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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:48:08 UTC
SCIENTIFIC
AMERICAN
Established 1845 January 1986 Volume 254 Number 1
ARTICLES
32 SPACE SCIENCE, SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND THE SPACE STATION, by James A.

Van Allen The author argues that a manned space station will hurt the space-research program.
40 . GROWTH, DIFFERENTIATION AND THE REVERSAL OF MALIGNANCY, by Leo

Sachs Proteins have been isolated that induce differentiation, halting some cancer cells' growth.
48 THE STRUCTURE OF COMET TAILS, by John C. Brandt and Malcolm B. Niedner, Jr.
Observations of Halley should illuminate the interrelations of the plasma tail and the solar wind.
74 APPLICATIONS OF OPTICAL PHASE CONJUGATION, by David M. Pepper

"Time-reversed" light waves can be manipulated to probe the structure of atoms or track a satellite.
84 MINERAL DEPOSITS FROM SEA·FLOOR HOT SPRINGS, by Peter A. Rona

Ores are formed when seawater heated by the earth's mantle percolates through broken crustal rock.
94 THE CHEMICAL DEFENSES OF HIGHER PLANTS, by Gerald A. Rosenthal

Some compounds poison or repel herbivores; others mimic insect hormones, interfering with growth.
100 RADIOCARBON DATING BY ACCELERATOR MASS SPECTROMETRY, by Robert E.

M. Hedges and John A. J. Gowlett A new technique makes dating far smaller samples possible.
108 KIN RECOGNITION IN TADPOLES, by Andrew R. Blaustein and Richard K. O'Hara

The ability of Cascades frog tadpoles to recognize siblings they have never known may be genetic.
DEPARTMENTS
8 LETTERS
13 50 AND 100 YEARS AGO
14 THE AUTHORS
16 COMPUTER RECREATIONS
27 BOOKS
60 SCIENCE AND THE CITIZEN
120 THE AMATEUR SCIENTIST
126 BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRESIDENT AND EDITOR Jonathan Piel
BOARD OF EDITORS Armand Schwab, Jr. (Associate Editor), Timothy Appenzeller, John M. Benditt, Peter G. Brown, David L. Cooke, Jr.,
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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ( ISSN 0036-8733), PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC., 415 MADISON AVENUE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10017. COPYRIGHT @ 1985 BY SCIENTIFIC AMER
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SCIENCE/SCOPE®
Enemy submarines have nowhere to lurk now that the us. Navy has deployed a totally new passive
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Hughes Missile Systems Group, in Canoga Park, California, an attractive suburb of Los Angeles, offers
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found copious amounts of T-2, DAS
LETTERS
in July, 1981, in my laboratory at the
University of Minnesota did not con and zearalenone in scrapings of yellow
tain yellow spots as portrayed in the powder, which according to my ex
article by Seeley et al.; however, they perience can be accounted for only by
To the Editors: did contain T-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol the intervention of man. The analyti
This letter pertains to the article (DON) and nivalenol. All the results cal data are backed up by mass spec
"Yellow Rain," by Thomas D. Seeley, were confirmed by mass spectrometry tra and are unequivocal.
Joan W. Nowicke, Matthew Meselson, and submitted to journals for review From the data presented in the arti
Jeanne Guillemin and Pongthep Akra by peer scientists before publication in cle I can only conclude that honeybees
tanakul [SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, Sep reputable journals. The data are clear in Southeast Asia, like their relatives
tember, 1985], in which Seeley et al. and unequivocal. In a similar manner, in other parts of the world, defecate in
claimed that evidence for the use of analyses were made of powderlike yel flight, a fact already well reported in
trichothecenes as biological-chemical low scrapings from two independent the scientific literature and not one that
warfare agents in Southeast Asia could attack areas verified by witnesses. One is in the forefront of research. Yellow
be attributed to the feces of indigenous set of scrapings was analyzed in my spots on leaves the authors analyzed
honeybees. Perhaps it is best to define laboratory and the other by Joseph were indeed bee feces and had noth
"yellow rain" before we proceed. The D. Rosen at Rutgers University. Both ing to do with chemical attacks on the
authors, according to my interpreta analyses showed excessive amounts Hmong in their villages. Seeley et al.
tion, defined it as a yellow substance of trichothecenes, ranging from 27 to made no attempt to verify that the
that is found in various substrates and 143 parts per million of T-2 toxin, di samples of leaves came from areas
is indistinguishable from bee feces. acetoxyscirpenol (DAS) and zearalen where aerial attacks were taking place.
The best example given was the yellow one. The last substance is not a toxin One of the authors questioned 16
spots on leaves collected by undis but is more appropriately known as a groups of people in the Ban Vinai
closed sources in Southeast Asia. If we phytoestrogen. Nevertheless, it is pro camp about their familiarity with
accept that definition, then indeed the duced by some of the same Fusarium leaves spotted with feces of Apis dorsa
authors have confirmed what is al species that produce the trichothecene tao Thirteen of the 16 groups did not
ready found in the entomological liter toxins. Both reports were published in show any familiarity with the leaves,
ature, namely that certain honeybees separate journals after having been re two groups said the spots were kemi
defecate in flight and, moreover, that viewed by peer analytical chemists, (poison) and one group identified the
bee feces contain spent pollen. who judged the information accepta spots as bee feces. From these data
The leaves the authors had collected ble and appropriate for publication. the authors inferred that some of the
or had been given indeed contained Blood and urine samples were also Hmong identify bee feces as the al
apian defecations, and it is clear that collected from alleged victims of at leged agent of chemical warfare. The
none of those leaves when analyzed by tacks. (Witnesses substantiated that aforementioned statistical sampling
any laboratory showed any trace of the attacks were due to low-flying air hardly warranted such a conclusion.
trichothecenes (nor should they have). craft or to artillery and not to low The only task left to Seeley et al.
The work of H. Cohen and Gordon A. flying squadrons of honeybees.) In in order to maintain credibility with
Neish (1984) demonstrated that pol at least 200 blood and urine samples the scientific community is to attack
len does not support any significant collected in 1981 and 1982, analysis the methods of the analysis we per
growth of Fusarium fungus or the pro showed about 30 percent were positive formed-an area in which they have no
duction by the fungus of trichothecene for T-2 toxin or HT-2 toxin; of those professional competence. The fact is
toxins. A scientific treatment would collected in 1983, 8 percent were posi that we as well as other laboratories
have cited these data (a serious omis tive, and of those collected in 1984-85 have found copious amounts of tricho
sion). On the other hand, if we accept (the time of de-escalation of attacks) thecenes in samples from attack areas.
"yellow rain" as being the substance, fewer than 1 percent were positive. In (The leaf samples did not have theatri
variable though it may be, that has no case was toxin found in those sam cal yellow spots on them.) There is no
been associated with aerial attacks in ples designated as control samples. precedent for the natural occurrence
Hmong villages, that yielded tricho Collaborative studies of our analytical of the large amounts of trichothecenes
thecenes and that caused signs and methodology have shown any error the samples contained. Moreover, we
symptoms including headache, diar that may occur in our analyses would as well as Rosen's laboratory inde
rhea, hemorrhaging, skin rash and in be on the conservative side; that is, in a pendently and with different methods
some cases death, then that is my biological mixture we might miss actu found large quantities of trichothe
working definition and the etiology of al concentrations of less than 10 parts cenes in yellow powder samples. In
the substance is a more serious matter. per billion of T-2 or HT-2 toxin. Hence addition our laboratory found tricho
I must emphasize here that we can we may be reporting less than is actu thecene residue in the blood, urine
not ignore the testimony given by ally present. More important, no false and body tissues (heart, lung and kid
Hmong refugees at both the Senate positives were found. ney) of victims, and this cannot be
and the House hearings on biological The data of Roy Greenhalgh, J. Da explained away with logic. Let us see
warfare as being folklore and hearsay. vid Miller, Neish and H. Bruno Schie cold scientific data presented by Seeley
I have listened to intelligent witnesses fer (1984) as well as data of my own et al. on the analyses of samples from
describe the plight of their people. No have shown that isolates of Fusarium victims and controls, data that can
deaths have been attributed to apian species collected in Southeast Asia do pass the scrutiny of reviews by reputa
cleansing flights by eyewitnesses, and not produce significant quantities of ble journals. Until that time the prose
it is clear that the Southeast Asian peo trichothecenes when they are grown written by Seeley, Nowicke, Meselson,
ple are intelligent enough in their eco on a rice substrate under ideal labora Guillemin and Akratanakul remains
logical orientation to understand the tory conditions of adequate moisture in the realm of political polemics.
obvious habits of honeybees that share and carbon supply and an absence of
their environment. competition from other fungi. More CHESTER J. MIROCHA
The leaves collected in attack areas over, they do not colonize pollen and
in 1981 in Southeast Asia and analyzed produce toxins. On the other hand, we (Seeley et at. reply on page 10.)
8

