Harvard Scientists Pioneer; Advancements in Medicine

Harvard scientists, working in laboratories observatories, and on battle fronts all over the world, have again forged ahead in the making of several important recoveries which will surely insure and improve the health of man-kind.

Foremost among these discoveries are been the isolation of quinine by Woodward and Doering, the separation of blood plasma into its various chemical components by Dr. Cohn, the invention of an apparatus for transferring whole blood within the battle lines by Majors Emerson and Ebert, the gathering of much evidence that cancer is caused by glandular disturbances by Drs. Lieberstein, Hill and Feiser, and a new treatment for goiter by Dr. Astwood.

Halted as one of the greatest scientific achievements of the century, the complete isolation of quinine, which was formally announced last month by the Harold Company, was accomplished by two 37-year-old Harvard scientists, Robert B. Woodward and William E. Doering. In less than 14 months, they ended a hundred year old search for a method of producing the anti-malaria medicine synthetically. Commercial output, however, is still uncertain.

Transfusion Apparatus Devised

In England, two Harvard Medical School specialists, Majors Charles Emerson and Richard Ebert, have devised an apparatus for transferring blood within battle lines weighing only 34 pounds, which can be used to draw blood from a healthy donor and to inject it into the veins of a wounded soldier in five minutes.

In cases where shock is very great, the injection of blood plasma alone is insufficient, since patients who have suffered severe injuries need 50 per cent plasma and 50 per cent whole blood. Until now, the lack of suitable equipment has made this practically impossible.

Several hundred experimental transfusions have been made with enlisted men volunteering to test it, pumping blood out of one arm and sending it back into the other. Majors Emerson and Ebert themselves submitted to the most crucial tests and in no case did a fever reaction occur. The new apparatus should be extremely valuable in saving the lives of wounded soldiers on the field.

Pursuing the cause of cancer, Drs. S. Lieberman, B. R. Hill, and L. F. Fieser, together with Dr. Konrad Dohriner and Col. R. P. Rhoads of Memorial Hospital, have gathered new evidence that cancer and leukemia are caused by endocrine disturbances, particularly in the adrenal gland. It is probable that glands in the cancer and leukemia patients secrete cancer-causing chemicals. A possible cure was recently reported by Dr. James B. Murphy, who stated that transplanted leukemia can be prevented from developing by injections of adrenal cortical hormones.

Dr. E. B. Astwood has developed a new medical treatment for patients with enlarged goiters caused by over-active thyroid glands. In nine cases treated, all signs of the disease disappeared after a daily dose of the thiouracil medicine for six months.

New Tratment for Measles

Based on studies of blood plasma carried on by Dr. Edwin J. Cohn of the Med School, a new methid for treating measles has been revealed, consisting of the injection of certain antibodies that destroy the germ of measles. Experiments with this now weapon against measles have been carried on in many places where epidemics of the disease have arisen.

The antidote, known as gamma globulin, has proved effective in a majority of cases tried. Much of the success of the new treatment is credited to Dr. Cohn,