(^ JAN 2 3 1917 '^i 



SCIENCE 



FRroAY, January 19, 1917 



CONTENTS 

 The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 



Asymmetric Syntheses and their Bearing 

 upon the Doctrine of Vitalism: Professor 

 William McPherson 49 



The Committee of One Hundred on Scien- 

 tific Research: Professor J. McKeen Cat- 

 tell 57 



Scientific Events: — 



Congress on Medical Education, Public 

 Health and Medical Licensure; Addresses 

 and Lectures; A School of Fisheries at the 

 University of Washington 58 



Scientific Notes and News 61 



University and Educational News 63 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 



The Influence of Disease in the Extinction 

 of Saces: Dr. Rot L. Moodib. Vertical Fi- 

 ling for Pamphlet Collections: Dr. W. L. 

 EiKENBERRT. Phrenology : Dr. A. Hrdlicka. 63 



Quotations : — 



The Teaching of Science in Great Britain. 65 



Scientific Boolcs: — 



Waddell on Bridge Engineering : Professor 

 George F. Swain 66 



Special Articles: — 



On the Electric Organs of Gymnotus cara- 

 pus : Dr. Elmer L. Shaffer 67 



The American Society for Pharmacology and 

 Experimental Therapeutics: Dr. John Axjer. 69 



Societies and Academies: — 



The Tennessee Academy of Science: Eoscoe 

 NuNN. The Biological Society of Washing- 

 ton: Dr. M. W. Lyon, Jb 71 



MSS. Intended for publication and boots, etc., intended for 

 reTiew should be sent to Professor J. JlcIIcen Cattell, GarriEon- 

 On-Hudson. N Y 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR 



THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 

 ASYMMETRIC SYNTHESES AND THEIR 

 BEARING UPON THE DOCTRINE 

 OF VITALISM 1 

 In the history of the development of any 

 science certain discoveries stand out boldly 

 as epoch-making in importance. In the 

 domain of organic chemistry the observa- 

 tions of: Liebig and Wohler (1826) that 

 cyanic and fulminic acids have the same 

 percentage composition, rank with this 

 class of discoveries; for the establishment 

 of this fact laid the foundation for the 

 development of the principle of isomerism. 

 Likewise to this class belongs the investiga- 

 tion of Wohler (1828) in which he proved 

 that urea results from the spontaneous re- 

 arrangement of ammonium cyanate, a dis- 

 covery of no great significance in itself, but 

 of the greatest importance when regarded 

 from its bearings upon the ideas concerning 

 organic compounds prevalent in the first 

 quarter of the nineteenth century; for it 

 carried with it the abandonment of the uni- 

 versal belief that compounds elaborated 

 within the living organism can not be pre- 

 pared synthetically by laboratory methods. 

 Following Wohler 's classical discovery 

 ■came those brilliant investigations of Pas- 

 teur (1844-49) on the tartaric acids which 

 led to the development of our modern ideas 

 concerning space-isomerism or stereo- 

 isomerism. 



Since it is my purpose to deal with a 

 certain phase of stereo-isomerism I will re- 



1 Address of the vice-president and chairman of 

 Section C, Chemistry, American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science, New York, December, 

 1916. 