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To the Editors: lished in Nature and in SCIENTIFIC of trace components in natural mate
Chester Mirocha clearly does not AMERICAN, is that the material is bee rials, we would reserve this adjective
understand the results and implica feces. We believe this conclusion is for cases in which three principles of
tions of our study of yellow rain. We generally accepted by knowledgeable forensic chemistry are met. First, re
have sought to determine the nature of Government experts in the U.S. and in sults for critical samples must be un
the alleged chemical-warfare agent allied countries. ambiguously confirmed by independ
consistently described by the U.S. This poses a critical problem for ent analysis. Second, adequate control
Government as yellow and rainlike. the trichothecene-warfare hypothesis. samples must be analyzed concurrent
The report of Secretary of State Alex If the yellow material is bee feces ly, and the results must be fully dis
ander M. Haig in March, 1982, stated and therefore is not released from air closed. Third, the integrity of the sam
that "the majority of the attacks were craft, then the purported trichothe ples must be assured. None of these
carried out by aircraft spraying a cenes would have to be dispersed in conditions was met in the present case.
yellowish substance which 'fell like some other physical form. What could Mirocha asserts without evidence
rain.' " Later that year, the report of it be? Certainly not a gas: trichothe that the Hmong would generally rec
Secretary George P. Shultz affirmed cenes have negligible vapor pressure. ognize bee feces for what they are. If
that "descriptions of the 1982 attacks Not an aerosol either: aerosols do not he were right, the Hmong would have
have not changed significantly from fall and the alleged witnesses do not practiced massive deception since
descriptions of earlier attacks. Usually describe the very dense ground-level handing in the first of many bee feces
the Hmong state that aircraft or heli clouds that would be required. What samples to U.S. officials in 1979. Actu
copters spray a yellow rain-like mate witnesses (including witnesses to sev ally, it appears that Asian villagers of
rial on their villages and crops." And eral of the alleged attacks from which ten cannot identify bee feces. None of
most recently, in 1985, an article coau Mirocha's samples come) are in fact the Hmong we interviewed did so, nor
thored by a Central Intelligence Agen reported to say is that the agent is did most of the Thai villagers we also
cy official with primary responsibility sprayed by aircraft and leaves a yel interviewed. It is not surprising that
for yellow-rain studies reiterated that low residue. But no known samples of villagers misinterpret the fecal show
"aerial attacks, usually by spray, dis such deposits, including those report ers of honeybees flying too high to be
persed yellow to yellow-brown liquid ed by Mirocha and Rosen to contain seen or heard. In 1976 yellow showers
or semi-solid particles that fell and trichothecenes, have been shown to be in Jiangsu, China, mystified rural com
sometimes sounded like rain when anything other than bee feces. munities and were erroneously sus
striking thatched rooftops" (C. J. Stahl, Therefore in order to rescue the pected of being toxic until university
C. C. Green and J. B. Farnum, 1985). trichothecene-warfare hypothesis one scientists identified them as bee feces
The Government's description of must reject the U.S. Government's de (Zhang Zhong-ying et al., 1977, and
the alleged agent is well supported scription of the alleged agent as yel personal communication). Two other
by the evidence. Nearly all interviews low and rainlike. It is then necessary cases on record could be similar mis
with the Hmong regarding the residue to postulate a different material, one perceptions of bee feces. Last year yel
of the presumed agent describe it as that actually is released from aircraft, low showers were attributed by Thai
yellow, and nearly all samples of it are contains toxins and frequently falls villagers to imagined Burmese atom
also yellow. Contrary to Mirocha's im on villagers in lethal quantities but bomb tests. And, in 1964 at the United
pression, our working definition is that that, strangely enough, has gone un Nations Security Council, the govern
yellow rain is a yellowish material al noticed. No one has come up with a ment of Prince Norodom Sihanouk
leged to have been deposited in chem plausible hypothesis for what such an charged that U.S. and Vietnamese air
ical attacks in Southeast Asia. More elusive material could be. Unless an craft were spraying Cambodian vil
over, the samples we have studied in explanation can be devised, and sup lages with lethal yellow powders.
clude the yellow scrapings analyzed ported with solid evidence, the tricho Maintaining a critical approach to
by Mirocha and Rosen and defined thecene-warfare hypothesis collapses. scientific data can be difficult when an
by them as yellow rain. What explanation is then left for the issue becomes politically charged. In
To the best of our knowledge all reports of trichothecenes? Occasional 1982 Mirocha began an article review
samples of the yellow material exam or sporadic natural occurrence is not ing his yellow-rain research with this
ined under the microscope, whether ruled out. Mirocha does not mention assertion: "During the last 6 to 7 years,
spots or scrapings, are without excep the finding of Greenhalgh and his col chemical and/or biological warfare
tion found to be composed mainly leagues (1985) that one out of four has been waged in Laos, Kampuchea
of pollen. They include samples from Fusarium isolates from a leaf collected and Afghanistan resulting in the death
more than 30 alleged attacks, collect in Thailand produced 1,000 parts per of 75-100,000 human beings." Consid
ed from 1979 on. They specifically in million (dry weight) of trichothecenes ering that there is not a single unam
clude the yellow scrapings reported when grown on glucose-yeast medi biguous case on record of a medical
by Mirocha and Rosen to contain um. But the U.S. Army's Chemical ly authenticated victim, living or dead,
trichothecene mycotoxins. A leaf sam Research and Development Center nor is there either a single chemical
ple and a sample of pond water are has found no trace of the toxins in any canister or a chemical munition, what
also reported by Mirocha to contain of the more than 80 samples from al hard data justify his assertion?
the toxins. But leaves and water can leged attacks that it has analyzed. In short, the evidence for mycotox
not be the chemical-warfare agent it These consistently negative findings, in warfare fails the test of critical
self, since no one asserts that the al and similar results from other labora examination.
leged attack aircraft release such ma tories, provide strong evidence against
terials. Thus, if one accepts the well common natural occurrence of the tox THOMAS D. SEELEY
supported and unchanging assessment ins in such materialS and also against
of the U.S. Government that the al their use as chemical-warfare agents. JOAN W. NOWICKE
leged chemical-warfare agent leaves Mirocha characterizes his evidence
yellow residues, one must explain why for trichothecenes as "unequivocal." MATTHEW MESELSON
its principal ingredient is pollen. Our Based on our own laboratory experi
explanation, based on evidence pub- ence with mass-spectrometric analysis JEANNE GUILLEMIN
10

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:48:24 UTC
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:48:24 UTC

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:48:24 UTC
50 AND 100
this country. Thus prod uction of this is no reason why some day it should
valuable farm product, brought here not act over much greater distances. "
from the Orient, has increased a hun
YEARSAGO
dredfold in less than 30 years." "An interesting paper has been com
municated to one of the California
scientific societies on the fossil wood
which is found in different localities
SCIENTIFIC
throughout the State. This silicified
wood is stated to be a variety of quartz;
AMERICAN JANUARY, 1886: "The report of

the United States Geological Survey
the wood fiber is gradually replaced by
quartz, leaving the form of the wood
shows that the mining industries of the intact, so much so that sections cut
JANUARY, 1936: "Radium is the United States are assuming giant pro and placed under a microscope show
best known of a group of chemical portions. Not less than $800,000,000 the characteristic grain of the wood, by
elements which have the property of is invested in mining enterprises as which the genera may often be deter
spontaneously emitting various kinds productive capital, over 400,000 peo mined, and sometimes the species."
of radiation in the process of an atom ple are furnished employment and the
ic disintegration. The radiations emit mineral product of the United States "Starvation, semi-starvation, 'ban
ted, especially the gamma rays, have for the year 1884 had a value of $4 1 3,- ting,' alkalies, purgatives, Turkish
proved useful in the treatment of can 104,620. In terms of value the chief baths, exercise and the thousand and
cer. These naturally occurring radio products were bituminous coal, pig one ways of reducing corpulency to re
active substances are of great rarity iron and anthracite coal." spectable dimensions still leave a large
and consequently of great expense. section of our stout population in de
Therefore the recent discovery of "An experiment of the greatest im spair. M. Germain See comes to the
means of making other elements artifi portance to the commercial world is rescue. 'Oh, ye massive fat ones desir
cially radio-active marks an advance now being made on the east coast of ing to be made lean, eat not much
in physics which may easily prove to England by the Telegraph Construc meat, but drink enormously of tea.'''
be a great boon to medicine." tion and Maintenance Company. For
the last eight months the company has "Street locomotion by steam has just
"The first airport directory of the had several of its best operatives locat made a great stride in the domain of
United States, dated 1935, has ap ed in the neighborhood of the Naze. practice. Hitherto we have been accus
peared. It comprises over 200 pages, These gentlemen are hourly in com tomed to seeing heavy locomotives,
listing airports by states, giving main munication by telephone with a light weighing several thousand pounds,
dimensions and facilities and includ ship which is anchored ten miles out. hauling carriages at a speed much
ing photographs from above of all the An ordinary telephone cable has been less than that of the horse and resem
main landing points. Perhaps some laid from Walton-on-the-Naze to the bling road-rollers for crushing stones
day maps and airport directories will lightship, and telephone and telegraph more than anything else. Now Messrs.
be distributed from aerial service sta apparatus have been affixed to both Dion, Bouton & Trepardoux have suc
tions in the way automobile maps are ends. It was considered improbable ceeded in manufacturing steam vehi
given away by the oil companies." that the human voice would be con cles of all sorts and of all dimensions,
d ucted ten miles, especially in rough from the tricycle up to the largest om
"There has been developed at the weather; but this has been now proved nibuses and merchandise vans. Our en
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New to be thoroughly practicable. Tele graving represents one of their steam
York a small, readily portable, ultra phonic communication with lightships phaetons-a vehicle of remarkable
violet-ray-producing apparatus. This would be a boon to mariners and mer elegance, lightness and strength. The
equipment was developed by James J . chants. It is stated by the gentlemen speed of the carriage is 18 miles per
Rorimer, Curator o f the Department engaged at Walton that the telephone hour. Its weight with six passengers
of Medieval Art. It has proved very will act over twice ten miles; and there and a stoker is 3,960 pounds."
satisfactory in the routine examination
of works of art. It will also be valuable
for the stamp collector, jeweler, geolo
gist and any one using the long-wave
ultra-violet waves. "
"Highway construction has come in

for mature consideration during the
past year. Three, four and five lane
highways built only a few years ago
have come to be termed 'Death High
ways,' and rightly so. The realization
has been reached that, in congested ar
eas where traffic on super-highways is
heavy, something more than a white
line is needed to keep traffic separat
ed as it moves in opposite directions.
Parkways are the coming thing."
"From an acreage of 5 0,000 in 1907

to more than 5 ,000,000 in 1935 is the
record made by soybean cultivation in A steam carriage jar street traffic
13

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:48:38 UTC
ior Research Scholar at the Universite
THE AUTHORS Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg.
ROBERT E. M. HEDGES and

