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Showing papers in "Nature in 1940"


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Dec 1940-Nature
TL;DR: It is confirmed that the growth of B. coli and a number of other bacteria belonging to the colityphoid group was not inhibited by penicillin, and the cause of the resistance of these organisms to the action of Penicillin is found.
Abstract: FLEMING1 noted that the growth of B. coli and a number of other bacteria belonging to the colityphoid group was not inhibited by penicillin. This observation has been confirmed. Further work has been done to find the cause of the resistance of these organisms to the action of penicillin.

1,193 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 1940-Nature
TL;DR: The electronic theory of valency has been amplified and applied so extensively as to create the need for a monograph every few years; and every few decades, so far, a novel paper has been produced by a leading contributor to the subject as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: SINCE G. N. Lewis's fundamental paper of 1916, the electronic theory of valency has been amplified and applied so extensively as to create the need for a monograph every few years; and every few years, so far, a monograph has been produced by a leading contributor to the subject. Lewis's own book ‘ ‘Valence and the Structure of Atoms and Molecules” (1923), Sidgwick's The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals An Introduction to Modern Structural Chemistry. By Prof. Linus Pauling. (The George Fisher Baker Non-resident Lectureship in Chemistry at Cornell University.) Pp. xiv + 429. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press; London: Oxford University Press, 1939.) 21s. net.

731 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
13 Jan 1940-Nature
TL;DR: The New World Order Whether it is Attainable, How it can be Attained, and What Sort of World a World at Peace will have to be as discussed by the authors...
Abstract: “FEW human beings,” says Mr. Wells in his new book, “are able to change their primary ideas after the middle thirties. They get fixed in them and drive before them no more intelligently than animals before their innate impulses.” Here he does himself a great injustice. We used to wonder what panacea he would discover next. He was sure to advocate it in a brilliant and stimulating manner. The New World Order Whether it is Attainable, How it can be Attained, and What Sort of World a World at Peace will have to be. By H. G. Wells. Pp. 192. (London: Martin Seeker and Warburg, Ltd., 1940.) 6s. net.

624 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Aug 1940-Nature
TL;DR: Adaptive coloration in animals by Dr. Hugh B. Cott as mentioned in this paper is a classic example of such a work, and it has been widely used in the field of biology and psychology.
Abstract: THIS excellent work, eagerly awaited for many years, will be most welcome to naturalists, even, we may hope, to the few who have hitherto rejected the Darwinian interpretation which the author has here supported by a mass of additional evidence based on his own observations and those of very many others. Dr. Julian Huxley, in his introduction, refers to one of these critics, the American zoologist, A. F. Shull, who writes in contemptuous terms of the whole subject. To this Huxley replies: “Dr. Cott, in this important book, has turned the tables with a vengeance on objectors of this type. He has shown that it is they who are the armchair critics, or, one might say, the laboratory-bench critics. Had they taken the trouble to acquaint themselves with even a fraction of the relevant facts to be found in nature, they could never have ventured to enunciate such sweeping criticisms”. Adaptive Coloration in Animals By Dr. Hugh B. Cott. Pp. xxxii + 508 + 49 plates. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1940.) 40s. net.

427 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 1940-Nature
TL;DR: In this article, it has been recognized for many years that under certain conditions a hydrogen atom can form a connecting link between two other atoms and it may be considered as forming a bond between them, known as the hydrogen bond.
Abstract: IT has been recognized for many years that under certain conditions a hydrogen atom can form a connecting link between two other atoms. It may be considered as forming a bond between them, known as the hydrogen bond. Although the hydrogen bond is not strong, recent investigations have shown it to be of very wide occurrence. The concept has been extremely useful in explaining the association of polar liquids like water, the association of carboxylic acids, alcohols, amides, etc., the closure of rings within the molecule, and in interpreting many measurements of structure by X-ray and electron diffraction methods and of the frequency shifts of the infra-red absorption bands of certain known groupings. It was investigations of this type that not only established the existence of this form of bond but also provided information regarding the conditions in which its formation is to be expected, and, in many cases, of the actual energy of the bond. In spite of the enormous amount of experimental data now available, there is still much information which is lacking; the exact mechanism of the bonding power of the hydrogen is not clear, and there are many difficulties with questions of terminology.

