944 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RADIATION 



in water is reported a source of radiation, while the solution of sugar in 

 water is not. Extensive work on chemical radiation has been reported by 

 Wolff and Ras (308), Ruyssen (237, 238), Frank (79), Audubert (6), 

 Potozky (212), Braunstein and Potozky (32, 33), and Braunstein 

 and Severin (34). 



Before ending this review, attention should be called to the cancer 

 problem. Since it has been reported that blood of cancerous people will 

 not radiate and cancer tissue itself will (Gurwitsch 114, 128, 129, 133, 

 135, 137, Karpass and Lanschina, 153, Kisliak-Statkewitsch, 156, 

 Siebert, 268), this has suggested a study for the extremely difficult and 

 involved problem of cancer. We warn here against a careless optimism, 

 which expressed itself especially in a number of popular articles and has 

 often prejudiced the sincere worker from taking this problem seriously. 

 It can safely be stated that even if the work on the mitogenetic-ray 

 problem is entirely correct — and before we can accept this, many points 

 must be cleared up — the cancer problem, as such, should be left to those 

 who have had considerable experience with it, and if it should prove 

 possible to put in the hands of the cancer worker good reliable detecting 

 methods for mitogenetic rays, a great service would have been rendered. 

 Speculation based on small amounts of material or data should be 

 avoided. More and carefully controlled work on the fundamental 

 methods of this problem and more reliable proof of the existence of 

 mitogenetic rays are needed before a satisfactory evaluation can be 

 expected. 



CONCLUSIONS 



The most critical investigators must admit — when going over at least 

 the more simple experiments, and seeing the large number of positive 

 results reported from different laboratories — that the trend of results 

 points to some uniform effect, but the interpretation of the effect need 

 not necessarily be what the investigators claim for it. But even a 

 convinced believer in the existence of mitogenetic rays must admit that 

 there are so many contradictions and slightly supported statements 

 concerning the work that it cannot be accepted in the present form. 

 It is clear that before the advanced work on spectral analysis can be 

 discussed intelligently the fundamental facts must be cleared up and 

 put on such a basis that they can be handled by any careful worker 

 It seems to the reviewer that more harm has been done to the mitogenetic- 

 ray problem by its overenthusiastic supporters than by those who have 

 maintained an interested but critical attitude toward the problem. 



We have given here only a bird's-eye view of the application of 

 mitogenetic rays. Those interested in different phases of the problem 

 will find the available material in the literature. 



Tiie books (97, 108) published on the mitogenetic-ray problem make 

 it very difficult to evaluate the material. There is a tendency to accept 



