10 



Scientific Proceedings (77). 



of uniform weight of 300 gr. which developed beriberi on white 

 rice. The dose of the administered solutions was gradually 

 worked down to .1 c.c. which was found to be the minimum dose 

 in both cases. The result therefore was that the radium emanation 

 has no destroying action on beriberi-vitamine. 



In a similar way it has been ascertained that radium emanation 

 possesses no action on the vitamine which stimulates growth in 

 young rats so that by the above method the differentiation of the 

 two vitamines has not been accomplished. The method used 

 was the same as that described by Funk and Macallum. 1 Here 

 also the radium emanation was found to have as little action as 

 on the beriberi-vitamine. 



Finally the action of radium emanation was tested on Rous's 

 spindle cell chicken sarcoma. An extract of the tumor was pre- 

 pared under aseptic precautions, which was filtered through filter 

 paper and divided into two portions. In one of the portions 

 emanation tubes with a measured amount of emanation were 

 directly inserted and left for forty-eight hours, the control liquid 

 being kept the same length of time. Both solutions were then 

 injected into the pectoral muscle of a number of small chickens. 

 In both cases tumors have appeared after a delay of 3-5 weeks 

 which shows that radium emanation has hardly any action at all 

 on the agent of the chicken sarcoma even when used in doses 

 exceeding those applied in cancer therapy. 



8 (1186) 



The mechanism of the diffusion of electrolytes through the mem- 

 branes of living cells. 



By Jacques Loeb. 



[From the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, New York City.] 



When eggs of Fundulus are transferred from sea water directly 

 into a solution of a potassium salt a number of embryos will be 

 poisoned during the first hours so that their hearts stop beating. 

 When the eggs are washed for twenty-four hours in H 2 0 (or any 

 solution of a non-electrolyte) before being put into the same 



1 J. of Biol. Ch., 27, 51, 1916. 



