RECENT BOOKS ELEnRoPHoREsIs OF PROTEINS AND THE CHEMISTRY OP CELL S~RPACES.Harold A . Abramson, Leurencc S . Moyer, and Monzrel H . Gorin. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York. 341 pp. 155 figs., 51 tables. $6.00. Whenever factual information regarding a subject has become sufficiently extensive, compilations appear, usually 6rst in the form of review articles and Later in the form of books. Tbese, in turn, are followed hy books dealing with more specialized phases of the subject. All of this is indicative not only of growth and maturity of a subject but also of the need for analysis and integration of informaion and making the facts and the literature easily available t o beginning students and the more mature research workers. The recent appearance of a number of texts relating t o the chemistry of the amino acids and proteins is indicative not only of the ever-growing interest in this field but also that the subject has passed its adolescent stage and has reached the age of maturity. There can be no question that the technic of electrophoresis has provided a powerful tool for the elucidation of problems relating t o proteins and particularly in demonstrating that many of the ~ r o t e i n sthat a t one time were regarded as homomolffular " arc really a mixture of several componmtr. It is still a far rry from thr protpin that hai bren i d a t e d from natural sources by chrmiral methods to its state in livmg matter and this i, a problem that still remains to be solved. Powerful as the electrophoresis technic has proved, it should not be regarded as the only tool available for the characterization of proteins. Electrometric titration, transport, diffusion, solubility, X-ray diffraction patterns, the ultramicroscope, and o s mosis are eauallv ootent tools for the elucidation and characteri?ation of thc hehavior and the propertie.; of protein5 Taken tugether, data obtaincd by the application of t h r r and other mrrhods that may be dewloped in the future have added and will continue t o add t o our ever increasing knowledge of amino acids and proteins. These statements are not t o be construed as being non-indicative of the importance and the timely appearance of the baok captioned above. I n presenting the subject matter of electrophoresis, the authors have well borne in mind the needs of both the beginning student and the more mature worker. The value of the book is enhanced by the inclusion of numerous graphs and tables. The writer feels that the usefulness of the book would have been greater had the authors included the complete literature reference as a part of each figure and table rather than as footnotes which a t times are not on the same page as the figure or table. While the authors have taken care t o define electrophoretic mobility in specific terms, beginning students would have appreciated had the authors also included definitions of ionic mobility a s obtained from transference data and by extrapolation of equivalent conductance t o infinite dilution as well as the mobility of zwitterions determined by diffusion measurements. The authors undoubtedly felt that this was beyond the scope of the hook. About half of the book is devoted t o the application of the technic and facts obtained from electronhoresis t o hioloeical .. orob. Iemr w r h as the fractionation of protans of norrnsl and immune sera, the iwlatwn of proreins from biologically im~mrtnntm m c s suchas bacteria, venoms, pollens, etc., the interactionsof proteins in mixtures and a t surfaces, enzymes and hormones, and latex. A sufficient number of problems are open in these fields to keep research workers busy for years to come. The authors of this volume have done a worth-while job. The book will undoubtedly find a place in all laboratories where research work on amino acids, proteins, and related compounds is carried out.