JAMES A VAN ALLEN ("Space telescopes that is scheduled to be car JOHN A J. GOWLETT ("Radiocar
Science, Space Technology and the ried aboard the space shuttle in March, bon Dating by Accelerator Mass Spec
Space Station") is the discoverer of the 1986. Niedner's Ph.D. in astronomy trometry") approach their common
radiation belts surrounding the earth was granted by Indiana University in subject from quite different starting
that are generally referred to by his 1979. He is chairman of the Astro points. Hedges began his scholarly ca
name. He got his Ph.D. in physics from Halley science team. reer as a physical chemist; that is the
the University of Iowa in 1939. After discipline in which he received his
stints at several research institutions DAVID M. PEPPER ("Applica Ph.D. from the University of Cam
and active duty as a gunnery officer tions of Optical Phase Conjugation") bridge in 1968. Thereafter he spent
with the Pacific Fleet during World is staff physicist in the optical-physics four years doing work in chemical
War II, he returned to Iowa, where department at the Hughes Research physics before taking up his present
he is professor of physics and chair Laboratory. The son of survivors of job as a member of the Research Labo
man of the department of physics and the Holocaust, he received his under ratory for Archaeology and the Histo
astronomy. Van Allen's career has graduate education at the University ry of Art at the University of Oxford.
run parallel to the development of the of California at Los Angeles and his In his 13 years there he has concentrat
U.S. space science program. He dis Ph.D. in applied physics from the Cali ed on applying the findings of physics
covered the Van Allen belts in 1958 fornia Institute of Technology in 1980. and chemistry to archaeology. Gow
during the mission of Explorer 1, the In addition to the subject of the current lett is senior archaeologist at the Ox
first successful U.S. earth satellite. He article his interests include optical in ford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit.
was principal investigator for the first formation processing, quantum elec His training began as an undergradu
studies of the radiation belts of Jupiter tronics and laser chemistry. Pepper is ate at Cambridge, when he helped to
carried out by means of a probe travel an adjunct professor of mathematics dig at late-prehistoric sites and Ro
ing through those belts and was one and physics at Pepperdine University. man sites in Britain. After his gradua
of the discoverers of the radiation belts tion in 1972 he undertook field work
of Saturn. He was the chairman of PETER A RONA ("Mineral De at ancient sites in Kenya. That work
the working group that developed the posits from Sea-Floor Hot Springs") is formed the basis of his doctoral disser
Voyager missions as well as of the senior research geophysicist at the Na tation; he got his Ph.D. in archaeolo
group that developed the Galileo mis tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad gy from Cambridge in 1979 and joined
sion. He is currently serving as princi ministration and adjunct professor of the accelerator unit in 1980.
pal investigator for the Pioneer 10 and marine geology and geophysics at the
Pioneer 11 projects and as interdiscipli University of Miami. He got an AB. at ANDREW R. BLAUSTEIN and
nary scientist on the Galileo mission. Brown University in 1956 and an M.S. RICHARD K. O'HARA ("Kin Recog
in geology at Yale University the next nition in Tadpoles") are respectively
LEO SACHS ("Growth, Differenti year. Thereafter he went to work for associate professor and research asso
ation and the Reversal of Malignan the Standard Oil Company of New ciate in the department of zoology at
cy") is Otto Meyerhof Professor of Jersey (now part of the Exxon Corpo Oregon State University. After receiv
Biology and head of the department ration) as an exploration geologist. Af ing his B.A in 1971 from Southamp
of genetics at the Weizmann Institute ter about two years there he decided ton College in New York, Blaustein
of Science in Israel. He earned his that the future of the earth sciences lay went west to pursue the study of be
Ph.D. in plant genetics from the Uni under the oceans and moved to Co havioral ecology at the graduate level.
versity of Cambridge in 1951. In 1952 lumbia University's Hudson Labora The University of Nevada at Reno
he moved to the Weizmann Institute, tories to get experience in oceanogra provided a good place to study the be
where he established the department phy. He supplemented that experience havior of desert rodents; he earned his
of genetics and virology. In addition by earning his Ph.D. in marine geol M.S. in zoology there in 1973. In 1978
to the subject of the current article ogy from Yale in 1967. For the past the University of California at Santa
Sachs's research interests include pre 25 years he has been directing ocean Barbara awarded him his Ph.D. in bi
natal diagnosis and the mechanisms of ographic expeditions to the Atlantic, ology for studies of the behavioral as
carcinogenesis. Pacific and Indian oceans. pects of competition in small mam
mals. He moved to Oregon State the
JOHN C. BRANDT and MAL GERALD A ROSENTHAL ("The same year. O'Hara received both his
COLM B. NIEDNER, JR. ("The Chemical Defenses of Higher Plants") B.S. (1972) and his M.S. in zoology
Structure of Comet Tails"), are mem is professor of biological sciences and (1974) at Michigan State University.
bers of the laboratory for astronomy toxicology at the University of Ken He then went to Oregon State, where
and space physics of the NASA-God tucky. He went to the State Universi he earned his Ph.D. in zoology (1981)
dard Space Flight Center. Since 1975 ty of New York at Syracuse as an un and stayed on to investigate the devel
they have been collaborating in work dergraduate, continuing his studies at opment of behavior in individual or
on the large-scale structure of com Duke University, which granted his ganisms and its evolution in species.
ets and the associated plasma phys Ph.D. in plant physiology and bio
ics. Brandt's Ph.D. in astronomy was chemistry in 1966. After three years at DIANE B. PAUL, who reviews In
awarded by the University of Chicago Case Western Reserve University he the Name 0/ Eugenics: Genetics and the
in 1960. He is comet scientist for the joined the faculty at Kentucky. He has Uses 0/ Human Heredity, by Daniel J.
International Cometary Explorer space been a visiting professor at the Seoul Kevles, is associate professor of politi
craft mission and a member of the As National University and the Hebrew cal science at the University of Massa
tro-Halley science team; the Astro University of Jerusalem. He saw his chusetts at Boston and this year a visit
Halley team will monitor Astro-1, a article into print from France, where ing scholar at Harvard University's
package of ultraviolet and visible-light he is currently Fulbright-Hays Sen- Museum of Comparative Zoology.
14

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:48:50 UTC
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:48:50 UTC
COMPUTER
ment, force constant and stellar masses
are all built in. In spite of its simplici
ty, however, this version of CLUSTER
RECREATIONS
seems capable of simulating almost
the entire range of cluster behavior.
Three sets of arrays are used. The first
set keeps track of the accelerations
currently experienced by the stars in
How close encounters with star clusters

each of three coordinate directions.
The arrays are called ax. ay and az.
Thus ax(i), ay(i) and az(i) indicate the
are achieved with a computer telescope x, y and z components of the ith star's
acceleration. The contents of the three
arrays alone do not need to be initial
ized at the start of the program. The
by A. K. Dewdney second set of arrays, VX, vy and vz,
define velocities: vx(i), vy(i) and vz(i)
register the x, y and z components
of the ith star's velocity. The third set
eep in space, a star cluster per portionality and divide by the square
D
of arrays record positions: x(i), y(i)
forms a cosmic dance to the of the distance between the two stars. and z(i) are the ith star's x, y and z co
tune of gravity. During a hu The sum total of all such paired forces ordinates of position. The starting val
man lifetime the stars barely move; acting through time presumably deter ues for the arrays x, y, z and VX, vy,
over a longer span, in which years are mines the pattern of movement within vz must be initialized at the head of
equivalent to seconds, they trace out the cluster. A program, called CLUSTER, the program.
a tangled figure of orbits. Occasionally computes the sum of the forces for The main body of the CLUSTER pro
a single star encounters a neighbor in a each star and moves the sum from its gram follows the initialization seg
pas de deux that hurls it out into space. present position to a new one nearby. It ment. The double loop can be en
If such escapes are more than occa does this repeatedly during centuries tered and reentered endlessly, or the
sional, the cluster gradually shrinks of simulated time. programmer can establish the specif
and the core begins to collapse. A certain tedium attends typing in ic conditions that control reentry. The
A powerful telescope can reveal the the coordinates and velocities of many outer loop considers each star in turn
structure of some clusters in our gal stars, but once this is done an armchair and sets the acceleration components
axy but it cannot compress years into universe unfolds on the display screen. to zero. After this has been done the
seconds-only a computer is able to Stars at the center of the cluster follow inner loop computes the forces pro
do that. A computer can also be pro wobbly, erratic courses; those at the duced on each star by its companions
grammed to serve as a kind of tele periphery drift away, stop and then in the cluster.
scope for viewing hypothetical clus glide back. The most interesting events For example, let us assume that the
ters. At cosmic speed one can watch include close encounters and escapes. index of the outer loop is i and that
the movement of the members of a When two stars approach each oth the inner-loop index isj. The inner loop
cluster as a succession of snapshots in er closely, they impart a tremendous first checks to determine whether i is
which each star leaves a dotted trail gravitational boost to each other and equal to j. If it is, the program does not
that weaves through the cluster [see il speed apart. Escapes are usually the invoke the force computation: a star
lustration on opposite page]. result of one or more close encounters. does not attract itself. In any event, to
Do gravitational forces alone ac When a star speeds away from its clus compute force under the circumstance
count for the evolution that astrono ter, there are only two possibilities: ei would cause the computer to attempt
mers infer from observed clusters? ther the star returns or it does not. An division by zero. (This is the only situa
Computers help to find answers to this astronomical body has an escape ve tion that can actually make me feel
question and related ones. A confer locity that depends on its mass and on sorry for a computer.) When i andj are
ence of simulators and theoreticians the mass of the body or object from not equal, CLUSTER uses Euclid's for
met at Princeton University in May, which it escapes. If the velocity is at mula for distance between the stars:
1984, to discuss the consistency of hy tained by a star moving outward from the differences of thc x, y and z coordi
pothetical and actual star clusters. It its cluster, it will never return. Inexpe nates are squared and added together.
was the 113th symposium of the Inter rienced cluster buffs are likely to wit The result, of course, is the square of
national Astronomical Union; the en ness frequent escapes from the config the distance. Next, the inner loop tests
tire symposium was devoted to the dy urations they design. In fact, a com whether this number is O. If it is, an
namics of star clusters. mon initial experience is to see one's alarm of some kind should be raised
It is relatively easy to choreograph hoped-for dance disintegrate. It is wise because the computer is about to be
a cosmic ballet. In principle the stel to practice by building a system of two asked to divide by zero. My version of
lar interactions within a cluster are or three stars. the program prints "Collision!"
classically simple: both members of a The structure of the CLUSTER pro If nothing is amiss, the inner loop
pair of stars experience a gravitation gram is simple. It consists of an initiali computes the distance between the
al force that is proportional to the in zation loop followed by a double loop. stars by taking the sq uare root d of the
verse square of the distance between Within the double loop the accelera squared distance computed earlier. It
them. The force is also proportional tion, velocity and position of each star then divides 1,000 by the square of the
to the product of the two stellar mass are updated according to the summed distance, a calculation that yields the
es. Such a formula is easy to compute: attractions of the other stars. I shall force. The final task to be performed
multiply the masses together; then mul describe a particularly simple version within the inner loop is to determine
tiply the product by a constant of proof the program in which the time incre- the acceleration components of the
16