358 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Aug 1940-Nature
TL;DR: This enzyme plays an important part in accelerating the carbon dioxide output in the lungs; it appears also to promote the formation of hydrochloric acid by the parietal cells of gastric mucosa.
Abstract: CARBONIC anhydrase which catalyses the reversible reaction H2CO3 ⇄ CO2 + H2O is present in large concentrations in the red blood corpuscles and some cells of gastric mucosa of mammals. This enzyme plays an important part in accelerating the carbon dioxide output in the lungs; it appears also to promote the formation of hydrochloric acid by the parietal cells of gastric mucosa1.

332 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Aug 1940-Nature
TL;DR: This book is a text-book on general microbiology, but more than half this book is devoted to the medical aspects of the subject, little space being assigned to fermentation, soil microbiology and nitrification, micro-organisms in industry, and the like.
Abstract: SO far from being a text-book on general microbiology, as the title seems to imply, more than half this book is devoted to the medical aspects of the subject, little space being assigned to fermentation, soil microbiology and nitrification, micro-organisms in industry, and the like. A Textbook of Microbiology By Prof. Kenneth L. Burdon. Second edition of “A Textbook of Bacteriology”. Pp. xv + 638. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1939.) 14s. net.

298 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
10 Aug 1940-Nature
TL;DR: With the present century has come the realization that ‘non-fluidRsquo; or ‘solid’ does not necessarily imply the crystalline state; vitreous material would fulfil still better the conditions imposed on speculation by the earth's behaviour.
Abstract: THE nature of the earth's interior has been a subject of speculation for thousands of years. Ancient philosophers, from the Babylonians onwards, firmly held the belief that the depths were largely occupied by water. Even in the volcanic regions of the Mediterranean, where the subterranean world was naturally associated with ideas of internal fire, this belief was not excluded. Moreover, the winds of the Aeolian Isles were regarded as draughts generated from immense air-filled cavities by the action of the volcanic hearths. These traditional views persisted unchallenged until well into the seventeenth century. In 1695, for example, we find them repeated with characteristic exuberance by John Woodward. But already less fanciful notions were beginning to be formulated. Leibniz in 1680 had clearly expressed the idea of a crystalline crust resting on a molten interior; and a century later (1788) Benjamin Franklin asks: “Can we easily conceive how the strata of the earth could have been so deranged if it had not been a mere shell supported by a heavier fluid?” However, before another century had elapsed, Hopkins and Kelvin had shown that a fluid interior was inconsistent with the phenomena of precession and the tides, and geologists were left to puzzle over Franklin's problem as best they could. With the present century has come the realization that ‘non-fluidRsquo; or ‘solid’ does not necessarily imply the crystalline state; vitreous material would fulfil still better the conditions imposed on speculation by the earth's behaviour. Physics of the Earth 7: Internal Constitution of the Earth. Edited by Prof. Beno Gutenberg. Contributors: L. H. Adams, Reginald A. Daly B. Gutenberg, Harold Jeffreys, Walter D. Lambert, James B. Macel-Wane, S. J., C. F. Richter, C. E. van Orstrand, H. S. Washington. Pp. x + 413. (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1939.) 30s.

251 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1940-Nature
TL;DR: The above letter contains two conflicting statements about the actions of the United States Department of Homeland Security in relation to the September 11 attacks.
Abstract: THE above letter contains two conflicting statements.

243 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Dec 1940-Nature
TL;DR: Microscopical examination showed an extreme elongation of the majority of the cells, which took the form of unsegmented filaments ten or more times longer than the average normal cell.
Abstract: WHILE working with Chain, Florey and others on the inhibition of bacterial growth by penicillin1, I noticed that concentrations of less than full inhibiting power caused a change in the appearance of the growth of Cl welchii in fluid media The normal uniform turbidity was replaced by a flocculent growth with a heavy deposit Microscopical examination showed an extreme elongation of the majority of the cells, which took the form of unsegmented filaments ten or more times longer than the average normal cell

