100 Scientific Intelligence. 



4. American Association for the Advancement of Science. — 

 The sixtieth meeting of the American Association is held at 

 Baltimore, under the auspices of Johns Hopkins University, dur- 

 ing the week from Dec. 28, 1908 to Jan. 2, 1909; Prof. T. C. 

 Chamberlin of Chicago is President. This is the seventh of 

 the " Convocation week" meetings ; some twenty-four affiliated 

 societies meet at Baltimore at this time. A Darwin commemo- 

 rative meeting takes place on January 1, under the combined 

 auspices of the Association and the Society of Naturalists. Also 

 a meeting of the American Health League is called for Dec. 31, 

 in connection with Section I of the Association, as a symposium 

 on " Public Health." 



5. The Nature of Enzyme Action; by W. M. Bayliss. Pp. 

 90. London, 1908 (Longmans, Green & Co.). — This is the first of 

 a series of monographs on bio-chemistry planned to supplement 

 the current text-book treatment of topics in rapidly developing 

 departments of this science. Enzyme action is shown to be a type 

 of catalytic reaction the features of which are subjected to critical 

 analysis by the author, and compared with the behavior of other 

 catalysts. Special consideration is devoted to the nature of 

 colloids as exemplified in enzymes, to the reversibility of enzyme 

 action, and to changes in the rate of reactions as affected by them. 

 Other appropriate details, such as the relation of the enzyme to 

 its substrate, the influence of "co-enzymes" and " anti-enzymes," 

 temperature and concentration, etc., are also discussed. The 

 treatment is quite original. l. b. m. 



6. Hivista cli Scienza. — This valuable " International Review 

 of Scientific Synthesis," commenced in 1907, has now completed 

 its fourth volume. A recent number includes eight articles, 

 among which may be mentioned the following : G. H. Bryan on 

 the diffusion and dissipation of energy ; W. Ritz on the role of 

 the ether in Physics ; G. Haberlandt on motion and sensation in 

 the plant world ; G. Schiaparelli, on the astronomy of the 

 Bablyonians. 



B. G. Teubner's Verlag auf deni Gebiete der JVlathematik Naturwissen- 

 schaften and Technick nebst Grenzwissenscliaften. Mit einem Gedenktage- 

 buche fur Mathematiker und den Bildmissen von G. Galilei, etc. Dem IV. 

 Internationalen Mathematiker-Kongress in Eom. 6-11. April 1908. Pp.392. 



Obituary 



Dr. Oliver Wolcott Gibbs, from 1863 to 1887 Rum ford 

 Professor of Applied Science in Harvard University and for 

 thirty years an Associate Editor of this Journal, died at his home 

 in Newport, R. I., on December 9, in his eighty-seventh year. 

 A notice is deferred until a later number. 



Professor William Edward Ayrton, the eminent English 

 engineer, died on November 8, at the age of sixty-one years. 



