332 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1345 



edge as tliose on the chemical side. For ex- 

 ample there is the rich field of study con- 

 cerning' the permeability of cell membranes 

 and the viscosity of protoplasm, subjects bear- 

 ing intimately on the life and activities of aU 

 cells, and involving the methods of physics 

 rather than chemistry; there is the study of 

 stimulation and functional response in the 

 excitable tissues, which, especially in its 

 electrical aspects, requires much of the tech- 

 nique and knowledge of the physicist; there 

 is the whole field of the special senses in- 

 cluding physiological optics and color vision, 

 all of which may properly be called bio- 

 physics; and there is the study of the effects 

 of radiation of various sorts on cell structure 

 and function. All these are large fields offer- 

 ing great possibilities of future development, 

 into which the average biologist is but 

 meagerly equipped to penetrate far without 

 the aid of a physicist with whom he can 

 cooperate in a state of mutual understanding. 

 How is the situation to be met Undoubt- 

 edly most biologists— especially physiologists 

 — would do more effective work if they had 

 given more time to the study of physics, but 

 it is a question how much time they can 

 afford to divert from biological study for this 

 purpose. The physiologist who tries to ap- 

 proximate the training of the professonal 

 physicist, will not have time to acquire the 

 thorough knowledge of biology which he 

 should have. The physicist who must first of 

 all be expert in his own line, can not digress 

 to explore the field of biology with the thor- 

 oughness necessary to see where his methods 

 would yield a harvest of data valuable to 

 biology and instructive to himself. 



The best answer is probably to be found in 

 cooperation between experts in the two fields. 

 A well-trained physicist with more than 

 average knowledge of biology, cooperating 

 with a physiologist with a good elementary 

 knowledge of physics, should make a team 

 capable of doing valuable work in the field 

 where physics and biology touch — the analysis 

 of vital phenomena. 



To this end there should be courses of 

 instruction in biophysics adapted to bringing 



together the workers in the two fields. Phys- 

 iology as taught in the best laboratories offers 

 the nearest approach to this which at present 

 exists in most universities. But in physiol- 

 ogy the biological side strongly predominates; 

 the physical technique taught is crude com- 

 pared with that of the trained physicist, and 

 there is little attention given to physical 

 theory. Moreover, physiology is usually 

 taught in medical schools, where it is made 

 to conform to the needs of the prospective 

 physician. Thus it is treated as an applied 

 science rather than as a pure science; it is 

 not primarily adapted as a preparation for 

 research. 



A course is being developed at Harvard 

 which, it is hoped, will prove a useful step 

 toward meeting this need. It is offered by the 

 physics department under the designation 

 " biophysics." Through cooperation between 

 members of the departments of physics, zool- 

 ogy, botany and physiology and the Cancer 

 Commission, it is intended that this course 

 shall serve the students of both physics and 

 biology, introducing to the physicists those 

 phenomena whereby living matter shows its 

 chief differences from all other matter, and 

 some of those applications of physics to biol- 

 ogy which promise to add substantially to our 

 knowledge, and enabling the biologists to learn 

 something of those aspects of physics which it 

 is most important that they should know. 



Alexander Forbes 

 Haevaed Medical School 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 

 THE POWER RESOURCES OF CANADA 



The Canadian Commission of Conservation 

 is issuing a series of reports upon the power 

 resources of the Dominion, the latest being 

 " Water Powers of British Columbia." Ac- 

 cording to a review in the Geographical Jour- 

 nal it is a large volume of over 600 pages, il- 

 lustrated by maps and photographs, and it 

 deals with the subject (so far as present knowl- 

 edge goes) in an exhaustive manner. A 

 " General Introduction " discusses the value of 

 water as a natural resource, explaining the 