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Teachers of chemistry will some day realize that some of the fundamental laws of both chemistry and physics can d t e n he illustrated to better advantage by the use of data obtained from amino acids and proteins than by the classical examples general!^ used. To this end the book will also be useful. Cnnr. L. A. Scwamr UNrvaRslrv os C&moanr*
EBEKELBY, CUPOP-NI&
Noxrous GASES AND THE PRINCIPLESOR RESPIRATION INPLUENUNG THEIR Acr10~. Yandell Henderson and Howard W . Haggard, Laboratory of Applied Physiology, Yale University. (A. C. S. Monograph.) Second, revised edition. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New Y a k . 294 pp. 12 figs. 14.5 X 23 cm. 8.50. The second, revised edition retains and amplifies the admirable treatment of the physiology and chemistry of respiration presented in the 6rst edition. Based on the latest findings in the field of respiration, the treatment is sufficiently simple and clear t o afford t o the chemist a solid explanation of the physiology of breathing and t o the physiologist the conditions imposed by the laws of partial pressures and solubility of gases. These considerations clarify the action of the various noxious gases and dictate first aid treatment. The discussion is limited to the gases and vapors occurring in industry and daes not include those agents peculiar t o warfare nor the harmful dusts encountered in industry. Especially valuable are the many tables giving allowable concentrations as well as those which are harmful in varying degrees. The physiological action, symptoms, prognosis, and &st aid treatment of each gas are thoroughly presented. I n the final chapters, methods of resuscitation and treatment a s well as the merits of various types of protective masks sre clearly explained and carefully evaluated. New chapters on the following subjects have been added: the significance of standards for physiological response to various concentrations of gases and vapors, chemical asphyxiants, and methods of resuscitation and comparison of various treatments. The hook ends with a statement by Yandell Henderson in which all types of pulmotors and breathing machines are condemned as useless or even positively dangerous The argument is based directly on the physiology of breathing and on actual laboratory experiment. Only the inhalator which furnishes a mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen is recommended as a supplement t o manually applied artificial respiration in first aid treatment. Unfortunately, several annoying misprints appear in the F. C. HISKEY,O.P.
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Co., Inc., New York City, 1942. xi 466'pp. 5 figs. 15 X 23 cm. 8 . 5 0 . This biography of Willard Gihbs extols the extensive and precise imagination of the famous author of the phase rule. I t gives an intimate and detailed picture of the life of two generations of professors a t Yale in the nineteenth century. A vivid impression of the times is conveyed by excursions into the story of the James family, Adams family, and contemporary literati. Readers who are accustomed to technical accuracy and camplete sentences will not enjoy Miss Rukeyser's repetitious style, fragmentary sentences, and round-robin chapters.
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But aside from the extraneous material, the book does contain a summary of Willard Gibbs' antecedents, his work, the appreciation in Europe of the importance of his work, the tardy recognition of his greatness in America, and a compilation of commentary on the influence of Willard Gibbs on modern chemical theory. ELBERTC. WEAVER B U L X B L ~ YHrC.SCHDOL HABTsOYD, CONNBETlEUT
MAN'SPHYSICALUNIVERSE. Arthur Talbot Bawden, President of the Stockton Junior College. Revised edition. The Macmillan Company, New York. 1943. xv 4- 832 pp. 321 figs. 15 X 23 cms. $4.00. Teachers of physical science will welcome the revised edition of this well-known book which was first published in 1937. I t is intended t o be used as a text for survey course in physical science . . "in a program of general or liberal education." The purpose of the book is "to survey the phenomena of the physical universe with particular reference t o man's immediate environment, t o present a knowledge of the vast and only partially explored setting of our civilization, t o envisage the great problems of the origin and evolution of the universe, . . t o review briefly the present status of the nature and distribution of the resources which suoolv human needs and man's abilitv to utilize them. and t o show how man is .. eainine - control over theforccjof natureand h;irnr,.ing thmm todo his work." Thc book i* dividrd into am units. 1:nir I is wbdivided mro six srcriort\; the other nine units into nioc icctionscnch. '1:aclt section is intended to be used as the assignment for one lesson and constitutes a complete topic in itself." Each section is accom~aniedbv a number of "study questions." A rather ext;nsive bibliography, corresponding t o the various "units" is found in the appendix. The author stresses the practical importance of this bibliography as supplementary reading material t o the text. This is one of the best texts in physics1 science that has come to the reviewer's attention. I t is well written in clear English. The choice of subject matter is excellent, modern, and practical. Althoueh the organization of units follows in general the conventional subdidsions of physical science, the author achieves a considerable amount of integration with a minimum amount of duplication of subject material common t o the various subdivisions of physical science. The social implications of physical science are stressed throughout. The subjects are as professionally treated as an elementary approach permits. The book has been well edited and few errors were noted. One criticism that may be launched awinst the book is that the treatment of subject material is essentially descriptive. The book is practically devoid of arithmetical problems and formulas. Unit I is particularly well treated. It deals with the importance of the problem-solving ability, scientific attitude, and scientific method. Unit V stresses the practical applications and the social and economic implications of modern machines, engines, the automobile, and the airplane. Units VIII, IX, and X (279 pages) are devoted t o the contributions of chemistry t o modern living. These units give an excellent review of the more modern aspects of chemistry. However, section 8, Unit X, entitled "Protoplasmic and Cellular Organization Is Essential to Life" seems irrelevant. C. S. A o m s
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beginning to specialize in these subjects. Unless one knows the meaning of all of the terms, it is often necessary to make a search for information; and this, in the literature on explosives. i~ a time-consuming procedure." Except for some omissions which, the author says, were best left unpublished under the present war conditions, this manual of references and cross references fulfils the author's aim and is very timely. Chemical names, trade names, and abbreviations are alphabetically arranged. Information listed includes for_most substances composition (the structural formulas should prove very useful to students with chemical training), properties, and uses.