208 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Nov 1940-Nature
TL;DR: Hinshelwood's Kinetics of Chemical Change as mentioned in this paper is the most satisfactory and interesting book on chemical change that has yet been written, and the treatment of the subject in the present volume is by far the most satisfying and interesting that has been written.
Abstract: PROF. HINSHELWOOD'S first book on chemical change appeared in 1926 and later ran into three editions. There is little doubt that a fourth edition would have been welcomed as eagerly as its predecessors were; but the author has adopted the heroic course of writing a new book instead of expanding the old. It would be an under-statement to state that the result is satisfactory—that was to be anticipated; the treatment of the subject in the present volume is by far the most satisfactory and interesting that has yet been written. The Kinetics of Chemical Change By Dr. C. N. Hinshelwood. Pp. vii + 274. (Oxford: Clarendon Press; London: Oxford University Press, 1940.) 15s. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1940-Nature
TL;DR: The Geology of India by D. N. Wadia as discussed by the authors has been brought up to date by the addition of recent advances in Indian geology and a new geological map is an added attraction.
Abstract: THIS book, which from its first appearance has been the standard text-book of Indian students, has now been brought up to date by the addition of recent advances in Indian geology. The new geological map is an added attraction. Geology of India By D. N. Wadia. Second edition. Pp. xx + 460 + 20 plates. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1939.) 24s. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 1940-Nature
TL;DR: There can be little question that the rapid progress in biochemical achievement owes much to the invention of micro-chemical methods of analysis applicable to biological material.
Abstract: THE development of new methods of chemical analysis brings often in its train the discovery of new facts and the opening up of new fields of investigation. This is particularly true of biochemistry, where the accurate estimation of small quantities of substances in biological material may be of fundamental importance. There can be little question that the rapid progress in biochemical achievement owes much to the invention of micro-chemical methods of analysis applicable to biological material. Micro-Diffusion Analysis and Volumetric Error By Prof. Edward J. Conway. Pp. xiii + 306. (London: Crosby Lockwood and Son, Ltd., 1939.) 25s. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
06 Jul 1940-Nature
TL;DR: Man and Society in an Age of Reconstruction Studies in Modern Social Structure by Karl Mannheim as mentioned in this paper is the planners' bible, for nowhere else can one find such a complete, up-to-date and well-reasoned analysis of the inevitability of planning, good and bad, and its techniques.
Abstract: PROF. MANNHEIM'S book, we may prophesy, is likely to become the planners' bible, for nowhere else can one find such a complete, up-to-date and well-reasoned analysis of the inevitability of planning, good and bad, and of its techniques. It is, however, more than this rather irreverent comparison would suggest. It is a compendium of modern sociological fact and theory, abundantly documented, woven round the central theme of the planned world's dawning. Man and Society in an Age of Reconstruction Studies in Modern Social Structure. By Karl Mannheim. With a Bibliographical Guide to the Study of “Modern Society”. Translated from the German by Edward Shils. Pp. xxii + 469. (London: Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd., 1940.) 16s. 6d. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1940-Nature
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that the filament in its most catalytically active state was free from adsorbed oxygen and that the conversion might occur by a surface interchange reaction of the type pH2 + WH → 0H2+ HW.
Abstract: THIS reaction1 has been reinvestigated using a reaction tube containing a second short filament adjacent to the catalyst filament, so that adsorbed films on the latter might be detected by a measurement of their contact potential2. In this way it was shown that the filament in its most catalytically active state was free from adsorbed oxygen. Under these conditions, as J. K. Roberts3 has pointed out, the clean wire on exposure to gaseous H2 takes up a stable film of hydrogen, which does not evaporate appreciably at room temperature, and so cannot give a para H2 conversion by the mechanism suggested by Farkas1, namely by H2+2W ⇄ 2WH (where W indicates a surface atom of tungsten). It is, however, possible4 that the conversion might occur by a surface interchange reaction of the type pH2 + WH → 0H2+ HW, and this mechanism gains support from the following experiment.

