14 NEWMAN bands. A pure substance was isolated from this fraction, and the bands were bright and distinct. It was all very fine to have discovered the mysterious X, but its identification was yet another problem. Cook had been the leading light in its isolation, and it was only fitting that he should be the first to classify it. Now, pyrene is quite a well-known substance, and away back in 1897 Freund and Michaels had obtained it with the help <strong>of</strong> napthalene. It is only in very special circumstances that moth balls can produce their tricks, and although they prove to be a stepping stone to the carcinogenic group, they are harmless in themselves. Cook found that, if succinic acid (a member <strong>of</strong> any respectable lettuce) be robbed <strong>of</strong> its water, it is ready to link up with pyrene, and form 1, 2, benzpyrene, which turns out to be identical with X. So in 1933, 1, 2, benzpyrene had the distinction <strong>of</strong> being the most potent carcinogenic substance known. Curiously enough 4, 5, benzpyrene, the twin <strong>of</strong> 1, 2, is quite inactive. The advance was not as great as one might at first think. 1, 2, benzpyrene might be the cause <strong>of</strong> cancer if one worked with coal tars, but few <strong>of</strong> us have that opportunity. Yet we are not immune from this malady, which claims one in every eight, and which stands second only to heart disease as a cause <strong>of</strong> death. The discovery <strong>of</strong> methyl cholanthrene, which is related to the substances mentioned, was a new development. It was first obtained by the degredation or break down <strong>of</strong> the bile acids. The chemist has a tendency to be rather brutal in his methods. He oxidises and reduces with agents which would cause much discomfit in the body. Nature may be less crude in achieving similar ends, and it is quite possible that the sterols, bile acids, and hormones present in the system may be the parent substances <strong>of</strong> these cancer-producing hydrocarbons. We can now attribute cancer to this particular group, for methyl cholanthrene, too, is a substituted benzanthracene, and again it is at the carbon atoms 5 and 6, that substitution occurs. So we can pin the guilt on two apparently insignificant carbon atoms in the molecule. More care was taken in the breeding <strong>of</strong> the mice used than in the breeding <strong>of</strong> a pedigree dog. Ordinary stock mice <strong>of</strong> different strains differ considerably in their susceptibility to cancer. A large number <strong>of</strong> mice were used in the tests, and for a reliable comparison <strong>of</strong> activities a pure strain is essential. The work is still only in its infancy, and its future is unpredictable. The relatives <strong>of</strong> this carcinogenic group happen to be Nature's organisers, and their presence can modify or determine the course <strong>of</strong> a natural process. It is by studying environments where cell proliferation occurs that new light may be thrown on the formation <strong>of</strong> these hydrocarbons. The only substance known to inhibit action once the hydrocarbon is present is Mustard gas, which modifys the susceptibility <strong>of</strong> the tissues. It is rather ironical that we may have to turn to Mustard gas in our hour <strong>of</strong> need. The story <strong>of</strong> this development shows that no single science is self sufficient. In the quest for Cancer, the physicist, the chemist, and the physiologist had to be enlisted. No apportioning <strong>of</strong> credit can be made, for each has contributed something in a field vital to the attack. The brilliant work <strong>of</strong> the Cancer Hospital does not make us optimistic about the future, but it is to be hoped that they will be no less successful in finding a remedy, than they have been in discovering the cause. K.N.M.
FO OTBALL. 0 Front Row: N. R. Go d by
- Page 1: NEWMAN 1937
- Page 4 and 5: Contents Page 3 "Praise is Devotion
- Page 6: Foreword Tradition demands that the
- Page 9 and 10: ege NEWMAN ENIOR students returned
- Page 11 and 12: 7 3 NEWMAN St. Mary's Hall (Miss Ma
- Page 13 and 14: NEWMAN "Praise is Devotion Fit for
- Page 15 and 16: NEWMAN His Grace the Archbishop (19
- Page 17 and 18: sr',
- Page 19 and 20: -o 0 McC. Sew ar d N E W M A N Are
- Page 21: N E W M A N THERE must always be a
- Page 25 and 26: N E W M A N TT is not the age of co
- Page 27 and 28: N E W M A N His hair was shaggy, hi
- Page 29 and 30: N E W M A N Albert Power Debating S
- Page 31 and 32: N E W M A N 4-1 OR the second time
- Page 34 and 35: N. R. Go d by. LL N cr, = E = ce
- Page 36 and 37: 24 innings proved to be the tit-bit
- Page 38 and 39: 26 Ormond.—First Innings. S. Stee
- Page 40 and 41: I. Gentlemen at Leisure. 2. "Get Se
- Page 42 and 43: 28 N E W M A N McLennan, E. A. Ryan
- Page 44 and 45: 30 NEWMAN ONE undertakes a review o
- Page 46 and 47: 32 NEWMAN THE revived interest in t
- Page 48 and 49: SECOND XVIII. Dowling (Captain), M.
- Page 50 and 51: 34 NEWMAN Foreword. "Taboo" has bee
- Page 52 and 53: 36 NEWMAN Charlie thinks it is a bi
- Page 54 and 55: 38 Freshman : "Is Father Murphy rea
- Page 56 and 57: 40 Bagley, G. J., 1932-35: Queensla
- Page 58 and 59: 42 Fallon, Robert, 1929: Science ma
- Page 60 and 61: 44 Lewis, D. L., 1918-21, 23: Pitts
- Page 62 and 63: 46 NEWMAN O'Loughlin, Paul, 1928-30
- Page 64 and 65: 48 N E W M A N Academical Honours L
- Page 66 and 67: 50 NEWMAN The College Rector: Very
- Page 68: ST. PATRICK'S COLLEGE BALLARAT. One