308 SUMMARY OF CUKRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



7,em, is not eaten, suggests that minute traces of soluble material may be 

 present in globulin, lactalbumin, and ovalbumin. It is also possible 

 that these proteins are very slightly soluble in the water in which 

 amoebge live. 



Some facts in regard to general behaviour are noted. An amoeba 

 Titihzes the vestige of a former pseud opod for the projection of a new one 

 whenever it is possible, rather than form an entirely new one. " The 

 reactions of an amoeba at a given time are, in a definite manner and to 

 a large extent, conditioned by its behaviour, that is, by changes in the 

 shape of its body, during the preceding minutes." 



" There is a large amount of objective evidence that positive and 

 negative tendencies of reaction with respect to a single source of stimu- 

 lation are effectively present in amoeba, and that reactions are not due in 

 any sense to the direct effect of the stimulus." 



Amoebse of Human Intestine.* — N. H. Swellengrebel and R.M.M. 

 Winoto have found, besides an ordinary " limax " amoeba, another form 

 of the same type which has different cysts and different physiological 

 characters. It is considered to be a true intestinal parasite, but its 

 pathogenic character is doubtful. Its structural features separate it 

 from other intestinal parasites — from Entammha coli and E. histolytica, 

 where the motile forms and cysts are larger ; from the four-nucleate 

 cysts of Chilomastix mesniU, which, though of the same size, show a 

 different nuclear structure (vesicular) ; from Blastocystis hominis, which 

 has a characteristic refractile appearance. 



Antarctic Foraminifera.t — Frederick Chapman reports on Fora- 

 minifera collected on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition, from 

 elevated deposits on the shores of the Ross Sea. From upthrust muds 

 above the Drygalski glacier, south-east of Mount liarseu, twenty-four 

 species were obtained, twelve of which have been already noted from the 

 sub-Antarctic islands of New Zealand. There is a considerable propor- 

 tion of deep-water forms. The bipolar theory is supported by the 

 occurrence of BilociiUna sarsi, which forms a large proportion of the 

 " BilocuUna clay " of the North Sea. The author also reports on 

 Foraminifera from elevated deposits on the slopes of Mount Erebus, 

 near Cape Royds. Twelve of the twenty-two species are common to the 

 deposit south-east of Mount Larsen. 



Foraminifera from Ross Sea.:j: — Frederick Chapman reports on a 

 collection made on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Expedition, from muds from 

 soundings in the Ross Sea. There were sixty-four species and varieties, 

 including Reophax longiscatiformis sp. n., R. murraijana sp. n., and 

 three new varieties. A notable feature is the large number of species 

 which are undoubtedly common to the cold areas of the North and 



* Parasitology, ix.(1917) pp. 266-73 (1 pi. and 1 fig.). 



t Eeports Sci. Invest. Brit. Antarc. Exped., 1907-9, Geology, ii. (1917) pp. 

 27-34 (3 pis.) ; pp. 41-6 (1 pi.). 



X Reports Sci. Invest. Brit. Antarc. Exped., 1907-9, Geology, ii. (1917) pp. 

 55-79 (5 pis.). 