Journal ArticleDOI
28 Sep 1940-Nature
TL;DR: Genetical results have great practical value in the fields of agriculture, eugenics, and evolution, even if they are not applied to the study of development, but genetics will remain a somewhat isolated branch of biology until this is done.
Abstract: THE student of heredity is confronted with two different groups of problems. The first group, including such questions as: ‘Why do two white mice produce another white mouse, but not a black or a brown one?’ has been answered, at least up to a point, by the geneticists. The second, typified by such a question as: ‘Why do two mice produce a mouse, and not a rabbit, a mass of Protozoa, or a sarcoma?’ has been answered much less satisfactorily. Genetical results have great practical value in the fields of agriculture, eugenics, and evolution, even if they are not appliedto the study of development. But genetics will remain a somewhat isolated branch of biology until this is done. Organisers and Genes By Dr. C. H. Waddington. (Cambridge Biological Studies.) Pp. x + 160 + 2 plates. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1940.) 12s. 6d. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 1940-Nature
TL;DR: In this article, Cook and G. A. Haslewood showed that, in the formation of dehydronor-cholene from deoxycholic acid by the procedure of Wieland, such a ringclosure to the 1: 2-benzanthra-cene ring system had actually occurred.
Abstract: J. W. COOK1 pointed out that the sterols and bile acids contain in their molecules condensed carbon-ring systems to which are attached a side-chain in such a position that a new 6-membered ring can be formed so as to give the 1: 2-benzanthracene ring system without molecular rearrangement or group migration. The bile acids of the higher vertebrates are all mono-, di-, or tri-hydroxy derivatives of cholanic acid, which compound can be obtained in vitrofrom sterols by degradation, and the principal bile acids bear the names of lithocholic acid (3-hydroxy-cholanic acid), deoxycholic acid (3: 12-dihydroxy-cholanic acid) and cholic acid (3: 7: 12-trihydroxy-cholanic acid). J. W. Cook and G. A. D. Haslewood in 19342 showed that, in the formation of dehydronor-cholene from deoxycholic acid by the procedure of Wieland, such a ring-closure to the 1: 2-benzanthra-cene ring system had actually occurred. Dehydronor-cholene gave on dehyclrogenation the benzanthracene hydrocarbon methylcholanthrene, which was found to be strongly carcinogenic. Afterwards, Fieser and Newman3 showed that methylcholanthrene could be obtained also from cholic acid, which is the chief acid of human bile, and the parent hydrocarbon cholanthrene was synthesized by J. W. Cook, G. A. D. Haslewood and A. M. Robinson4 and shown to be carcinogenic.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 1940-Nature
TL;DR: The difficulty of discovering the resting place of some important specimen has been encountered by most systematists and doubtless justifies the "blue-pencilled" word which the author may or may not have hinted at in the title of this little book as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: THE difficulty of discovering the resting place of some important specimen has been encountered by most systematists, and doubtless justifies the “blue-pencilled” word which the author may or may not have hinted at in the title of this little book. Here about 1,700 entries give names of persons the fate of whose collections is briefly indicated. Where is the—Collection? An Account of the various Natural History Collections which have come under the notice of the Compiler, Dr. Charles Davies Sherborn., between 1880 and 1939. Pp. 150. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1940.) 3s. 6d. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
26 Oct 1940-Nature
TL;DR: The Dynamical Theory of Gases (DTHG) as discussed by the authors is an early work on the theory of gases, which is based on Boltzmann's Vorlesungen uber Gastheorie.
Abstract: IN 1904 there appeared a slender volume entitled “The Dynamical Theory of Gases”, in which the author, now Sir James Jeans, endeavoured to develop the theory “upon as exact a mathematical basis as possible”. It was an original and somewhat severe book, the reader being at once confronted with the difficulties of the law of distribution of molecular velocities and with statistical mechanics and the controversies and unresolved problems on the equipartition of energy. At that time the English student whose reading was confined to his own language had to choose between the somewhat arid treatises by Burbury and by Watson, or the translation of Meyer's attractive, almost chatty, but unmathematical book. Jeans' book, which was much more akin to Boltzmann's elegant “Vorlesungen uber Gastheorie”, found acceptance, despite its severity, and many of to-day's physicists, as well as mathematicians, were ’brought up on it’ so far as gastheory was concerned, and looked to it as to an oracle, sometimes difficult to fathom as is the way with oracles. An Introduction to the Kinetic Theory of Gases By Sir James Jeans. Pp. vi + 311. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1940.) 15s. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
H. Hurst1
01 Mar 1940-Nature
TL;DR: The mode of action of the carriers in relation to the toxic principle under investigation and the correlation of the toxicity of an insecticide with its chemical and physical properties are studied.