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC
ith star. This value is obtained by add distance. The ratio of the x distance updates velocity and the second up
ing together the force contributions between the ith and jth stars to the to dates position. There is a subtle point
from the other stars. For example, the tal distance is precisely the fraction of here, first brought to my attention by
x component of acceleration can be the force that acts on the ith star in the John H. Hubbard, the Cornell Uni
written generically as follows: x direction. The y and z components of versity mathematician whose advice
acceleration are computed by analo on computing the Mandelbrot set was
ax(i)�ax(i) + IX (xU) - x(i))/d gous formulas. eminently useful [see "Computer Rec
Two more loops, one following the reations," August, 1985]. It is indeed
Here I and d represent the force and other, complete the program. The first possible to compute position before
Four stars put Oil a cosmic ballet for a few years alld thell leave the stage
17

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC
computing velocity without producing so that all relevant numbers are not ly separated from Aster and unable to
strange-looking results. Yet the mo inadvertently rounded. repay the gravitational loan. A fiction
tions of the stars would in time become The time taken by CLUSTER to finish of excess kinetic energy has been creat
strangely wrong, because such an op one cycle of computation depends on ed. Artificial clusters afflicted by this
eration would violate the law of energy the number of stars in one's system. As problem evaporate even faster than
conservation. few as 10 stars will produce aesthetic real ones. There are two ways around
The velocity-updating loop merely intricacy; 100 or even 1,000 stars are the difficulty; one is hard, the other
adds acceleration to velocity, accord needed to produce realistic complexi is easy. The hard alternative requires
ing to the following formula: ty. Unfortunately the number of steps computation of a Keplerian orbit for
in the basic computational cycle in the pair. The orbit is maintained as
vx(i) � vx(i) + ax(i) creases as the square of the number of long as the two stars are in proximi
stars in the cluster. Although stellar ty. Theorists regard this as the method
Here it is assumed that the time incre simulators have found a neat method of choice because the orbital formula
ment equals the time unit in which ve that dodges this particular limitation, is perfectly accurate. An easy but oc
locity is expressed. The same kind of other problems still arise. casionally inaccurate way to handle
formula is used to calculate vyand vz. The worst problem emerges from close encounters is to subdivide the
The position calculations done in the the fact that the program is a discrete time steps in the basic computational
final loop are equally simple: system attempting to mimic a contin cycle. Readers may want to add this
uous one. Continuous orbits are ap particular maneuver to the advanced
x(i)�x(i) + vx(i) proximated by a sequence of jumps version of CLUSTER that I shall now
that depart increasingly from a star's describe.
The entries of the yand z arrays are true path through a cluster. The in A program called SUPERCLUSTER can
similarly updated. Drawing on the in accuracy might be corrected to some be derived from CLUSTER by a series
formation from the final loop, CLUS extent by the presence of statistical of simple modifications. First, SUPER
TER places each point on the two regularities, but in close encounters CLUSTER incorporates stars of different
dimensional surface of the display between stars the system unnaturally masses in its ballet. This is easily done
screen. It does so by plotting the first and disastrously magnifies the sling at the start by entering the masses in an
two position coordinates while sup shot effect. array called m. The force computation
pressing the third. The natural result For example, if the computational becomes somewhat more complicated:
of this arrangement is that z repre cycle puts one star (Stella) close to an force is no longer proportional to 1/d2
sents depth; it is easy to imagine that other star (Aster), a powerful gravita but to the product of the masses divid
one is looking into space behind the tional pull magnifies the acceleration ed by d2. Next, SUPERCLUSTER incorpo
screen. The numbers produced by the components of both stars. The magni rates spectral types. As in the case of
cluster-simulation program are some fication percolates through the compu mass, an array (called spec) must be
times very large and sometimes very tation to the velocity components and filled in before the run. It is used, how
small. For this reason it is advisable thence to the position coordinates. The ever, only during the display phase of
to utilize double-precision arithmetic next iteration finds Stella already wide- the basic cycle. The colors range from
blue for O-type stars to red for M
types. Green is omitted. The third en
hancement of CLUSTER makes arbitrary
time steps possible in either version of
the program.
SUPERCLUSTER uses a time-step vari
able called delta. Specified at the be

ginning of a run, delta determines
the amount of simulated time between
successive cycles. Naturally this time
element must affect the updating for
mulas for both velocity and position:
in the velocity formulas it multiplies
acceleration and in the position formu
las it multiplies velocity.
The easy way to handle close en
counters can now be described. First
a definition of "close" must be estab
lished. Then a test for such closeness
can be inserted into the program just
after the point at which the distance
between two stars is calculated. If a
close encounter is taking place, SUPER
CLUSTER replaces delta by one-tenth of
its value-at least until no pair of stars

is that close again. This expedient cer
tainly helps to cushion the sudden
lurches of discrete gravity. It creates
even worse problems when encoun
ters are really close, however. An ap
proach that is 10 times closer now re
sults in a gravitational force that is 100
Would our galactic neighborhood form a cluster?
22

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC
times greater! Fortunately close en a cluster form? The question may or of binary star systems at the center of a
counters of the worst kind are rather may not have scientific relevance, but simulated cluster have brought the col
rare. The time-subdivision technique it is fun to answer. Besides, these are lapse of core regions virtually to a halt.
has been standard in cluster-simula the only stars for which positions and In one of Jernigan's experiments a sin
tion programs traditionally employed velocities are known accurately [see il gle binary seemed to be responsible.
by professionals. lustration below]. How is it possible? According to Jer
If SUPERCLUSTER is to be an astro Clusters of stars are either open nigan's graduate student David Por
nomically meaningful program, units or globular. Open clusters consist ter, it may be that "very tight binaries
for distance, mass and other aspects of of 1,000 or so stars, whereas globular whizz around each other very quickly
physical reality are needed. A conve clusters may consist of millions. So far and kick wandering stars energetical
nient measure of distance is the astro investigators such as J. Garrett Jerni ly around the core or even back out
nomical unit (AU), which is equal to gan at the University of California at to a looser collection of stars around
the earth's mean distance from the Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory the core called the halo. This could be
sun. Mass can be measured in solar have been able to handle only small a mechanism for preventing the core
masses and time is best measured in clusters. Globular clusters are current from getting too crowded."
years. Under these conventions the uni ly intractable. Even so, Jernigan and Jernigan used to be an observer of
versal constant of gravitation has the pioneering colleagues such as Sverre J. X-ray stars. As research focused on the
approximate value of 39. SUPERCLUS Aarseth of the University of Califor search for X-ray sources in clusters, he
TER uses this constant instead of 1,000 nia at Berkeley have been observing grew increasingly interested in clusters
in the force calculation. collapses of computer clusters for dec as astronomical objects in their own
All is now in readiness for putting ei ades. The extent of collapse is meas right. Simulation seemed an effective
ther program to work. A preliminary ured by considering a spherical vol way to investigate them.
exercise for CLUSTER involves four ume that is centered within a cluster Self-described as "the new kid on the
stars. Place them at the corners of a and contains 10 percent of its mass. block," Jernigan has discovered an im
square that is an inch or two wide on The radius of this volume is known as portant new efficiency in simulation ef
the screen. It is only fair to give each the 10 percent radius. Collapse is un forts. In CLUSTER and similar programs
star a nonzero z coordinate as well as der way when the 10 percent radius a single computational cycle for n stars
the x and y coordinates that were men decreases as time passes. Inexorably requires roughly n2 steps. Jernigan's
tioned above. If motion is confined to the core of a simulated cluster be cycle needs only n X log(n) steps. He
the plane of the screen, close encoun comes ever denser. Since the simulated organizes his cluster by grouping the
ters are that much commoner. Veloc stars are mathematical points, nothing stars into neighboring pairs. Each pair
ity components should be small (on terrible ever happens to such clusters. is then replaced by a fictitious mass
the order of 5 to + 5) and should spec
- No black hole comes into being at the and velocity that summarizes the be
ify a clockwise direction, as though the center. This at least has been the ex havior of the pair. The same process is
four stars were on a wheel. perience of cluster theorists. But we now applied to the pairs as if they were
SUPERCLUSTER can be tried on the seem able to find little evidence of the original stars. Continuing in this
system of stars shown on page 22. extreme collapse in the clusters over manner, a collection of grouped and
This is the earth's galactic neighbor head. Something is preventing collapse regrouped mass nodes is built up in a
hood. What would happen if the sun out there. data structure called a tree. The single
and its neighboring stars were cut Both traditional and modern simu node at its root simultaneously repre
loose from our galaxy and allowed lation experiments may provide a key. sents all the stars. Motions can then
to dance endlessly in space? Would On various occasions a small number be calculated for the central node and
NAME OF S TAR POSITION COORDINATES VELOCITY COORDINATES COLOR M ASS
X Y Z VX VY VZ
ST RUVE 2398 68 -365 631 -5.69 4.76 3.35 RED 0.26

ROSS 248 464 -42 450 -8.75 1.13 -15.45 RED 0.17
61 CYGNI 394 -377 433 -2.78 22.03 0.02 ORANGE 0.69
LALANDE 21185 -404 107 307 7.32 -0.47 -20.11 RED 0.39
PROCYON 5 -295 658 68 2.38 0.75 -3.65 BLUE 1.29
BARNARD'S STAR -7 -371 30 -0.87 24.20 16.78 RED 0.21
EPSILON ERIDANI 408 534 -114 4.60 0.69 -0.50 ORANGE 0.74
WOLF 359 -462 136 62 -0.82 9.86 -5.94 RED 0.10
SIRIUS -98 514 -157 1.89 -2.21 -2.59 BLUE 2.96
LUYTEN 726-8 487 219 -175 2.08 10.80 -0.41 RED 0.19
ROSS 128 -683 44 13 2.51 -2.32 -4.09 RED 0.21
SUN 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 YELLOW 1.00
TAU CET I 646 307 -208 0.52 -6.62 3.92 YELLOW 0.85
ALPHA CENTAURI -106 -86 -243 -1.95 4.68 4.51 YELLOW 1.03
LUYTEN 789-6 608 -235 -182 -6.75 10.81 10.56 RED 0.13
LUYTEN 725-32 718 227 -233 4.70 6.16 0.51 RED 0.21
ROSS 154 111 -536 -241 1.79 1.36 -0.11 RED 0.24
EPSILON INDI 334 -194 -594 -3.54 17.71 2.28 ORANGE 0.69
A table listillg all but three stars ill the Ileighborhood of our solar system
24

