assisted by the natural defensive mechanisms of the body, which also are roused into action to overpower the invader and the cooperation of which often insures protection against reinvasion, acquired at the end of, and in consequence of, the struggle. INFECTION AND SURVIVAL Infection and the mastering of infection are intricate biological processes in which contending forces are brought into play one against the other, whence a struggle ensues. We have seen that the host stands ready equipped with mechanisms of defense which may be quickly mobilized, and which undergo favorable modification during infection, when as we say, it proceeds toward a favorable termination. The bacteriologist has learned within the past quarter of a century to imitate nature's method of surmounting infection by supplying certain of the defensive implements artificially wrought to be brought to her aid in time of stress and need, and the chemist is learning more and more the manner of adapting drugs to the destruction of the microbic parasites of disease for a like purpose. All the advantage is, however, not on the side of the body, since the parasites also possess powers of modification, through which the most elaborate obstacles placed in their way by the host may be rendered futile. These adaptations consist in the acquisition of special properties of aggressive action or virulence, with which is associated the ability to produce and liberate substances paralyzing to the defensive processes of the host. Again, the parasites may surround themselves with a kind of mantle, protecting them from the potentially destructive effects of serum and phagocyte. Or they may undergo an internal change of constitution, through which resistance to injurious agencies not normal to the species is developed. The last condition is called "fastness" and has been observed especially among trypanosomes and spirochetes exposed within the body of the host to ineffective amounts of specific serums or chemicals. With so many factors interplaying, it is not difficult to perceive that the problem of infection is a complex one, both as regards its occurrence and its issue. But our understanding of the conditions under which it arises has been immeasurably extended by the discovery of the insect and higher animal agencies in communicating infective agents to man, and of the part played by so-called microbe carriers, those unfortunate and innocent persons who have recovered from or merely been exposed to a communicable disease, or suffered a slight, abortive, or ambulant attack of which they are ignorant, and the discovery of the usual portals of entry into the body of pathogenic microorganisms. Infectious diseases prevail in two more or less distinct, but at times interwoven ways, which we speak of as the sporadic and the epidemic. The former represents the ordinary manner of spread, the latter the occasional or periodic explosive outbreak or wave, such as has been experienced recently with the pandemics of poliomyelitis, influenza and lethargic encephalitis. What has been sought in the past and is being assiduously looked for in the present is an adequate explanation of the transition from the sporadic to the epidemic type of disease. We possess already quite accurate numerical data which show the manner in which epidemics begin, how they reach their maximum or peak, and then how they fall away again. Indeed, we now construct easily and recognize readily the epidemic curves of different epidemic diseases. But it is to be hoped that a new era is appearing in the study of epidemiology in which experiment may play a part along with observation, statistical and other. Already beginnings are being made in the attempt to define the distinction between the potentially fluctuating grades or power of infectivity and degree of virulence, taking the former to mean the natural propensity which a microbe displays in penetrating the ordinary portals leading into the body and its ability to survive and multiply there, and the latter the capacity to overcome the natural defenses when artificially inoculated. This is a field clearly approachable by experiment, using small laboratory animals, among which arise from time to time, and much as happens with man himself, destructive epidemics induced by known microbes. Finally, there is the field in which not a single species of microbe is concerned but more than one, the first preparing, the other utilizing the prepared way for its more vicious purposes. Frequent examples of the last condition are observed among the lower animals, in which, of course, the opportunities for study are superior to those existing in man; but recent experiences in this and other countries during the influenza epidemic carry conviction of this relationship, since the original disease is recognized to be not of severe nature, while the pneumonia engrafted upon it is admittedly of highly fatal character. My purpose in reviewing some of the notable events and tendencies in bacteriology