Abstract: ONE of the major problems in research on insecticidal action concerns the correlation of the toxicity of an insecticide with its chemical and physical properties. Very little progress has hitherto been made when relatively non-toxic carriers have been used. This is mainly due to the fact that too little physiological significance has been attached to the mode of action of the carriers in relation to the toxic principle under investigation.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Feb 1940-Nature
TL;DR: It was reported to the Committee on Nomenclature that the name Listerella, which was proposed for a genus of bacteria in 1927, had already been given to a Mycetozoan by Jahn in 1906.
Abstract: I HAVE been informed that at the Third International Congress for Microbiologists, held in New York City, September 2–9, 1939, it was reported to the Committee on Nomenclature that the name Listerella, which I proposed for a genus of bacteria in 1927, had already been given to a Mycetozoan by Jahn in 1906.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 1940-Nature
TL;DR: The Chemical Constitution of Natural Fats by Prof. T. P. Hilditch as mentioned in this paper is a comprehensive account of the history and evolution of natural fats and their use in food.
Abstract: THE fats constitute a large group of natural substances. They are present in plants and animals on land and water, both salt and fresh; they represent an important ingredient of our food. To the chemist they are compounds of glycerol with fatty acids, long straight-chain carbon compounds in an ascending series of numbers from C14 to C24, increasing by two carbons at a time. Nature has curious devices, eccentric habits; one of them is to ring the changes with relatively few substances, combined together in different ways, so as to produce a vast number of different fats, that is glycerides, characteristic of individual plants and animals. The process is akin to the infinite number of melodies which the pianist can produce on a few notes. The Chemical Constitution of Natural Fats By Prof. T. P. Hilditch. Pp. xi + 438. (London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1940.) 35s. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
27 Jan 1940-Nature
TL;DR: The transition from low to high quartz is preceded by a progressive change in the physical properties of low quartz which prepares the way for a further sudden change when the transition actually takes place as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: As is well known, the ordinary form of quartz which has trigonal symmetry changes over reversibly to another form which has hexagonal symmetry at a temperature of 575° C. Though the transformation does not involve any radical reorganization of the internal architecture1 of the crystal and takes place at a sharply defined temperature, it is nevertheless preceded over a considerable range of temperature (200°–575°) by a progressive change in the physical properties of low quartz which prepares the way for a further sudden change, when the transition to high quartz actually takes place. The thermal expansion coefficients, for example, gradually increase over this range of temperature, becoming practically infinite at the transition point and then suddenly dropping to small negative values2. Young's moduli in the same temperature range fall to rather low values at the transition point and then rise sharply to high figures3. The piezo-electric activity also undergoes notable changes4,5.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1940-Nature
TL;DR: It is sometimes disputed whether visual after-images are due to retinal or central processes, but their retinal origin appears to be capable of demonstration as follows.
Abstract: IT is sometimes disputed whether visual after-images are due to retinal or central processes. Their retinal origin appears to be capable of demonstration as follows. If one eye is pressed with the finger or a spring balance near the outer canthus for about thirty seconds, it will become temporarily blind. This effect, known to Thomas Young, Helmholtz and Donders, is attributed to retinal anoxaemia. The pressure should be about 250 gm., applied over an area of 1 sq. cm. The easiest method is to press on top of the lids, keeping them sufficiently far apart to permit vision. A brown mist will spread over the visual field, and finally all objects will disappear. The image of a bright light, such as a 60-watt bulb, at a distance of 1 m. or 2 m. should now be thrown on a fixed region of the retina in the blind eye.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1940-Nature
TL;DR: In a recent review of the 1939 report of the British Empire Cancer Campaign, Dr E. Boyland criticizes as “rather misleading” the following statement from the report of this Laboratory: “There appear at the present time to be two main points in which the metabolism of cancer differs from that of most normal tissues.
Abstract: IN a recent review1 of the 1939 report of the British Empire Cancer Campaign, Dr. E. Boyland criticizes as “rather misleading” the following statement from the report of this Laboratory: “There appear at the present time to be two main points in which the metabolism of cancer differs from that of most normal tissues. Firstly the ability of cancer cells to form lactic acid persists even when the tissue is respiring, secondly cancer tissue has a respiratory quotient indicating that the oxidation of carbohydrate is abnormal”.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Nov 1940-Nature
TL;DR: Fassett as discussed by the authors presented a Manual of Aquatic Plants for the identification of aquatic plants in sterile as well as in flowering or fruiting conditions, and the species included in the Manual are those occurring in the region from Minnesota to Missouri and eastward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Virginia.
