Some day, the biochemists may be able to brew a magic concoction that will improve man's intelligence. At Columbia University's College of Physicians & Surgeons, three researchers—Drs. Frederick T. Zimmerman, Bessie B. Burgemeister and Tracy J. Putnam—have reported some interesting experiments with children who were given regular feedings of glutamic acid.
Glutamic acid, one of the amino acids that form proteins, is found in wheat, soybeans and (less plentifully) in certain other foods such as milk and meat. Its unusual property: glutamic is the only amino acid that is metabolized (i.e., burned up) by brain tissue, and it seems to have a...