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Reversible Pigeons. Male pigeons, after sitting on eggs in place of their mates, gave female blood tests. Females allowed to live actively instead of passively, gave male blood tests. Conclusion: sex is affected, perhaps in part determined, by the speed of bodily metabolism:—Dr. Oscar' Riddle and Dr. Warren H. Reinhart, Carnegie Institution.
Errata. Subsequent examination of the fossil discovered last autumn at Trinil, Java (TIME, Oct. 11), and reported everywhere as another skull of Pithecanthropus erectus, the Java apeman, showed the relic to be an elephant's knee cap. The "Southwestern Colorado Man," lately deduced from a set of Eocene teeth, was a myth, the teeth having proved to be those of an antique horse.—Dr. Ales Hrdlicka, Smithsonian Institution.
Drinkers' Sons. Ten generations of rats were daily intoxicated with alcohol fumes. The eleventh generation was put in a cage with descendants of nonalcoholic rats. The two strains got drunk at the same rate. Conclusion: a drinker's sons cannot inherit from him a steady head for drinking; acquired characteristics are not demonstrably inheritable.—Frank Blair Hanson and Florence. Hays, Washington University, St. Louis.
Pure Science. Much Federal and State money is spent on applied science. But the raw material of applied science is pure science—research. The burden of pure science research is borne chiefly by colleges and universities. They need help. They will get help. The present ratios of ten to one in men and twenty to one in dollars for applied science compared to pure science constitutes a "challenge."—Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover.
Bose Exposed. Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose of India has been causing scientific excitement with his assertions that plants have nervous systems, souls. A book giving a sympathetic account of the Hindu, his work and methods, sets forth: "The mysteries of nature are probed in Sir J. C. Bose's institute not by study of libraries or mechanical experiments, but primarily by communion with the unseen and unknown. Inspiration, imagination, intuition, vision—this is even a more romantic touch." All of which is ridiculous. "The passage from pseudo-research to the infantile fancies is an easy one."—Dr. Daniel T. MacDougal, Carnegie Institution.
Stirring Sleepers. To the beds of 18 young men was attached mechanism to record their every movement while sleeping. The most nervous subject stirred once every eight minutes. The most inert, once every 25 minutes. The average: 13 minutes between stirs. Purpose of the experiment: to discover the efficiency of beds, springs, mattresses, pillows.—H. M. Johnson and G. 'E. Weigand, Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh.
Astute Crooks. People say crooks are mentally deficient. Never believe it. Convicts of the "lowest" criminal type were given the Army intelligence tests and they passed far above average. Crime is a business for shrewd men. To stop it, make crime unprofitable and shrewd men will stay honest. —Manager James H. Hepbron, Baltimore Criminal Justice Commission.
Domesticated Insects. Practical entomology will some day provide the farmer with insects as useful to him as his other domesticated creatures.—Dr. Leland Ossion Howard, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.