which have come to light in the past twenty-five years has been to present to your consideration the achievements in one branch of modern medicine, and to indicate the relation subsisting between medicine and the more fundamental sciences of physics, chemistry and biology. Bacteriology has depended also for its development on its sister sciences of physiology, pharmacology and pathology, without which many of its phenomena could not be interpreted. It seems but proper to state that what has been attempted here for bacteriology could readily be equalled or even exceeded by spokesmen for those sister sciences, so surely has medicine grown scientific in recent times. SIMON FLEXNER SCIENTIFIC EVENTS MUSEUM OF THE BUFFALO SOCIETY OF ON October 16 the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences opened its New Museum at 1231 Elmwood Avenue. This building is merely the inner court of a much larger museum which is to be erected by the society as soon as funds are available. The court measures approximately a fifty-five foot square. There is also 1 From The Museums Journal. a lobby, hall and office on the main floor and an office and two work shops on the second floor. The entire idea of the New Museum exhibit is to give every man, woman and child who visits it the opportunity to understand the evolution of this earth from the time it was a part of a nebula arm up to the present decade. The hall of the building is devoted to astronomy and meteorology, many of the transparencies having just been obtained from the Mount Wilson and Yerkes Observatories. The next exhibit is dynamical in nature, telling of what elements our earth is made and of the forces that have changed the earth's crust to form continents, oceans, rivers, lakes and mountains. This is followed by an exhibit of paleontology which touches on the flora and fauna of the sixteen great geologic ages and ends with an evolutionary exhibit of man and one of the horse. The last exhibit exemplifies the way in which man has utilized nature's products. It is truly marvelous how dyes have been made from coal tar; silk garments, alcohol, linoleum, tar and paper from wood; and the beautiful Deldare semi-porcelain ware from the commonest clay. Among other interesting objects to be found in the museum are the relief maps of such localities as Mount Shasta, Mount Vesuvius, and the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. There is a very large relief map of Erie County which occupies a large space in the center of the floor. It was constructed by Frederick Burgie, of Rochester. Two cases have been reserved as a display ground for especially beautiful objects owned by the society. At present these cases are filled with precious and semi-precious stones, many of them in the matrix. Of especial interest to the children is the fine exhibit of birds and animals which have been mounted by Joseph Santens. Mr. Santens is at present completing a collection of native birds which will be studied by the school children under the new Nature Study Syllabus as published by the regents of the state of New York. MEDALS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY Ar the anniversary meeting of the Royal Society on November 30 the medals were awarded in accordance with the announcement already made. The citations of several of the medalists were as follows: The Rumford medal is awarded to Lord Rayleigh, who is distinguished for his researches into the properties of gases at high vacua, and whose work has opened the way to many valuable investigations. Some years ago Lord Rayleigh made a number of interesting observations on the afterglow in various gases noticeable after the cessation of an electric discharge, and these led in 1911 to his Bakerian lecture on "The Afterglow of Nitrogen.'' The investigation thus started has proved the subject of much of his recent work, and in a series of most valuable papers he has studied the properties of the gas in which this afterglow is visible. A Royal medal is awarded to Dr. William Bateson, who is universally recognized as a leading authority on genetics, and has done more than anyone else to put that branch of inquiry on a scientific basis. The work that stands to his name is, however, but a fraction of that which he has inspired wherever biological research is prosecuted. In conjunction with Professor Punnett he worked out in detail one of the earliest cases of sex-linked inheritance. Peculiar association of genetic factors in gameto-genesis had previously been discovered by the same authors and described under the terms "coupling" and "repulsion." In 1911 they published two papers which proved that these phenomena are part of a more general phenomenon of linkage, the orderly nature of which was pointed out. Since these papers appeared the phenomenon has been shown by various workers to be widespread in both animals and plants. Three papers by Bateson and C. Pellew record a discovery of high interest and importance, viz., that the germcells of the