122 Biochemical News, Notes and Comment [Oct. 



Krönig and others have excited great attention in our newspapers 

 and partly under the pressure of public opinion and partly instigated 

 by the wishes of the directors of the hospitals, the municipal authori- 

 ties in a number of cities have determined to purchase some meso- 

 thorium and radium. BerHn has appropriated $50,000 for this 

 purpose, and $200,000 have been appropriated for the same purpose 

 by the Prussian Department of Education. It is to be hoped that 

 further success will justify this not inconsiderable material sacrifice. 

 — The great rush for the purchase of mesothorium and radium by 

 municipalities, has been suddenly checked by the city of Munich. 

 The city government of that city has refused for the present to 

 carry out the resolution to buy $50,000 worth of this costly material. 

 It is believed that there are positive evidences that the factories 

 engaged in producing mesothorium are raising the price unduly. 

 For this reason, more exact information is to be obtained by the 

 municipal authorities before the purchase of the preparation is con- 

 summated in Munich and other cities. (Berlin letter: Jour. 

 Amer. Med. Assoc, 1913, Ixi, pp. 613, 1055, 1308 and 1470.) 



The Prussian Government has purchased a gram of radium at 

 the cost of $87,500 for hospital and scientific use. 



The Prussian ministry of education, which a short time ago 

 made grants of money to the univ. clinics at Berlin, Halle and Kiel, 

 enabling them to procure radium or mesothorium for the treatment 

 of Cancer, is now said to have placed $200,000 in the estimates of 

 next year for further purchases. 



There v^as a section of radiology at the last Intern. Congr. of 

 Med., for the first time in the history of the congress. 



Meetings of societies and congresses. British Assoc. for 

 THE Adv. of Science, The annual meeting of the British Assoc. 

 for the Adv. of Science was held in Birmingham. The attendande 

 numbered 2,500. 



Hormones. In the Sect. of Physiology the most important 

 paper was that on internal secretions, by Prof. Schäfer. He pointed 

 out that the convenient term hormone, introduced by Starling 

 (from op/xaco, I excite) while applicable to the active principle of 

 many internal secretions, has been extended to all and is wrongly 



