Harvard Fatigue Laboratory, Working at Boulder Dam, Preserved Lives by Study of Heat Effects

Hundreds of lives are saved annually by the experiments of a small crew of men in the basement of Thorndike Hall, where the Fatigue Laboratory maintains its headquarters and conducts a range of experiments varying from the heat-resistant powers of human beings to the metabolism of dogs.

Under the supervision of Dr. David B. Dill, Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry, a special study has been made in the last two years of chemical changes in the blood during exercise. Harvard tracksters are used as patients for the work, which consists of running on a treadmill capable of being geared downed to speeds of 2.3 miles per hour or stopped up as high as 17 miles per hour.

With periods of work on the treadmill varying from a few seconds of sprinting to intermittent half-hour periods of walking, the runners present all the stages of physical exhaustion. Blood tests are systematically taken, and the blood analyzed to find out the amount of lactic acid, presence of which is the chief cause of fatigue. Test-tubes, beakers, flasks, burners, and numerous scientific devices make this experimental room vaguely reminiscent of a Sax Rohmer novel or the mid-year nightmares of Chem A students.

Field work of the Fatigue Laboratory has included research at Boulder Dam, on the problem of curing or preventing heat cramps, as illness which was daily exacting its toll of human life. Previous scientific study had been based upon the premise that all the workers needed was plenty of water. The Fatigue Laboratory's work indicated that, a deficiency of salt caused both sunstroke and heat cramps. A mild amount of salt in the drinking water proved to be of value in preventing the illness, and in extreme cases, intravenous injections of a saline solution were made. Following the work of the department, not one death occurred among the 3000 workers employed on Boulder Dam.