same plant may vary in their genetic properties. It is further pointed out that the variation proceeds in an orderly way from the base of the plant to the apex. The conception is a novel one, and is bound to have great influence on the development of genetical theory. The Darwin medal is awarded to Professor Roland Harry Biffen, who has worked out the inheritance of practically all the obvious characters of wheat and barley. Perhaps his best-known work is that on the inheritance of strength in wheat and on the inheritance of susceptibility and resistance to yellow rust in wheat. Biffen's activity is not by any means to be measured by his published work. Two of his new wheats-Little Joss, which owes its value to its immunity from rust, and Yeoman, which combines high yield with first-class baking quality-are among the most popular wheats in the country, and together account for something like a third, or even a half, of the wheat crop of England. The Hughes medal is awarded to Professor Owen Williams Richardson for his researches on the passage of electricity through gases, and especially for those relating to the emission of electrons from hot bodies a subject which Professor Richardson has made his own and christened "thermionics.' "" The subject is of great industrial as well as of scientific importance. THE PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES Ar the annual meeting of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, held December 21, 1920, the following officers, councillors and members of the committee on accounts were elected to serve during 1921. President: John Cadwalader, LL.D. Vice-Presidents: Edwin G. Conklin, Ph.D.; Henry Skinner, M.D. Recording Secretary: James A. G. Rehn. Corresponding Secretary: J. Percy Moore, Ph.D. Treasurer: George Vaux, Jr. Librarian: Edward J. Nolan, M.D. Curators: Witmer Stone, A.M., Sc.D.; Henry A. Pilsbry, Sc.D.; Henry Tucker, M.D.; Spencer Trotter, M.D. Councillors to Serve Three Years: Charles B. Penrose, M.D.; Charles Morris; William E. Hughes, M.D.; Roswell C. Williams, Jr. Councillor to Fill an Unexpired Term-1921 to 1922: Milton J. Greenman, M.D. Committee on Accounts: Charles Morris; Samuel N. Rhodes; John G. Rothermel; Thomas S. Stewart, M.D.; Walter Horstmann. At the meeting of the academy held November 16, 1920, the following was adopted: Resolved: That in recognition of the exceptionally long period (covering 58 years) of his service to the academy, of his undeviating loyalty to its interests, and of the geniality of manner that endeared him to members and visitors alike, Dr. Edward J. Nolan be, upon the election of his suc cessor, given the honorary title for life of recording secretary emeritus, and that he be so designated in all official lists of the officers of the academy. THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES THE annual meeting of the academy for the election of officers, fellows and honorary members, the presentation of reports and the transaction of other business was held at the Delta Kappa Epsilon Club, 30 West 44th Street, on the evening of Monday, December 20. The report of the corresponding secretary showed that there are now upon the rolls of the Academy 31 Honorary Members and 102 Corresponding Members. The death of the following Honorary and Corresponding Members was recorded with regret: Sir Norman Lockyer, honorary member since 1880. Professor Wilhelm Pfeffer, honorary member since 1898. Professor Wilhelm Wundt, honorary member since 1904. Professor George Macloskie, corresponding member since 1876. Professor Joseph Paxon Iddings, corresponding member since 1896. There have been held during the year 7 business meetings and 26 sectional meetings at which 40 stated papers were presented. The membership of the academy is 575, which includes 415 active members, 24 associate members, 109 life members, 8 patrons, 1 benefactor and 18 non-resident members, of whom 148 are fellows. Record was made of the loss by death of 15 members. The treasurer reported that the receipts for the fiscal year were $7,962.86, and the expenditures were $7,386.98. The investments of the academy amount to $53,198.88, held to cover the various funds. The details of the treasurer's report will be published in the Annals. The academy elected Baron Gerard De Geer of Stockholm, Sweden, an Honorary Member. Fifteen members of the academy were elected to fellowship. The following officers for 1921 were elected: President: Edward L. Thorndike. SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS THERE is printed in the present issue of SCIENCE the presidential address before the American Association for the Advancement of Science given this week by Dr. Simon Flexner. We hope to print next week an account of the meeting and that the succeeding issues of SCIENCE will contain the official addresses given at Chicago and accounts of the meetings of the sections and of the affiliated societies. DR. WILLIAM W. COBLENTZ, of the Bureau of Standards, has been awarded the