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC
for all its branches out to the individ of visualizing the whole; a two-dimen
ual stars. sional solver would push and pull at
Is this the technique of the future? the sides of a mysterious box.
It certainly helps to speed things up, An algorithmic solution to Engel's
according to Jernigan. Yet subsequent enigma is claimed by P. Clavier of
generations of cluster programs are Dallas, Tex. Clavier says that his pro
more likely to resemble the hybrid gram, written in BASIC and running
variety used by Alan P. Lightman of on a Texas Instruments CC-40 porta
the Center for Astrophysics of the ble computer, solves typical scrambles
Harvard College Observatory and the in from 300 to 700 moves. The solu
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observa tion implements six fundamental ex
tory and Stephen L. W. McMillan of change operations on the stones and
the University of Illinois at Urbana bones. Readers who used the sequence
Champaign: stars in the core are han representation I suggested may have
dled by the direct simulation methods cast their net too widely; solutions
described above; stars outside the core of the numerical sequence are not al
are modeled statistically as if they ways solutions of the enigma. In fram
form a gas. ing the suggestion I was aware that
For readers proficient in the lan bones were excluded from the repre
guage called APL there is an inter sentation. "Well," said I at the time,
Jeffrey R. Carter's two-dimensional burr
esting new publication by Gregory J. "take care of the stones and the bones
Chaitin of the IBM Thomas J. Watson will take care of themselves." Not so.
Research Center in Yorktown Heights, The stones should be interleaved with When a vertex is rotated, the five inci
N.Y. It is called An APL2 Gallery the symbols that represent the bones. dent triangles are rotated as well. Each
0/ Mathematical Physics and is a 56- The ultimate scramble-unscramble triangle has three colors. In unscram
page booklet containing explanations puzzle appears to have been invented bled form the colors adjacent to each
of five major physical theories, includ by Robert Carlson of Los Altos, Calif. vertex are the same. Carlson has pre
ing those that describe both the New It is so complicated to make that he pared a version of his computer puzzle
tonian and the relativistic motion of must be content with the view of it on for the IBM PC. In addition to colors it
satellites in space. APL listings are giv his monitor. The puzzle is an icosahe features a musical note for each move.
en for computer programs that illus dron, the Platonic solid that consists of Interested readers can obtain a disk
trate each theory. Chaitin will be hap 20 triangular faces. Each vertex is the by writing to Carlson at 319 Lunada
py to send a copy to any reader who site of a possible scrambling operation. Court, Los Altos, Calif. 95030.
writes to him at the Thomas J. Wat
son Research Center, P.O. Box 218,
Yorktown Heights, N.Y. 10598.
I
n last October's column I described
three puzzles: Bill's baffling burr,
Coffin's cornucopia and Engel's enig
ma. Hundreds of readers have tackled
the puzzles. While some seek the mag
ic combination of moves that disas
semble the burr, others scratch their
head over the placement of polyomi
noes in a tray. Members of this group
will have to get by without help from
their friends: each puzzle is unique.
Still other readers keep rotating the
wheels of Engel's enigma in a vain at
tempt to unscramble it. Some of the
devotees are succeeding, at least on an
abstract plane: claims of solutions to
the enigma have started to come in.
A call for two-dimensional burrs
brought in a number of designs. The
most charming design received so far
is shown at the top of this page. The
problem is to remove the four pieces
from the tray symbolized by the rec
tangular outline. The pieces can only
be moved in four directions confined
to the plane of the page: up, down, left
and right. The four corner squares are
regarded as immovable. Which piece
must be moved first? Jeffrey R. Carter
of Littleton, Colo., designed this two
dimensional tour de force. Our three
dimensionality confers the advantage
Globular cluster Messier 13 ill the constellation Hercules
25

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC
You' ve driven in a sports car Remember . temperature makes you feel the most chipper and
the way it hugged the road? The way it took the it, through microprocessors, keeps you happy.
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new Saab 9000.
On the sports car side, there's performance
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A suspension with McPherson struts that
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The steering, of course, is rack-and-pinion, assaulted on the road, willcome to appreciate the
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On the luxury sedan side, there's Automatic of its parts. SAAR II
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Soob 9000S-�pced: 21 EPA adjusted city mpg. Use adjusted mpgfor comparison 01l1y. MIleage !Xl,us with speed, trip l£Ilgth and weather.

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:02 UTC
BOOKS
deed, he was more ardent in his eugen
ic convictions than many who served
on the society's board. He recognized,
however, as they perhaps did not,
that a successful eugenics required not
only a new content but also a new
A history ofthe eugenics movement and name. As early as 1950 he chose an ap
parently neutral title, "Our Load of
of its multiple effects on public policy Mutations," for what is in fact a eu
genic plea. One of Muller's critics has
called the move, which produced a
revolution in the vocabulary of popu
by Diane B. Paul lation genetics, a "stroke of genius,"
for while "eugenics" was out, "genetic
load" and its associated concepts,
"mutational load," "balanced load"
IN THE NAME OF EUGENICS: GENET if superior people are desired, they and the "cost of selection," were in. As
ICS AND THE USES OF HUMAN HERED must be bred; and if imbeciles, crim Muller wrote in reply to Osborn, an
ITY, by Daniel J. Kevles. Alfred A. inals, paupers, and [the] otherwise un argument explicitly tagged with the
Knopf, Inc. ($22.95). fit are undesirable citizens they must eugenic label or its obvious equiva
not be bred." lents would have been dismissed in ad
n October of 1955 Frederick Os Through the act of writing Wood vance by many whom it did, in fact,
I born, secretary of the American

Eugenics Society, invited H. J.
hull was actually winning a skirmish in
her main battle. If human reproduc
influence. Muller did not care what
terms they used, as long as people
could be induced to think eugenically.
Muller, a prominent geneticist, to join tion has an importance that makes it
the organization's board of directors. a major social and political issue, it is By the 1960's even Osborn was con
The invitation was one of many that inescapable that women have a role to vinced that the word had outlived its
Osborn extended to distinguished sci play in the political as well as the bio usefulness. "Eugenic goals are most
entists in his efforts to reform and re logical process. Indeed, Kevles points likely to be attained under a name oth
habilitate a movement then in disre out, women were major figures in the er than eugenics," he wrote in his 1968
pute. Eugenics-defined by its found leadership of the movement and made book The Future of Human Heredity.
er, Francis Galton, as "the science of up more than half of the membership The following year the society's jour
improvement of the human germ plasm of the British Eugenics Education So nal, The Eugenics Quarterly. became
through better breeding"-had once ciety. They were, to be sure, the right The Journal of Social Biology. As early
enjoyed considerable support. In the kind of women. Socially desirable as 1954 its British counterpart, Annals
last two decades of the 19th century traits, resulting from good heredity, of Eugenics, had been renamed Annals
and the first two of this it was widely were thought to explain the success of of Human Genetics; the American Ge
assumed that most differences in hu people who were white, Anglo-Saxon, netics Association, once devoted to
man mentality and behavior resulted Protestant and middle class. "the improvement of plants, animals,
from differences in genes. "Feeble The assumption that social position and human racial stocks," decided in
mindedness," criminality, pauperism, accurately reflected genetic worth was 1965 to pursue "the improvement of
shiftlessness and insanity were only a severely shaken by the Great Depres plants, animals, and human welfare"
few of the traits ascribed to bad hered sion. Biological defect no longer ap instead. By the late 1960's most jour
ity. That society ought to foster the peared a convincing explanation for nals and organizations with an explicit
breeding of those who possessed favor poverty and other social ills. The result eugenic orientation had changed their
able traits ("positive" eugenics) and was a movement, led by geneticists, to name or their motto.
discourage or prevent the breeding of purge eugenics of its evident class bias This is not to suggest that the chang
those who did not ("negative" eugen and place it on a firm scientific founda es reflected only a concern with public
ics) seemed obviously to follow. tion. This effort was hardly under way relations-the pouring of old wine into
In a lucid and intricate history of before it was itself threatened by rev new bottles or the minting of new lyr- .
eugenics Daniel J. Kevles, professor elations of Nazi policies, which pro ics to accompany old tunes. Lionel
of history at the California Institute duced a backlash against eugenics of Penrose, Galton Professor of Eugenics
of Technology, demonstrates that no any kind. By the late 1940's eugenics at University College London and a
tions of genetic perfectability have whether reform or establishment-was hero of Kevles' story, was not being
been deeply entrenched over a period out of fashion. cynical when he prompted a change in
of time that runs back through many Osborn hoped to reverse this trend the title of both his position and his
decades. These concepts underlay by effecting radical changes in both laboratory's journal. Penrose's whole
even the most sharply defined fissures the policies and the personalities asso sale rejection of everything associated
in the Victorian intellectual and mor ciated with the movement. He wished with the movement was unusual, how
al landscape. Victoria Woodhull, who particularly to attract to his board ge ever. Most prominent geneticists in the
outraged her contemporaries by run neticists such as Muller and Theodosi immediate postwar period remained
ning for president of the U. S., advocat us Dobzhansky, who had been public committed in principle to some form
ing female suffrage and calling for ref ly critical of the simplistic scientific as of eugenics. But at a time when a stig
ormation of the relation between men sumptions and racial and class bias of ma attached to both word and con
and women, lined up with her critics the old Eugenics Society. Osborn's ef cept, they searched for less obvious
on the question of breeding-in both forts were generally successful, but ways to pursue their aims. They turned
its literal and its figurative sense. In her he could not convince Muller to be mainly to population control and to
1891 book The Rapid Multiplication of come a director, or even a member. medical genetics.
the Unfit she wrote: "The best minds Muller's refusal was not prompted The latter raises some important and
of today have accepted the fact that by opposition to the society's aims. In- disturbing questions. The field of med-
27

