RECENT ADVANCES IN SCIENCE 55 



VII. A new member of the order Ascospermophora (Jack- 

 soneuma trades, gen. et sp. nov)," by Brade-Birks and Brade- 

 Birks {ibid. Dec. 191 7); "On the Re-occurrence of Ligidium 

 Hypnorum (Cuv.) in Great Britain," by Collinge (ibid. Dec. 



1917)- 



At the present time considerable importance attaches to 



the study of lice and their relations to man, as under war con- 

 ditions, where cleanliness is a matter of great difficulty, if not 

 impossibility, infection among the troops is widespread. The 

 matter becomes urgent in view of the fact that these pests 

 undoubtedly carry certain diseases. The following three 

 papers by Nuttall then should prove of value : " Bibliography 

 of Pediculus and Phthirus, including Zoological and Medical 

 Publications dealing with Human Lice, their Anatomy, Biology, 

 Relation to Disease, etc., and Prophylactic Measures directed 

 against them " ; " The Part played by Pediculus humanus 

 in the Causation of Disease " ; and " The Biology of Pediculus 

 humanus " (all in Parasit. vol. x. Nov. 191 7). In the second it 

 is shown that Pediculus undoubtedly carries both typhus and 

 relapsing fevers, and in addition it may carry plague and in 

 a mechanical way " mycotic or pyogenic infections like farus, 

 pityriasis, impetigo contagiosa, and furunculosis." Various 

 pathological conditions appear to follow more easily from the 

 general lowering of the vitality brought about by pediculosis. 

 The third paper is a very full account of the general biology 

 of the pest, including its modes of dissemination and prevalence, 

 feeding, and its reproductive and life history. Certain reactions 

 to various stimuli are also described, and the whole paper will 

 form a good base from which to attack the parasite at the vital 

 points in its life cycle. 



Other papers include : " On Three new Parasitic Ascari " 

 (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. Dec. 191 7) ; "Ant-like Spiders 

 from Malaya, collected by the Amandale Robinson Expedition 

 1901-2," by Hirst (Proc. Zool. Soc. Oct. 191 7), and " Notes 

 on Head and Body-Lice and upon Temperature Reactions of 

 Lice and Mosquitoes," by Howlett (Parasit. vol. x. Nov. 

 1917). 



Two papers of general interest to students of the germ-cells 

 of insects have been produced by Hegner : " The Genesis of the 

 Organisation of the Insect Egg : I. The Complexity of Organisa- 

 tion of the Insect Egg " (Amer. Naturalist, Nov. 191 7), and 



