F. Haff and Η. Ε. Swim, Western Reserve. Various types of molds and m o l d ex tracts have also been able to destroy mouse tumors, according to Zbigniew T . Mankowski, Lankenau Hospital, Philadelphia. The destructive effects of viruses on some animal cancers is well known, but the reasons have not been determined. Recent research, however, indicates that destruction of cancer cells m a y re sult from competition between vims and cancer for food materials. Possible Cancer Serum. A horse vaccinated with pooled human cancer cells can develop antibodies capable of killing cancer cells in the test tube. The antibodies destroy the cells with out harming normal cells, Bertil Bjorklund, John Graham, and Ruth Graham, of State Laboratory of Bacteriology, Stockholm, told the meeting. Similar results were obtained in rabbits in re search at Columbia by Isabel M. Moun-
CHEMICAL
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ENGINEERING
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ADVANCE IN APPLIED RADIATION DEVELOPMENTS i n t h e FIELD OF APPLIED RADIATION ENERGY, its APPLICATIONS and the APPARATUS USED TO PRODUCE IT Van de Graaff Checks Jet Parts H I G H VOLTAOB'S nev/ mobile 1-million-
volt Van d e Graaff x-ray generator has recently displayed outstanding perform ance in checking high precision castings for j e t engines, which, because of thencritical e n d use, must be accurately and fully radiographed. Development o f an improved method of radiographic inspection for a leading air craft-engine manufacturer, based on this machine, will enable quality-control per sonnel to check over 6,000 castings daily, with greater reliability and substantially less time and effort than previously pos sible. Heretofore, radiographic inspection by t h e company was carried out with t w o units of different penetration characteris tics, each used f o r a specific area of the casting. This arrangement was obviously undesirable from the standpoint of econ omy and production line efficiency. Using the new technique, a l l tests can be con ducted with t h e 1-million-volt Van de Graaff accelerator. T h i s n e w x-ray generator promises to be a valuable asset t o the engine com pany's quality control program. With the proper balance of low-energy and highenergy components in the x-ray beam, this unit can effectively radiograph sections of castings a s thin as 1 / 1 6 inch, with ade quate latitude t o penetrate sections over one inch thick, a l l in the same ι exposure. Quality of radiographs is exceptional prin cipally because o f the V a n d e GraafFs tiny focal spot (less than 1 mm in diameter) which enables t h e use o f shorter target-tofilm setups. Furthermore, the complete installation cost, including the Van de Graaff, is under $30,000 — substantially
less than for facilities heretofore available. ( T h e April issue of FORTUNE magazine carried a full-page color photo of this million-volt radiographic machine on its mobile mount.) Accelerator Sterilizes Drugs Antibiotics, hormones, vitamins, anticoagulants, proteins and sulfa products have been successfully sterilized in experimental studies with radiation from a 2million-volt Van de Graaff accelerator at the Upjohn Co., Kalamazoo, Mich. Upjohn scientists report the company has achieved 1 0 0 per cent sterilization of these products with n o harmful effects resulting in the drugs. T h e Upjohn Co. purchased its Van de Graaff accelerator in 1951 and was o n e o f the first companies to initiate a broad study of radiation as a possible sterilizing agent. Its research in this field h a s continued since that time. T h e pharmaceutical industry's interest in radiation stems from the important adva^ages promised by successful radiation sterilization of a n already packaged product, o r of a product just before it goes into pre-sterilized containers. Although progress toward this goal reportedly i s encouraging — a s witness t h e Upjohn announcement—widespread introduction of radiation-sterilized p h a r m a c e u t i c a l s depends upon approval by the F o o d and Drug Administration of distribution for each product and upon development of an advantageous cost picture. T h e outlook for achieving both these prerequisites now appears favorable.
Shell Oil Neutron Research Shell Development Company has recently p u t in operation a 2-million-volt Van de Graaff positive-ion adcelerator for neutron production at its Exploration and Production Research Division in Houston. This accelerator, first o f its size and type to b e purchased by the oil industry, is being used by Shell scientists to aid in the continuing search for possible oilbearing structures deep underground. It will be employed primarily to duplicate nature's o w n radioactive processes under laboratory conditions. It has long been known that certain materials found i n nature constantly give off radiation but little has been known of the specific effects caused by such radiation over the centuries. N o w , using the Van de Graaflf as a powerful radiation source, Shell scientists can in a few hours produce the same effects in a rock sample that may have taken nature 10 million years or more to accomplish. T h e accelerator also is being used in neutron activation analysis to identify specific elements in rock samples.
A Van d e Graaff for Canada T h e Canadian Defense Research Board, of t h e Department o f National Defense,
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has
purchased
from
HIGH VOLTAGE
a
2-million-volt V a n d e Graaff particle accelerator to produce both positive ions and electrons for research use. T h e machine will be installed at the Suffield Experimental Station a t Alberta, C a n a d a . The a m o u n t o f t h e contract is $106,500. T h e 2 MeV Van de Graaff produces beams o f x-rays, electrons, positive ions and neutrons — each of known and controllable energy and intensity. This compact source o f fundamental radiation is only 7 feet long and 3 feet in diameter.
2-Adillion-Volt Van de Graaff particle accelerator installed at Shell Development Company, Houston, Texas.
Reseacch Machine to Bell Labs H I G H VOLTAGE recently announced the
sale of a one-million-volt Van de Graaff electron accelerator to Bell Telephone Laboratories, New York, Ν . Υ . T h e machine will be used in a research program including electron bombardment of solids. It will be directed by Messrs. W. L. Brown and R. C. Fletcher.
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"... and radiation makes plastics stronger than steelT
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(Advtrtlieme.t)
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Congratulations ί® îhe FIR PLYWOOD INDUSTRY ύη
RESEARCH. tain, Katherine Sprunt, and Hattie E. Alexander. • A n o n b a r b i f u r a t e , short-acting seda tive, 1-ethinylcyclohexyl carbamate, is being marketed b y Lilly. It is said to induce sleep within 15 to 25 minutes; effect disappears in four hours. Lilly says that in tests on several h u n d r e d patients, Valmid produced no euphoria or physical d e p e n d e n c e , a n d no true addiction even after prolonged use. • Runyon Cancer Fund awarded $89,700 to four institutions and $51,850 for 13 fellows in April. Among the re search grant awards is one to D u k e for a fourth year in a project by Marcus E. H o b b s on Properties of Some Smoke Aerosols; another grant goes to Insti tute of Industrial Medicine, NYUBellevue Medical Center, for $25,000 for its airborne pollution project on Cancer of the Respiratory System from Environmental Sources. Norton Nel son heads the project with assistance of Marvin Kuschner.
5 Ο ΥΘξ3ί$ ®f Progress
• AEC has a w a r d e d 3 2 contracts for
research in t h e physical sciences. Five cire new, t h e remainder renewals. Among the n e w contracts is one for $9500 to E. R. Lippincott, Kansas State College, who is studying R a m a n Spec tra of Colored and Absorbing Sub stances. • T e m p l e University's Research Insti tute has consolidated its laboratories and offices at a new location, 4150 Henry Ave., Philadelphia 4 4 , Pa.
