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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LI. No. 1311 



formation regarding related work planned or 

 in progress, and how readily, as a member of 

 the group, he could render his own researches 

 more widely useful and significant. 



Another interesting piece of cooperative re- 

 search, which involves the joint activities of 

 geographers, physicists, zoologists, and prac- 

 tical fishermen, is centered largely at the 

 Marine Biological Laboratory at La Jolla, 

 California. Systematic measurements of the 

 temperature of the Pacific near the coast 

 show occasional upwelling of cold water. 

 Simultaneous biological studies reveal a 

 change in the distribution of microscopic 

 organisms with the temperature of the water. 

 This has an immediate practical bearing, be- 

 cause the distribution of the organisms is a 

 dominant factor in the distribution of certain 

 food fishes. The source of the temperature 

 changes and their influence on meteorological 

 phenomena, are other interesting aspects of 

 this work. 



In the field of engineering, the possibilities 

 of cooperative research are unlimited. The 

 fatigue phenomena of metals have been chosen 

 by the Engineering Division of the National 

 Research Council, acting in conjunction with 

 the Engineering Foimdation, as the subject 

 of one of many cooperative investigations. 

 Metals and alloys which are subjected to long- 

 repeated stresses frequently break down, espe- 

 cially in aircraft, where the weight of the 

 parts must be reduced to a minimum. The 

 elastic limit and, to a lesser degree, the ulti- 

 mate strength of steel can be raised by work- 

 ing it cold, provided that a period of rest 

 ensues after cold- working. The tests indicate, 

 however, that increased static strength due to 

 cold working does not necessarily indicate in- 

 creased resistance to fatigue under repeated 

 stress. In the case of cold- stretched steel, for 

 low stresses the fatigue strength is actually 

 less than for the same steel before stretching. 



These phenomena, and others that illustrate 

 the complexity of this problem, afford abun- 

 dant opportunity for further research. The 

 membership of the committee includes repre- 

 sentatives of educational institutions, the Bu- 

 reavT of Standards, and several large industrial 



establishments. The work was divided among 

 the members, two dealing with its metallo- 

 graphic features, two with machines for test- 

 ing, two with mechanics of the materials in- 

 volved, and one with a survey of the subject 

 from the standpoint of the steel manufacturer. 

 The results already obtained promise much for 

 the future success of this undertaking. 



Scores of other illustrations of effective 

 cooperation in research might be given, espe- 

 cially in astronomy, where each of the 32 

 committees of the International Astronomical 

 Union is constituted for the purpose of organ- 

 izing cooperative investigations. In spite of 

 the length of this list of committees, it can 

 not be said that astronomy oifers any unique 

 possibilities of joint action. The division of 

 the sky among widely separated observers is 

 only a single means of cooperation, which may 

 be paralleled in geology, paleontology, geog- 

 raphy, botany, zoology, meteorology, geodesy, 

 terrestrial magnetism and other branches of 

 geophysics, and in many other departments 

 of science. Most of the larger problems of 

 physics and chemistry, though open to study 

 in any laboratory, could be attacked to advan- 

 tage by cooperating groups. In fact, it may be 

 doubted whether research in any field of 

 science or its applications would not benefit 

 greatly by some form of cooperative attack. 



As for the fear of central control, and of in- 

 terference with personal liberty and individual 

 initiative, which has been entertained by some 

 men of science, it certainly is not warranted 

 by the facts. Cooperative research should 

 always be purely voluntary, and the develop- 

 ment of improved methods of observation and 

 novel modes of procedure, not foreseen in 

 preparing the original scheme, should invari- 

 ably be encouraged. They may occasionally 

 upset some adopted plan of action, but if the 

 cooperating investigators are following the 

 wrong path, or neglecting easily available 

 means of improving their resiilts, the sooner 

 this is discovered the better for all concerned. 



Canada and the United States, enjoying 

 similar natural advantages, and lying in such 

 close proximity as to permit the greatest free- 

 dom of intercourse, are most favorably situ- 



