MARINE SCIENCE 139 
Dr. Ray. And porpoises turn out to be very interesting animals. 
The Cuairman. I know they are working with pet porpoises on 
the Polaris program. 
Dr, Ray. Not only for the way in which these animals move through 
the water, but for the implications of all deep-diving submersibles, 
information about the behavior of these animals is useful. 
Ancther thing, such as why some species of marine organisms ac- 
cumulate certain substances, including the radioisotopes, to an exces- 
sive degree over the concentration in sea water; what are the toler- 
ances of marine life to the pollutants and insecticides that enter the 
sea 1 ever-increasing amounts. These are questions whose answers 
are or should be sought, and all have medical significance. 
The medical implications of oceanography are vast. Some of the 
more important questions are being explored, but most are claiming 
attention of only a few investigators, and many are being ignored. 
That the present amount of medically-oriented work with marine 
organisms is so much less than might be expected from the intriguing 
questions that can be asked, is not due to the indolence of scientists 
but rather to the lack of opportunity for intelligently exploiting the 
possibilities of marine research. 
In addition, these organisms, and particularly the invertebrate or- 
ganisms, are generally less well known and appreciated than forms 
that have, like us, a terrestrial life. We are accustomed to the prob- 
lems of maintaining colonies of animals, cultures of organisms, and 
crops of terrestrial organisms and using these for experimental pur- 
poses, but few laboratories are equipped to satisfy the needs of long- 
term experiments that involve the maintaining, breeding, and rearing 
of marine animals and plants, and yet this is what is needed. 
To explore the medical aspects of oceanography means that there 
must be permanently established marine laboratories, located near 
the ocean shore, equipped with continuously operating sea water sys- 
tems that deliver adequate supplies of fresh, unpolluted sea water 
available on a year-round basis. 
For medical investigations, the marine laboratory must also have 
modern research equipment. The number of such marine stations, 
compared with the total number of laboratories in which medical 
research with terrestrial ogranisms can be carried out, is small indeed. 
Great laboratories are built to investigate questions of health and dis- 
ease, and these medical research centers are vitally umportant, but 
most of them are far from the sea and none have provision for ex- 
ploiting the rich reservoir of experimental organisms that live in the 
marine environment. 
If we look to the open ocean where important medically oriented 
experiments could be carried out on shipboard, we find that only now 
are research vessels in the United States being planned to provide 
adequate research biological laboratories. Without these facilities, on 
shore and afloat, in which carefully controlled, modern research can 
be carried out, progress in the medical aspects of oceanography will 
be slow. We are still very far from achieving our goals, but the pros- 
pects of contributing through marine biology to the store of knowl- 
edge that leads to greater human health and welfare cannot be 
dimmed. 
The Cuarrman. Off the record. 
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