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:17 UTC
ical genetics was in large part devel supported by many social radicals and fashionably scientific terms rather
oped by geneticists seeking a socially such as Havelock Ellis, Beatrice and than in traditionally moral ones. Eu
acceptable way to improve the human Sidney Webb and George Bernard genicists sought the key to understand
genome. Their efforts produced the Shaw, as well as by social conserva ing degeneracy in the new science of
field of genetic counseling, as well as tives such as Galton, Henry Fairfield genetics, and its solution in the practi
new techniques such as genetic screen Osborn (the uncle of Frederick), Leon cal application of genetic principles.
ing (the detection of the carriers of spe ard Darwin and Charles B. Davenport. Both understanding and control were
cific genetic disorders such as sickle (The radicals used eugenic arguments thought to be matters of great urgen
cell anemia and Tay-Sachs disease), to denounce restrictions on birth con cy, since the problem of racial degen
forms of prenatal diagnosis, such as trol, divorce and educational and oc eration appeared to be rapidly grow
amniocentesis, and gene-therapy re cupational opportunities for women; ing worse.
search. These developments Kevles conservatives, to defend them.) Al In the past, it was supposed, the
collectively terms the "new eugenics." though they differed in their attitudes numbers of physical and mental defec
He does not mean thereby to condemn toward sexuality and the "woman tives would have been kept in check by
them (as he does "lensenism" and question," they agreed that unre the action of natural selection, but this
some aspects of human sociobiology, strained breeding by the lower orders process had practically ceased in civ
which in his view are other and more was a threat to the future of the race. ilized societies. Medicine, public hy
problematic heirs of the eugenics The leaders of eugenic societies, in giene and charity now kept alive the
movement). Indeed, he ultimately as both Britain and the U. S., were mostly physically and mentally weak. Worse,
serts a rather sharp distinction between professionals: doctors, social workers, the unfit were reproducing at a much
the old eugenics, both establishment academics, who shared a common atti faster rate than their betters.
and reform, and the new, as reflected in tude toward the "submerged tenth" The differential birthrate was the ob
genetic counseling and contemporary (the chronically poor, who were con sessive concern and driving force of
biomedical techniques and therapies. sidered responsible for most crime the early eugenics movement. Charles
Kevles traces a historical continuity, in and other deviant behavior). Eugeni Darwin himself lamented the multipli
terms of intellectual leaders, sources cists also joined in a commitment to cation of the unfit, whom he identified
of institutional support and the mo the scientific understanding and con with the lower orders. Kevles quotes
tivations of some early researchers in trol of social problems. They believed a report by Alfred Russel Wallace of
the field. Yet he believes the ethos of poverty and virtually all forms of devi a conversation with Darwin: "He ex
medical genetics today differs funda ant behavior resulted from defects in pressed himself very gloomily on the
mentally from that of even reform eu intelligence or character whose source future of humanity, on the ground that
genics. Whether this is so depends on was biological, and whose results were in our modern civilization natural se
how one characterizes the aims not therefore fixed. These conditions were lection had no play, and the fittest did
only of the "new eugenicists" but also not the fault of the criminal or the pau not survive. Those who succeed in the
of the old. Hence it is necessary to say per: one could no more be responsible race for wealth are by no means the
something more about eugenics in the for inheriting genes giving rise to crime best or the most intelligent, and it is
period just before World War II. or poverty than one could be responsi notorious that our population is more
In his history Kevles demonstrates ble for inheriting genes specifying red largely renewed in each generation
that prewar eugenics enjoyed surpris hair (which explains why some conser from the lower than from the middle
ingly varied support. This point has vatives were, and remain, hostile to and upper classes."
been made by others, but not in nearly any form of hereditarian thinking; it In the U. S. these anxieties were in
such detail and therefore not as con erodes traditional notions of moral re flamed by the "new immigration": the
vincingly. He shows that in the first sponsibility). The problem of "racial massive influx of southern and east
decades of this century eugenics was deterioration" was thus viewed in new ern Europeans that began in the mid-
1890's. For many Americans of older
stock the rapid increase in immigrants
from eastern Europe, Russia, the Bal
kans and Italy generated intense anx
iety about assimilation, biological as
well as social. And it was in the U. S.
that eugenic proposals were most ex
treme-and most effective.
In the first two decades of the 20th
century American eugenicists such as
Harry H. Laughlin, Davenport, Hen
ry H. Goddard and Madison Grant
published studies ostensibly demon
strating that the poor in general, and
immigrants in particular, suffered dis
proportionately from a variety of in
herited defects. Kevles cites the geneti
cist Davenport, director of the experi
mental station at Cold Spring Harbor,
who thought the immigrants would
produce a population "darker in pig
mentation, smaller in stature, more
mercurial . . . more given to crimes of
larceny, kidnapping, assault, murder,
rape, and sex-immorality."
Winners of an American Eugenics Society "Fitter Families" contest, Arkansas State Fair, 1927 Eugenicists were particularly con-
28

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cerned with the apparent increase in be kept American. Biological laws to identify its essence, as it were-is no
"feeblemindedness": an ill-defined cat show . . . that Nordics deteriorate when easy task.
egory incorporating a wide range of mixed with other races.") Only one ge If there is a core eugenic doctrine, it
mental disabilities and socially deviant neticist-Herbert S. Jennings-could is the goal of genetic improvement
behaviors. Goddard believed the trait be found to testify against the bill. The based on some form of selective breed
was generally inherited, "a condition others either agreed with its provisions ing; at least all the conventional defini
of mind or brain which is transmitted or refused to take a public stand. tions (for example those propounded
as regularly and surely as color of hair In the 1930's a number of distin by Galton and Davenport) imply this
or eyes," determined by a single (reces guished geneticists-including Muller, much. Such policies as genetic screen
sive) gene. He believed the defect to be Julian Huxley, Lancelot Hogben, J. B. ing and abortion resulting from am
widespread-afflicting from 1 to 3 per S. Haldane, L. C. Dunn and Dobzhan niocentesis are clearly eugenic by this
cent of the population. A much larger sky-repudiated what Kevles calls the definition. Perhaps to avoid an unpal
number, he said, were carriers. "mainline" tradition. Economic de atable conclusion, the definition is of
The incidence of mental deficiency pression combined with the rise of fas ten qualified-explicitly or implicitly
was thought to be particularly high cism to radicalize many geneticists in one of two ways. Sometimes the eu
among recent immigrants. Goddard (among other kinds of scientist) and genic label is applied only to policies
had administered a form of the Binet induce at least a skeptical spirit in oth involving some form of coercion. State
I.Q. test to immigrants at Ellis Island, ers. In the view of these critics, estab laws mandating sterilization of the fee
and he concluded that about 40 per lishment eugenics traded on simple bleminded would meet this criterion
cent were mentally defective. (A few minded science to rationalize the so (as might those that only permitted
years later results of I.Q. tests admin cial and economic status quo. sterilization, depending on how they
istered to Army draftees would be This group did not abjure eugenics. were applied in practice; coercion can
cited to support similar conclusions Indeed, use of state power to control be subtle).
about blacks.) reproduction seemed appropriate to The problem with this standard,
Americans were thus even more dis many geneticists of the left, particular however, is that it excludes a larger
turbed by the prospect of racial de ly the Fabians and the Marxists. ("The number of policies and people ordi
generation than the British. They re belief in the sacred right of every indi narily associated with eugenics. Many
sponded with proposals designed, in vidual to be a parent is a grossly in eugenicists, particularly in Britain,
the approving words of the geneticist dividualistic doctrine surviving from stressed the voluntary character of
Edward M. East, "to cut off this defec the days when we accepted the right their proposals, holding with Have
tive germ-plasm." English eugenicists of parents to decide whether their chil lock Ellis that "the only compUlsion
rarely favored compulsory measures: dren should be washed or schooled," we can apply in eugenics is the compul
they stressed the need for education, asserted Hogben in his 1931 book Ge sion that comes from within." Indeed,
financial incentives and various forms netic Principles in Medicine and Social virtually all "positive" eugenics, for
of moral suasion. The Americans were Science.) But neither socialists such example Muller's scheme to insemi
much more willing to invoke the pow as Muller, Haldane and Hogben nor nate women artificially with the sperm
ers of the state. "Mistaken regard for liberals such as Dobzhansky and Jen of particularly successful men (which
what are believed to be divine laws and nings any longer saw the existing dis he called "germinal choice") would be
a sentimental belief in the sanctity of tribution of privileges as reflecting ge excluded. So would William Shock
human life tend to prevent both the netic worth. In their view it was only in ley's similar program, as well as his
elimination of defective infants and a society providing equal opportunity proposal to pay people of low I.Q. who
the sterilization of such adults as are to all its members that genetic merit agree to be sterilized.
themselves of no value to the commu could be distinguished from environ A somewhat more sophisticated ap
nity," wrote the American eugenicist mental good fortune-a distinction proach has been to distinguish be
Grant. "The laws of nature require the they considered necessary for a ration tween programs on the basis of their
obliteration of the unfit, and human al eugenics. rationale. Policies are sometimes con
life is valuable only when it is of use to Just as the eugenics of the 1910's and sidered eugenic if their intent is to fur
the community or race." The law of 1920's had been used to support both ther a social or public purpose, such
man also provided harbingers of the traditional and unconventional views as reducing the costs borne by the so
little corporal. By 1930, 24 states had of women's roles (and both pacifism ciomedical system, or even sparing
passed laws allowing or requiring ster and war), so the eugenics of the 1930's future generations unnecessary suffer
ilization of the "feebleminded." and early 1940's was used to both de ing. For example, genetic counseling
Eugenicists also campaigned for re fend and condemn the existing eco or support for biomedical research
strictions on immigration. In his role as nomic order; it has been a remarkably motivated by concern for the quality
"Expert Eugenics Agent" of the House plastic doctrine. of the "gene pool" would be eugenic;
Committee on Immigration and Natu As noted above the reform move the same practices motivated by the
ralization, Laughlin conducted studies ment was ultimately swamped by the desire to increase the choices available
purporting to prove that the incidence radical shift in social climate that fol to individuals would not be.
of mental deficiency was much great lowed World War II. At least, eugen This criterion is also problematic. It
er among the new immigrants than ics could no longer be pursued under makes the determination of what is eu
among the native-born. In 1924 Con that rubric. Some geneticists therefore genic depend on an assessment of mo
gress passed, and President Calvin undertook to search for socially ac tivation-a notoriously difficult task.
Coolidge signed into law, a statute re ceptable ways-under socially accept And to the extent that we can ascertain
stricting immigration from any Euro able names-to pursue their interests. the motives of earlier eugenicists, they
pean country to 3 percent of the num And so we return to the question posed seem to have often been mixed. One
ber of foreign-born of the same nation earlier: Do the new techniques and of the goals of the reform eugenicists
al origin recorded in the 1890 census, therapies that ultimately resulted (or at least-people such as Jennings and
that is, before the influx of southern are being developed) represent a "new Hogben-was in fact to save individu
and eastern Europeans. (Coolidge had eugenics"? That of course depends on als and families unnecessary hardship.
earlier declared that "America must what eugenics is. To define eugenics- It is therefore fruitless to debate
30 © 1985 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

