RF Annual Report - 1935 - The Rockefeller Foundation

THE NATURAL SCIENCES 147
study of the effects of radiant energy on certain
biological processes. An
attempt is made to
measure the energy radiated when oxygen is
assimilated by a living organism, using for this
purpose a strain of bacteria which luminesces as
it uses oxygen. Other experiments are designed
to determine the chemical activity of a living
organism under the influence of radiant energy.
In these researches the accurate quantitative
measurement of energy relations is essential, and
the physical techniques developed in this research
constitute a new and distinctly favorable
method for studying the problems of cell oxidation
and of growth in plants. Further work on
the spectrophotometric analysis of the thyroid
principle in the blood stream is under way.
George Washington University
Biochemistry
The sum of $25,500 has been appropriated to
George Washington University for use over the
three-year period beginning with the academic
year 1935-36 for research
in biochemistry
under the direction of Professor Vincent du
Vigneaud, the amounts available not to exceed
$9,000 during the first year, ?8,500 during the
second, and $8,000 during the third.
Strictly chemical problems loom large in the
field of biology. For example, in endocrinology
the isolation, purification, and ultimate synthesis
© 2003 The Rockefeller Foundation