CONCENTRATES science Ligand binds brain cells A specific cell-binding ligand, claimed to be the first to be isolated from mammals, has been used to construct embryonic brain tissue from single mouse brain cells in a test tube. Dr. A. A. Mosconà and Dr. Beatrice B. Garber of the University of Chicago say the tissue shows electrical communication among cells characteristic of brain tissue. The unidentified ligand is probably a glycoprotein, they say, and will bind only cerebral cells, although other cell types may be bound by similar ligands. Details of the Chicago group's research work will appear in the February issue of Developmental Biology. Teeth reveal lead poisoning Undiagnosed lead poisoning in children can be detected by analysis of shed baby teeth, say Dr. Herbert L Needleman of Harvard medical school and Dr. Orhan C. Tuncay and Dr. Irving M. Shapiro of the University of Pennsylvania [Nature, 235,111 (1972)]. Lead is absorbed by and stored in the teeth to reveal cumulative consumption, they say, whereas lead levels in blood reflect only recent ingestion. Screening of teeth can thus be used to locate children with elevated lead levels so they can be tested for possible unrecognized neurological damage.
Link human cancer to virus The link between human cancer annd viruses grows ever stronger. Dr. Sol Spiegelman's discovery that human breast tumors contain genetic information homologous to that of mouse mammary tumor viruses (C&EN, Nov. 22, 1971, page 5) has been extended to two other types of human cancer—leukemia and sarcomas [Science, 175, 182 (1972)]. The Columbia University group finds that RNA isolated from viruses that cause each of the cancers in mice hybridize specifically with DNA from the corresponding human tumors. This finding implies that the human tumors are also caused by viruses and that there are strong species similarities.
Two-wave length laser beam Light of two different wave lengths combined in a single beam is produced by a laser system developed by Dr. Herschel S. Pilloff, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. In the system, the laser beam comprises two beams that are polarized mutually perpendicular. Two diffraction gratings select the wave lengths, and the beams are recombined. The technique works with both homogeneously and inhomogeneously broadened lasers and has been applied to a nitrogen laser-pumped dye laser that is continuously tunable in the visible region. Applications include nanosecond excited state spectroscopy, two-photon spectroscopy, saturation spectroscopy, and nonlinear optical wave length generation.
Treatment for heroin addicts A new detoxification procedure for heroin addicts is undergoing preliminary testing at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa. Dr. Albert A. Laverne and Dr. Lewis C. Mills find that withdrawal symptoms are alleviated by a simple breathing exercise. The addict breathes oxygen for a short period, then carbon dioxide until he loses consciousness. He is then quickly revived with oxygen or fresh air. The treatment is repeated twice a day during the first week, once a day for another month, then tapered off.
Education Chemistry enrollment i n c r e a s e . . . Despite a less than bright job market for scientists and engineers, students are enrolling in chemistry courses in large numbers. Enrollment in first-year chemistry courses in fall 1971 increased 9% from 1970, according to preliminary results of a survey of 50 schools by the American Chemical Society's Office of Manpower Studies. Enrollment in organic chemistry courses increased 14.3% at the schools in the survey group. Meanwhile, total freshman enrollment last fall declined 2.7%.
. . . may spell trouble for med schools The increase in first-year chemistry enrollment may be attributed largely to the desire of liberal arts majors to be better informed about the environment. But it's highly likely, according to department chairmen, that many of the students enrolled in organic chemistry courses are premedical students. If this speculation is correct, many medical schools, which are already turning away hundreds of qualified applicants because of a space shortage, may be totally inundated by applicants in two or three years. Graduate enrollment report Graduate enrollment in all science and engineering fields increased 109% between 1960 and 1970, but graduate enrollments in all nonscience fields increased nearly 200% during the same period, according to a National Science Foundation report. The report also reveals that the decline of interest in science and engineering at the graduate level preceded recent reductions in federal support of graduate training. During the decade, graduate enrollment in social sciences increased 163%, mathematical sciences 159%, life sciences 135%, engineering 77%, chemistry 68%, and physics 39%.
Technician education expanding Bachelor of technology programs (application-oriented curriculums designed to produce technicians) are the fastest growing segment of engineering and technical education, says the Engineers Joint Council. In June 1971, an EJC survey shows, a record 28,000 two-year JAN.