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whether the eugenic label "really" ap Britain and America many middle tal defect suggested polygenic inheri
plies. Kevles' book establishes that a class women were involved with eu tance (although why he thought this
wide variety of policies have been ad genics. Its appeal reflected eugenics' would speed selection is not clear) and
vanced by groups having divergent in concerns with traditional women's is that those categorized as feebleminded
terests and aims "in the name of eugen sues; it also provided a respectable en would tend to mate "assortatively,"
ics." A definition broad enough to fit tree to the worlds of science and public that is, with each other. Jennings, on
them all will include current technolo affairs, from which women were other the other hand, assumed that feeble
gies and therapies. A definition that wise excluded. mindedness was a single-gene defect
broad does not necessarily condemn. Kevles writes engagingly. He has or and that those affected would mate at
In characterizing these developments ganized the book around a series of random. On these issues Fisher's as
as a "new eugenics" Kevles has drawn portraits of leading eugenicists and sumptions were the more plausible,
attention to the fact that medical ge their critics. Since the lives of the for but the implication of Kevles' account
netics and genetic engineering have mer were often unconventional and is that he was scientifically bested by
roots in the reform-eugenic program. their personalities were eccentric, the his (politically progressive and person
Whether they have incorporated what biographical approach makes for live ally appealing) opponent.
was problematic in that program is not ly reading. It is nonetheless an ap To take another example: Kevles
a question history can answer. (On the proach that has certain drawbacks. sides with Dobzhansky in his dispute
whole, Kevles thinks not.) The psychic needs of a Galton, a Pear with Muller over the value of genetic
History does provide a warning, son or a Davenport may explain their diversity. Muller believed selection is
however. It reminds us how often and turn to eugenics. These needs cannot, a purifying force, acting to produce
easily genetics has served corrupt so however, explain its acceptance (and a "best type." From this assumption
cial ends, and it alerts us to the ends it at times rejection) by many quite ordi it seemed to follow that individuals
may still or in the future serve. As Kev nary people. The explanation of these would be homozygous at all but a
les writes in his preface: "I am under diverse reactions lies in political and handful of loci, and that populations
no delusion that a history of eugenics social history, not in individual psy would be essentially monomorphic.
will provide any detailed moral or po chology. Kevles treats these dimen Dobzhansky, on the other hand, be
litical map to follow in the uncharted sions, but he gives them rather short lieved genetic diversity is adaptive and
territory of human genetic engineer shrift. For example, the forces that hence is actively maintained by some
ing. What I do expect from such an produced the Immigration Restriction form of selection. He therefore as
exploration is at least some assistance Act-perhaps the greatest triumph of sumed individuals would be heterozy
in disentangling the benefits we might the early eugenics movement-are gous at many loci and, within a popu
aim for from the pitfalls we might le summarized in about three pages. lation, a large number of alternative
gitimately fear. I hope that this histori It is a style that also lends itself to alleles would segregate at each locus.
cal journey will suggest to the reader treatment in terms of heroes and vil The question of the extent of genet
as it has to me-how one might think lains. The book is fun to read in part ic variability has long been settled in
about the human genetic future, and because there are obvious good guys Dobzhansky's favor. There is indeed a
how one might thread a path into it of and bad (none of the central characters lot more heterozygosity and polymor
good sense, reason, and decency." is a woman). Kevles' heart is clearly phism among humans (and other spe
Kevles' book would be worth read with the critics-Jennings, Haldane, cies) than Muller predicted. The mean
ing for its analysis of the benefits and Dobzhansky, Penrose-who are con ing of all this genetic variation, how
pitfalls alone. There are now many sistently portrayed not only as better ever, is far from settled. How much is a
studies in the history of eugenics, but intentioned than their opponents but response to forces of selection and how
his is the first to ask what we might also as better scientists. For example, much simply the accumulation of neu
learn from that history as we confront Jennings appears to defeat the mathe tral mutations is not yet known. Kevles
the social consequences of individu matical geneticist R. A. Fisher in their cites "the resistance to malaria con
al reproductive decisions. Kevles pro dispute over the efficacy of policies ferred by the sickle-cell gene in its het
vides no definite answers. He implies, aimed at reducing the incidence of erozygous state" as a substantiation
however, that in balancing "social ob mental defect. At issue was the effec of Dobzhansky's position; this tells
ligations as against individual rights, tiveness of segregation and steriliza us little. The question was, and re
and reproductive freedom and privacy tion of the "feebleminded" given re mains, whether heterozygote superior
as against the requirements of public cent evidence that the trait was trans ity (or other forms of "balancing" se
health and welfare," we should favor mitted recessively. Thus, the argument lection) are common or exceptional.
private and individual interests over ran, there would be many more hetero Dobzhansky may have been a more
those that are public and social. One zygous carriers of the defective gene(s) attractive person, with more appealing
might question whether an individual than individuals actually affected. The politics, than Muller, but he has not
istic ethic-which we have abandoned "real menace" of the feebleminded, in yet been proved right (or more right)
in most spheres of life-will in fact the geneticist East's phrase, was con on this issue. In a well-constructed
prove defensible in this one. How to stituted by this huge, invisible hetero world good people, politics and science
choose between or compromise these zygotic reserve. Measures preventing would invariably be linked. In the real
"ancient antinomies" is the important the feebleminded themselves from one, alas, it is not always thus.
question. It is one of the virtues of the breeding, Jennings argued, could not These criticisms should not obscure
book to have made it explicit. reach this group. Hence the question: Kevles' real accomplishments. The
Kevles is also the first historian to How effective were such policies? history of eugenics has long been the
explore seriously the relation between Fisher argued that they were very preserve of specialists. Yet an under
eugenics and human genetics (which effective, Jennings that they were not standing of that history is central to
should make the book particularly in effective. (Neither disputed the value informed debate on issues affecting the
teresting to scientists). He is also the of feeblemindedness as a category.) public in general and scientists in par
first to examine closely the relation Their divergent conclusions in part re ticular. Kevles' lively and informative
between eugenics and the women's flected different scientific assumptions. book makes that debate possible. It de
movement. Kevles notes that in both Fisher thought that the pattern of men- serves a wide audience.
31

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SCIENTIFIC
AMERI C�
Established 1845 January 1986 Volume 254 Number 1
Space Science, Space Technology

and the Space Station
The space-station program will seriously diminish the opportunities
for advancing space science and technology if it proceeds as planned.
Most national goals in space are better realized by robot spacecraft
by] ames A. Van Allen
T
here is something about the topic With the space station in place, the vated in some quarters to the quasi-re
of outer space that induces hy National Commission on Space envi ligious belief that space is a natural
perbolic expectations. With no sions a number of options for building habitat of human beings. According to
difficulty at all I can think of a billion what it calls the "infrastructure re this belief, the real goal of the space
dollar space mission before breakfast quired for the initial exploration and program is to establish "man's per
any day of the week and a multibillion occupation of the inner solar system." manent presence in space," a slogan
dollar mission on Sunday. Ordinarily The options include the construction that does not respond to the simple
I do not inflict such visions on my fel of three more space stations, one in question: "For what purpose?" Cou
low citizens, but I note that proposals high earth orbit, one in lunar orbit and pled with the public acclaim for the
of comparable or lesser merit and of one in orbit around the planet Mars; manned Apollo missions to the moon,
much greater cost receive public atten the deployment of additional space this kind of advocacy has committed
tion, and some are influential in high stations in orbits around the earth NASA to an overriding emphasis on the
circles of government. I submit that moon system or the earth-Mars sys development of manned space flight:
the proposed permanently manned tem, to serve as long-range "buses" for roughly two-thirds of the agency's
space station is in this category. earth-moon or interplanetary trans funding is allocated to that objective.
A National Commission on Space, port, and the construction of several The directions embodied in NASA'S
mandated by Congress and appointed vehicles to shuttle astronauts among budgetary policy ignore the basic his
by the president, has bravely under the various space stations, moon and tory of space flight: in the more than
taken to foresee the course of the U.S. planets. The concept of a joint U.S. 28 years since the launching of Sput
space effort over the next 50 years. The U.S.S.R. manned mission to land on nik !the overwhelming majority of sci
commission's final report, to be re Mars has been endorsed by many offi entific and utilitarian achievements
leased in March, will take it for grant cials both in and out of NASA. The pres in space have come from unmanned,
ed that the space station will be operat ence of people living and working in automated and commandable space
ing in orbit within a decade, as Presi space, with necessarily elaborate pro craft. For example, the program of
dent Reagan announced in his 1984 visions made for their health and well unmanned planetary exploration has
State of the Union message. According being, is common to all the major op been brilliantly successful and has
to the timetable of the National Aer tions being considered for recommen made immense contributions to hu
onautics and Space Administration, dation to the president. man knowledge. Robot satellites in
the initial operations capability of the earth orbit have revolutionized glob
T
space station is to be achieved by 1993. he acceptance of such grandiose al communications and navigation,
Official estimates set its development proposals by otherwise rational in and they have yielded fundamental ad
costs at $8 billion in constant 1984 dol dividuals stems from the mystique of vances in our understanding of the at
lars, but the true costs will probably be space flight, as nurtured over many mosphere, the oceans, the weather and
many times that preliminary figure. centuries by early writers of science the distribution of natural resources.
There have been no announcements fiction and their present-day counter Finally, they have enhanced national
about the costs of operating and main parts. Indeed, to the ordinary person security by making it possible to moni
taining the station in orbit or about the space flight is synonymous with the tor military activities abroad.
costs of the equipment needed to make flight of human beings. The simple Let me make it clear that I have no
the station a useful facility for scientif taste for adventure and fantasy ex hesitation in granting the technical
ic and technical purpose. pressed in that sentiment has been ele- feasibility of a space station or of a
32

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:31 UTC
system of space stations, given ade space activities. The plans for a space well-reasoned priorities among them.
quate resources for the purpose. Fur station therefore raise basic questions Then and only then is it sensible to
thermore, I have no doubt that signifi about the economic, political and cul consider the best technical means for
cant uses of space stations can be iden tural objectives of the U.S. in space. achieving these goals, the appropriate
tified. The issue is not a technical one, Space science and technology are time scales and the necessary resourc
however; the space-station program now mature enough to allow a compe es. As I see it, the primary goals of the
will consume a major fraction of the tent, well-defined and realistic selec space program include strictly utilitar
resources available for our national tion of goals and the assignment of ian objectives, whose costs and ben-
DETAILED IMAGES of the distant planets betoken the accom ring in the Encke division in the outer main ring (ring A) of Saturn;
plishments of the unmanned, scientific space program. The image at the data for the computer-generated image were gathered by a pho
the upper left shows a storm on Mars; it was transmitted by the topolarimeter aboard the Voyager 2 spacecraft, which recorded the
Viking Orbiter 1 spacecraft and processed in false colors to high occultation of starlight passing through the rings. In the image at
light the details of the storm. At the upper right is an image of the lower right the theta-aurora of the earth is shown as a yellow
Jupiter, which has been constructed by a computer from data trans ring and crossbar, on which the outline of Antarctica has been su
mitted by the Voyager 1 spacecraft to show the planet as it would perposed. The image was transmitted by the Dynamics Explorer 1
appear from directly above its south pole; no spacecraft has ever satellite. The first three images were prepared by the Jet Propul
made a real photograph of Jupiter from that vantage. There is no sion Laboratory and are shown courtesy of the IBM Gallery of Sci
photographic data from the black, irregular region at the pole. The ence and Art in New York City. The image of aurora over Antarc
bright red band in the false-color image at the lower left is a thin tica is shown courtesy of Louis A. Frank of the University of Iowa.
33