Janssen Medal of the Paris Academy of Sciences for his work on measuring the heat of the stars. DURING the past month Dr. Franz Boas, professor of anthropology at Columbia University, has been elected an honorary member of the Société des Amèricanistes of Paris and of the Folklore Society of London. He has also been elected corresponding member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Berlin, and has received the gold medal of the Anthropological Society of Berlin. DR. RALPH S. LILLIE has resigned the professorship of biology at Clark University to accept the position of biologist, department of pure science, Nela Research Laboratories, National Lamp Works of the General Electric Company, Nela Park, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Lillie will retain his connection with the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, and will carry on his work there in the summers as usual. PAUL M. REA, president of The American Association of Museums, who has now become director of the new Cleveland Museum of Natural History, will be succeeded by Miss Laura M. Bragg in the directorship of The Charleston Museum, South Carolina. 1 DR. FRANK H. REITER, instructor in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania for the past six years, has resigned his position to become psychologist in the public school system of Newark, New Jersey, where he will succeed Dr. Francis N. Maxfield, recently appointed director of psychology in the Pennsylvania State Department of Education. DR. WELLINGTON D. JONES, assistant professor of geography and dean in the college of science at the University of Chicago, recently sailed for England on his way to India, where he expects to make geographical studies. DR. ALEŠ HRDLIČKA has been named doctor honoris causæ of the University of Prague. PROFESSOR J. PERRIN (Paris) and Professor C. Fabry (Marseilles) have been elected honorary members of the Royal Institution, London. DR. JOHN G. COULTER, who was in charge of the agricultural operations of the American Expeditionary Forces, and, after the armistice, Commandant of the Detachment for Agricultural Education, is now at Chateau Sandricourt, Meru, Oise, as manager of certain American-owned agricultural properties. He is collecting material concerning science teaching in France and would be glad to be of service to American enquirers for French educational data. DR. RALPH E. HALL, formerly of the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, has resigned from the Firestone Rubber Company, of Akron, Ohio, to accept a position with the Koppers Company, manufacturers of by-product coke ovens, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. F. L. RANSOME, of the U. S. Geological Survey, has left Washington for field work in Arizona. YALE UNIVERSITY has received a letter from Charles Edward Adams, the head of the Hector Observatory at Wellington, New Zealand, accepting the appointment of associate in astronomy. Dr. Adams, who is the government astronomer and seismologist of New Zealand, has agreed to cooperate with the Yale Observ atory in connection with photographing the stars of the southern hemisphere for compiling zone catalogues. A JAPANESE translation of "The Subconscious," a textbook by Professor Joseph Jastrow, of the department of psychology of the University of Wisconsin, is to be published in the near future. The translation is being made under the direction of Dr. Nakamura, Japanese psychologist and editor of the Japanese Journal of Abnormal Psychology. The book was translated into French shortly after its appearance. A German translation was arranged for before the war but this undertaking has not been completed. THE staff of the Lowell Observatory at Flagstaff, Arizona, at the request of Mrs. Lowell, widow of the late Dr. Percival Lowell, is giving a series of six lectures called "The Lowell Popular Lectures in Astronomy" in the large auditorium of the Northern Arizona Normal School. These lectures are free to the students of the school and to the townspeople in general. Dr. Hamilton gave the first lecture, "The Solar System," on December 14. The next lecture of the series will be given on January 5 by Mr. Truman on the subject "Curiosities among the Stars." THE lectures for 1920-21 on the Silliman Foundation at Yale University were delivered by Professor Leo F. Rettger, on December 13 and 15. The subject was "Some problems of intestinal bacteriology." DR. HIDEYO NOGUCHI, of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, New York City, gave a lecture at the National Museum on November 17, on "Recent studies of yellow fever." The lecture was given under the auspices of the Army Medical School. DR. L. EMMETT HOLT, of Columbia University, New York City, has been appointed Lane Medical Lecturer for the year 1921 at the Medical School of Stanford University, San Francisco, California. The lectures will be delivered in the week beginning on November 28, 1921, and the general subject will be "Growth and Nutrition." |