Industrial Research 



255 



directly concorned with medicine. The development of 

 cliemothcrapeiitic agents such as sulfanilamide is 

 largely the result of mtensive study in industrial labora- 

 tories as well as m endowed medical laboratories. 

 Research on the endocrines has led to the commercial 

 exploitation of the hormones. Isolation and study of 

 the viruses may lead soon to developments of industrial 

 significance. 



In agriculture the application of the principles of 

 genetics and physiology has led to an astonishing 

 increase in quahty and productivity. Not only have 

 plant and animal strains been developed for specific 

 pur]5oses and adaptable to specific environments — 

 resistant or immune to certain diseases — but in many 

 instances the ability of these strains to utilize more 

 efTectively the potentialities of the enviromnent in 

 providing food and clothing for men have been raised to 

 a high degree of efficiency. Knowledge of soil and 

 climatic conditions has made its contribution to this 

 advance, as has research by plant pathologists, genetr- 

 icists, biochemists, bacteriologists, entomologists, and 

 workei-s m other fields. Some of tliis research was 

 unorgairized, some was due to industrial organizations, 

 while probably the most has come from the State 

 supported agricidtural experiment stations. 



The field of nutrition has undergone a near revolu- 

 tion. Newer knowledge of the mechanism of biological 

 processes, the function of the vitamins, the importance 

 of minerals, and studies of energy transformations, 

 immensely accelerated by the use of radioactive and 

 isotopic "tracer" atoms within the animal body in 

 relation to the foods utilized has had great industrial 

 repercussions. Tliis has also indirectly iiifluenced 

 agricvdture; studies in animal husbandry and nutrition 

 have shown how to feed for lean meat, for egg produc- 

 tion, and even for better wool and fur. Although 

 research in this field was initiated maiidy in the uni- 

 versities a rapidly increasing amount is being done in 

 strictly industrial laboratories, wliile nearly an equal 

 amount in the colleges is now being subsidized by 

 industry. 



Transportation and storage become big problems in 

 the economy of civilized man, and in most cases some 

 processing to improve characteristics of the product 

 and prevent deterioration is necessary after harvesting, 

 whether the crop be plants, animals, or micro-organisms. 

 During processing the cells and structure of the product 

 may be changed, and appearance, digestibihty, flavor, 

 odor, tenderness, etc., be favorably or unfavorably 

 influenced, but the control measures of the biologist and 

 his other scientific collaborators should be avadable. 

 Ripening processes involve enzymic changes, and it is 

 necessary to control these changes in the product due 

 to its own enzymes or to those of invading micro- 

 organisms. The battle between the biologist and the 



spoilage micro-organisms is a continuous one, and the 

 outcome is dependent U|)on the information furnished 

 by biological research. It is in tlu; jjrcservation of 

 foods that the research biologist has made some of his 

 most imi)ortant contributions. The biologist is also 

 conccM-ned in keeping out, killing, or removing diseast!- 

 producing organisms, both infectious and those produc- 

 ing to.xins. A great deal of the research in tliis field is 

 due to industrial organizations. 



The Food Industries 



Tlie food in(lustri(^s have, in general, been slower to 

 use biologists and their discoveries than have some otlier 

 industries; this is probably due to their firm anchorage 

 in the methods of antiquity. A few of the biological 

 sciences, however, are well represented in some of the 

 food industries at present. Bacteriologists, for ex- 

 ample, are considered necessary collaborators in re- 

 search on milk products, meats, and canning. Re- 

 searches in relation to the adidteration of foods and 

 drugs have been carried on intensively by chemists and 

 bacteriologists. There exists, however, a real need for 

 more emphasis on investigations of the histology of 

 useful plants. Food microscopy, as it is called, is a 



FiGUKE 79. — .Stmlyiiif; ().\iil:i,ti(in-H(.'iliR-(ion Sy-stcins, Flei.scli- 

 maini Laboratories, New Vork, New York 