24, 1972 C&EN 11
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technical degrees and 5000 bachelor of technology degrees were awarded by 535 institutions. Chemical engineering and allied subjects accounted for only a small percentage, however, with the majority being issued in electronic, mechanical, and electrical engineering.
and carbon dioxide. The heat that's generated completes combustion of partially burned hydrocarbons and melts lead deposits. The Jensen brothers claim a 90% reduction of carbon monoxide and of unburned hydrocarbons, an 80% reduction of nitrogen oxides, and a halving of emitted lead compounds in exhaust gas. Copenhagen's Kosangas is sponsoring the work at Denmark's Technical University.
Technology Two firms begin custom analysis Both Dow and Du Pont will enter the custom analysis business. Dow is set to launch its interpretive analytical service on a nationwide basis. Dr. Willis J. Potts, manager of Dow's new venture, explains that test market studies in Chicago and northern New Jersey have been successfully completed. The service will draw on the expertise of some 250 analytical chemists and technicians utilizing $7 million in analytical instrumentation at the firm's Midland, Mich., research labs. Custom analyses are priced at $45 an hour and are available to any interested party. Du Pont plans to disclose this week the formation of its own analytical and physical measurement service, which will be available on a commercial basis. Low-emission auto engine delayed Kinetics Corp.'s external combustion automotive engine, using a halocarbon as working fluid, has run into development delays. Inventor Wallace Minto, on signing an option contract with Japan's Nissan Motor Co. two years ago, predicted that 100 of the Sarasota, Fla., firm's low-emission engines would go into 1972 Datsuns. "We're far from that," Nissan tells C&EN. Kinetics Corp. is more than six months behind schedule in providing workable prototypes, says Nissan, and the Datsun station wagon in which an experimental engine was first fitted in 1970 hasn't been successful. Nissan, whose option contract ends this December, has tested no Minto engines in Japan.
Snowmobiles with Wankel engines Outboard Marine Corp., Milwaukee, is delivering 150 Wankel engine-equipped snowmobiles to its dealers for field testing. According to OMC, the snowmobile units—single-rotor 32.3-cubic-inch-displacement engines developing 35 hp. at 5500 r.p.m.—are the first Wankel rotary engines to go into production in the U.S. Test results will help determine whether or when similar machines will be made for sale to consumers, the firm adds. Auto exhaust catalyst system An automobile exhaust-scavenging catalytic-thermal system that isn't poisoned by leaded gasolines has been developed by Knud and Leif Jensen of Copenhagen, Denmark. The catalyst, which does not involve a noble metal, promotes interaction between nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide to form nitrogen 12 C&EN JAN. 24, 1972
Tracing particulate pollutants X-ray spectra of particulate air pollutants may be used by New York City to track down the sources of such emissions. The city's department of air resources has found that the particles, which vary in size from 0.2 to 10 microns, give characteristic x-ray patterns when bombarded with electrons from an electron microprobe. A spectrum of an unknown pollutant could then be compared with a catalog of prerecorded spectra to determine its source. The city hopes to begin compilation of such a catalog very soon. Removal of mercury vapors Mercury in the vapors that emerge from chlorinecaustic electrolytic cells may now be removed with 99% efficiency by a chemical scrubbing technique developed at BP Chemicals International in the U.K. Key to the system is an alkaline sodium hypochloritesodium chloride solution that contains a small quantity of free chlorine to keep the extracted mercury soluble. The mercury may then be recovered from the scrubbing solution either by recycling the solution through the amalgam cells or by electrolytic or chemical reduction. BP Chemicals is offering the patented system for licensing.
Gelling oil spills Oil spills from tankers in distress can be averted by gelling the oil using a technique just patented (U.S. 3,634,050) by Esso Research and Engineering Co. Esso uses oil-soluble chemicals—diisocyanate and beta amines, for example—that react to form a polymer that physically entraps the oil. The degree of gelling is controlled by the amount of additive, time of mixing, and temperature. The oil is ungelled by heating it to 140° C. Linear programing software Applied Data Research will market Shell Oil's general linear programing software package, called AMBUSH. Shell says AMBUSH is unique among matrix generators in that it allows a user of linear programing to describe his problem or network in a natural, flow-oriented manner rather than generate a detailed linear programing matrix by hand. Shell has more than 50 uses of AMBUSH in its refinery planning and operations. Several versions of the system are available, depending on user requirements. All the AMBUSH versions are usable on both IBM 360 and Univac 1108/ 1100 systems.