A bibliography of books, bulletins and manuals, catalogs, articles in periodic&, and patents is conveniently grouped in nine pages a t the end of the manual, and since practically all of the references cited there are of the last decade, this bibliography should serve as an excellent list far student readings As B ready handbook, this manual should be placed high on the list of books to be awned by every technical library and aerious student of the subjects treated. A. T. BURTSELL CorLxcs 0s rns CITYO.NBW YOII N s w Yoea, New Yoax
APPL~ED NUCLEARPHYSICS. Erncrt Pollard, Assistant Professor of Physics, Yale University; William L. Dowidson, Jr., Research Physicist, The B. F. Goodrich Company. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1942. vii 4- 249 pp. 4 plates, 62 figs. 15 X 23 cm. $3.00. The success'which has attended the use of the products of transmutation reactions in research in many branches of science has been so striking, and indeed so sudden, that many a scientist has read of important results in his field without having been able to understand clearly how they were obtained. This book has been written to help such scientists. I t s authors "aim a t presenting the essential facts and methods of artificial radioactivity and transmutation in such a way as to be of service to the growing army of chemists, biologists, physicians, and engineers, who, though not necesarily versed in the language of physics, are using the products of nudear physics to further their ends in their own spheres." They have succeeded admirably. The nature of atom nuclei, of their trammutation, and of their radioactive disintegration is discussed thoroughly enough to be of value to scientists in other fields, and yet without the use of the newer quantum mechanics which might have placed the treatment beyond their mathematical grasp. The technical aspects of nuclear physics are emphasized. Such topics as the detection of subatomic particles, methods by which they may be accelerated, and the detection of the products of transmutation are discussed in detail with many practical bits of advice as to the choice and operation of apparatus. The appendix contains tables of atomic species, of commonly used radiaelements, of absorption of beta and gamma rays of the masses of the stable isotopes, and of the energy-range. relations of protons, deuterons. Ha, Hea, and a-particles. The style is informal and the obvious enthusiasm of the authors contagious. They close their book with the following paragraph: "To leave an this rather unsatisfactory note giver us genuine pleasure. This is an age of vanishing frontiers, and Anrrour COLLEGE it adds a touch of vigor t o consider that here the frontier is YBLLOW SPRINOS. 0=0 very much present. We doubt whether the complete understanding of the atomic nucleus will be attained in our lifetime, MANUAL oa EXPLOSIVES, MILITARY PYROTECRN~CS, m u CHEM- and this adds considerable zest t o existence. The feeling of 1c.41. WARPAREAGENTS. J d m Bcbie, Consulting Chemical zest is shared by workers in lab coats awaiting the 100-meter Engineer, Professor of Chemical Technology, Washington beam of the supercyclotron, by workers patiently amassing University. The Macmillan Company, 1943. xi f 171 pp. data about cosmic rays, by workers operating calculating machines and wearing down pencils. A little of it should have 14.6 X 22.0 cm. $2.50. I n the preface, the author states, "It is the chief aim of this reached the reader." JOHNA. TIMM book to be of senice to scientific and technical workers in the s.rarons C O L L ~ G ~ field of explosives and war chemicals and t o students who are BOSTON, MAJBACAYSETTP ~
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