Abstract: NOTWITHSTANDING the relative uniformity of their environment, aquatic plants exhibit a remarkable variety of form and constitute a very distinct biological group comprising a considerable number of quite unrelated families. An extensive literature already exists relating to the special features of their morphology and ecology; but apart from monographs on certain genera, the group as a whole has not been analysed systematically with the view of simplifying identification. For various reasons the recognition of aquatic species is not always easy and the present work by Prof. Fassett is intended to make as simple as possible the identification of aquatic plants in sterile as well as in flowering or fruiting conditions. The species included in the Manual are those occurring in the region from Minnesota to Missouri and eastward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Virginia. Though the area is thus restricted, many plants are dealt with which are familiar to botanists outside America. A Manual of Aquatic Plants By Prof. Norman C. Fassett. Pp. vii + 382. (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1940.) 26s.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Aug 1940-Nature
TL;DR: Dorsey as discussed by the authors presented a series of nearly three hundred tables on the principal physical properties of water, including water-vapor, water and all the Ices, for more recent data obtained before 1923.
Abstract: IN this very remarkable book, Dr. Dorsey presents a series of nearly three hundred tables on the principal physical properties of water. The book continues the work commenced when the author was an associate editor of the International Critical Tables, for which he worked indefatigably. It is based, in respect of data obtained before 1923, mainly on these Tables; for more recent data, the literature has been exhaustively searched, much more than a thousand references being given, and good use has been made of other tables and monographs. The breadth of knowledge and the conscientiousness with which this enormous mass of data has been digested and put into perspective compel profound respect. Properties of Ordinary Water-Substance in all its Phases Water-vapor, Water and all the Ices. Compiled by N. Ernest Dorsey. (American Chemical Society, Monograph Series No. 81.) Pp. xxiv + 673. (New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1940.) 90s. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 1940-Nature
TL;DR: A History of Indian Philosophy by Dr. Surendranath Dasgupta as discussed by the authors is a classic work on the history of Indian philosophy, and the third volume is ready for publication.
Abstract: ALL those who are interested in Indian philosophy, and especially the readers of the first two volumes of this excellent standard and scholarly work, will welcome the publication of the third volume as well as the news that the manuscript of the fourth volume is ready. Prof. Dasgupta's remarkable exposition of Indian thought brings home to philosophers that the history of their subject is incompletely assessed and understood without a general knowledge at least of Eastern thought. The difficulty of perusing manuscripts in Sanskrit and other old tongues of the Dekkan Peninsula is minimized by the painstaking and judicious study carried out by Prof. Dasgupta, and the results of which are given in his great work. A History of Indian Philosophy By Dr. Surendranath Dasgupta. Vol. 3. Pp. xiii + 614. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1940.) 35s. net.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1940-Nature
TL;DR: A brief summary of the work and its implications might prove of interest to the readers of NATURE can be found in this article, where the tentative conclusions suggested by Dr. Bullard are in no way confirmed by these investigations, but forthcoming publications by the Geological Society of America can be consulted for amplification.
Abstract: THE brief article by Dr. Bullard entitled “Geophysical Study of Submarine Geology” which appeared in NATURE of May 18, p. 764, was gratifying in that it directed attention to some of the developments in the newest field of geological research. On the other hand, this article showed a pardonable lack of familiarity with many developments, particularly with work along the California coast carried on with the facilities of the Scripps Institution. Since the tentative conclusions suggested by Dr. Bullard are in no way confirmed by these investigations, a brief summary of the work and its implications might prove of interest to the readers of NATURE. To date only brief summaries of this work have been published, but forthcoming publications by the Geological Society of America can be consulted for amplification.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Dec 1940-Nature
TL;DR: It is now inferred that sulphanilamide inactivates an essential coenzymic grouping of the susceptible organism1,2, and in view of Woods's work, this grouping is most probably ‘p.a.b.’.
Abstract: THE mode of action of sulphanilamide has been the subject of much recent work. Possibly the most precise contribution has been Woods's discovery of the anti-sulphanilamide effect of p-amino benzoic acid (‘p.a.b.’). In a discussion of this work, Fildes1 has suggested that ‘p.a.b.’ might be considered an essential metabolite for bacteria. It is now inferred that sulphanilamide inactivates an essential coenzymic grouping of the susceptible organism1,2, and in view of Woods's work, this grouping is most probably ‘p.a.b.’. Before this hypothesis of sulphanilamide action can be widely accepted it remains to be proved that ‘p.a.b.’ is essential for the growth of organisms inhibited by the drug.