282 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON. 



INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURE ON METABOLISM. 



By means of the clinical respiration chamber a study has been begun 

 of the carbon-dioxide production and oxygen consumption of a human 

 subject under conditions of varying environmental temperature — a 

 factor which is popularly supposed to affect profoundly the basal 

 metabolism. Similarly with smaller forms of respiration chambers the 

 same temperature conditions have been applied to small animals, such 

 as dogs, cats, and, particularly, geese and ducks. 



THE CONVERSION OF CARBOHYDRATES TO FAT IN THE ANIMAL BODY. 



The double problem of the convereion of carbohydrate to fat, such as 

 occurs during surfeit feeding of geese and obesity in man, and the 

 interesting energy relationships between the carbon dioxide formed and 

 the oxygen consumed during these processes, can be sunultaneously 

 studied with great profit by using geese as subjects and determining 

 the gaseous metabolism and heat production with the recently completed 

 respiration calorimeter for small animals. Such an investigation has 

 been begun and considerable progress has been made with the experi- 

 mental attention of Miss E. H. Tompkins and Miss Alice Johnson. 



THE METABOLISM OF COLD-BLOODED ANIMALS. 



As stated in earUer reports, a most advantageous arrangement has 

 been made for research at the New York Zoological Park, by means of 

 which valuable data may be obtained for comparative purposes on the 

 basal metabolism of the lower animals. With the assistance of Mr. 

 Colbert Mason, an excellent beginning has been made on an extensive 

 study of the metabolism of cold-blooded animals, particularly serpents 

 and tortoises. Owing to Mr. Mason's ill health, we are so unfortunate 

 as to lose his services, but the research is being actively continued with 

 the assistance of Mr. E. L. Fox. Publication of the results will not be 

 possible until the data accumulated are much more extensive. 



EDITORIAL AND COMPUTING WORK. 



The preparation of the large monographs describing the technique 

 and protocols and discussing the results of the investigations carried 

 out in this Laboratory have necessitated a special division of computing 

 and editing that is completel}^ equipped with modern computing devices. 

 Several scientific contributions in the form of either journal articles or 

 of monographs are constantly in hand. Reference should also be made 

 to the investigation on the applicability of modern statistical treat- 

 ment to the vast amount of data which is being gathered together. 

 As a result of several conferences with biological statisticians, notably 

 Dr. C. B. Davenport, Dr. Raymond Pearl, and Dr. J. Arthur Harris, 

 arrangements have been made with Dr. Harris to apply statistical 

 treatment to several characteristic sets of the data which have already 

 been accumulated. 