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:31 UTC
efits are relatively easy to determine, and offensive. Up to now, I am happy spacecraft now deployed have expect
and cultural objectives, whose costs to say, the defensive applications have ed operating lifetimes of 10 years or
and benefits are harder to calculate. dominated, thanks in no small part more, and they incorporate automatic
One category of utilitarian objec to a succession of treaties and United or commandable redundancy to help
tives is the set of military applications Nations resolutions on the peaceful ensure their longevity. Moreover, the
that are deemed to be in the nation uses of outer space. Such defensive technical obsolescence of most flight
al interest. A second category includes functions include worldwide reconnais equipment over a period of 10 years
civil applications of space technology sance and surveillance, oceanography, makes repair or refurbishment in orbit
that either are in the national interest geodesy, communications, meteorolo a capability that has little or no eco
as public services or are capable of gy and navigation. nomic justification.
paying for themselves in the market There is some persuasion to the ar Offensive military deployments in
place. As for the cultural objectives, it gument that high-quality, reciprocal space, such as antisatellite weapons,
seems reasonable to grant that there is reconnaissance by all potential ad pose deep questions of national pur
value to the shared, vicarious sense of versaries diminishes world tension: by pose that lie mostly outside the scope
adventure that was generated by the providing advance notice of military of this article. Whether or not one
Apollo program and similar efforts. deployments it reduces the element of shares my belief that the calls for a
Such a social sense can therefore prob surprise and buys time for intensified military buildup in space are to be de
ably be counted as a cultural objective. negotiation. The logical extension of plored, one may see in such a buildup
By the same token, one must grant that this line of thought is that the U.S., the a potential for growth that would re
the conduct of scientific observations U.S.S.R. and the People's Republic move the basis for my concerns about
and experiments in space, without any of China should operate a joint recon science and the space station. Thus,
guarantee that they will pay off in use naissance program so that all observa goes the argument, however regretta
ful technology, is a legitimate cultural tions and their interpretation would be ble you may find the military buildup,
objective. Of course, purely scientific shared. Such an arrangement would the tradeoff is that under the compara
activity almost always yields practical make the entire matter an academic tive largesse of the military umbrella
applications, some of consummate im exercise and give to warfare the aura you can have a manned space station
portance, and so there is no implied of futility it richly deserves in the con and a vigorous, unmanned scientific
assumption in classifying science as temporary world. Military activities in space program as well.
a cultural objective that it will not space have been carried out almost
turn out to have quantifiable, utilitar exclusively by unmanned satellites, At first glance the point has consider
ian benefits as well. and there is every reason to think this £\.. able force. For those of us who
will continue to be the case. remember the national trauma follow
B ecause the space program was pri

marily military in its inception, it
Yet advocates of manned missions
in space argue that only a manned
ing the successful launching of the first
Soviet satellite in October, 1957, there
seems appropriate to begin with this spacecraft makes it possible to repair is little doubt that the military uses of
set of utilitarian objectives. The mili robot satellites in orbit or to replace all space have provided the most power
tary applications of the space program or some of their parts. The argument ful incentives for our subsequent ef
can be further classified as defensive attacks a straw man. Many unmanned fort. Indeed, President Lyndon John
son once said that the benefits of the
U.S. system of satellites for military
reconnaissance had more than paid for
20 r--- the entire national program in space.
--,
--
Nevertheless, citing such statements in
the present context ignores the changes
in military-funding policies that have
Ui been mandated by Congress since the
z
o 15 early 1970's. The Department of De
:J
-' fense must now adhere to a relatively
� narrow definition of what constitutes
(fJ
a: its mission: much of the loss in support
::5
-'
from the Department of Defense for
8 10 the basic sciences in the early 1970's
N can be traced to this evolution of poli
<Xl
Cj)
cy. In justifying its expenditures the
I
Z
Department of Defense is unlikely to
� squander its credibility before Con
(fJ
z 5 gress by supporting huge undertakings
o
U that are not manifestly in defense in
terests. I suspect that neither the space
ANNUAL NASA BUDGET FOR SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS station nor many of the scientific inter
__
ests with which it competes will re
OL-____ � ________ �
________ �________ � ________ _L________ � � ceive any significant subsidies from
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 the Defense Department budget.
One is left, therefore, to consider the
ANNUAL BUDGET for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in constant
objectives in space that are not overtly
1982 dollars is plotted on the graph in black; the budget for space science and applications
military in nature. The history of the
is superposed on the graph in color. NASA'S greatest spending took place in the mid-1960's,
during the development of the manned Apollo missions to the moon. The growth of space civil space program in the U.S. shows
science and applications in that period did not keep pace with the growth in the manned that following the peak in funding
space program. Since then the overall NASA budget has fallen to about a third of its peak generated by the Apollo program in
value, and about 15 percent of the total has been allocated to science and applications. the mid- 1960's, appropriations fell by
34

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:31 UTC
a factor of three in constant dollars. operation of the Space Transportation neers to push the state of their art to its
Since that drop more than a decade System has cost American taxpayers limits. Although I heartily applaud its
ago the funding has remained essen about $30 billion to date, with much impressive technical successes, I find
tially constant. One may wish that it smaller but still substantial contribu the economic justification for building
were otherwise, as I do, but the present tions from European nations through it to be quite unpersuasive, and I have
level of Federal support has been es the European Space Agency. The four so testified to the Office of Technolo
tablished by our complex social and shuttles in the current U.S. fleet were gy Assessment and to a succession of
political processes, and it is difficult, if and still are conceived as service vehi congressional committees beginning
not impossible, to responsibly foresee cles for the space station, and so it is in 197 1. Those of us who were on the
any sizable increase in it in real dollars appropriate to consider the shuttle as a losing side of the debate in the early
in the next decade. Conversely, it is key element in the U.S. manned space 1970's as to the wisdom of developing
reasonable to expect that the funding program for the next 20 years. the shuttle have no difficulty remem
level in constant dollars will not shrink The space shuttle represents the nat bering the claims then being made. In
significantly in the near term. ural aspiration of aeronautical engi- brief, our opponents argued that the
Thus it appears that the U.S. has
achieved an approximate equilibrium
between advocates and skeptics as to
Fully commercial applications
the proper overall level of our nation
al civil space effort. I shall therefore Worldwide network of satellite relays in synchronous orbits for transmission of television broad·
adopt the assumption of an essentially casts, telephone and telegraphic messages and data. Operated by COMSAT, INTELSAT and
private corporations
constant level of such funding for the
next decade as basic to my discussion.
What this means is that establishing Military applications
the national priorities in space in the
Worldwide network of telecommunication satellites in synchronous and intermediate-altitude
civil sector is a zero-sum game: any
orbits
increase in one element of the NASA
Worldwide network of Transit and Global Positioning System satellites for navigational purposes.
budget must inevitably result in an
Current accuracy to within 30 meters at any point on or in the vicinity of the earth. Potential accuracy
equal decrease somewhere else. to within one centimeter. Lower accuracy system also available for civil purposes
Networks of reconnaissance and surveillance satellites
A second major category of national

objectives in space is the develop Networks of meteorological satellites
ment of space technology, including

the space station and the other "infra Partly commercial and partly Governmental civil applications
structure" referred to by the National
Meteorological satellites for surveying and forecasting current global weather
Commission on Space. Advocates of
the manned space station often act Landsat and other satellites for survey of mineral resources, vegetation, icebergs, snow cover,
water resources, water pollution, health of crops and geological features and for mapping
pained and perplexed when budgetary
constraints are invoked. Do we-that
is, I and those of my colleagues who Scientific investigations and achievements
are members of the "loyal opposi
Electromagnetic and corpuscular classes of radiation from the sun and their effects on the earth
tion"-not realize that once the space
Dynamics of the solar atmosphere
station is in place the costs and effort
required for commercial and scientific In situ measurements of charged-particle populations and magnetic and electric fields in the
ionospheres, the radiation belts and the magnetospheres of the earth, Mercuf)', Venus, Mars,
objectives will be reduced dramatical
Jupiter and Saturn
ly? Are we not aware of the so-called
Plasma physical effects associated with natural and artificial comets
coattail effect, whereby the manned
space program allegedly builds up Geological surveys of the moon, the earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, the satellites of Mars, Jupiter
and Saturn
enough momentum in the national
space program to carry along all the Closeup study of the rings of Jupiter and Saturn
other projects? Have we become so Precise characterization of external magnetic fields of the moon, the earth, Mercury, Venus,
enamored of the capabilities of com Mars, Jupiter and Saturn
mandable spacecraft that we have ig Detailed study of the structure, composition and dynamics of the earth's atmosphere and
nored the fact that a man in space can exploratory study of the atmospheres of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, 10, Saturn and Titan
carry out these tasks more efficiently Precise characterization of the external gravitational fields of the moon and the earth
and with less effort? Comprehensive observation of the solar wind and of shock waves, energetic solar particles and
To answer these questions the histo galactic cosmic rays in interplanetary space out to a distance of 3.4 billion miles from the sun and
ry of the space program, and particu continuing outwards
larly that of the Space Transportation Comprehensive surveys of stellar and planetary sources of gamma rays, X rays and ultraviolet,
System, would seem to be a more reli infrared and radio-frequency radiation and the detailed spectral study of selected sources
able guide than the promises and fore Marked advances in understanding the origin and evolution of the solar system and of stars and
casts made by interested parties. The galaxies
present Space Transportation System Significant contributions to fundamental plasma physics and its role in planetary and astrophysi
includes a fleet of four manned, orbit cal systems
ing space shuttles, each of which is in Study of ocean currents and the global dynamics of the oceans
essence a high-velocity aircraft and Negative evidence on the past or present existence of living organisms on the surface of Mars
spacecraft that is launched by rockets,
flies in low-altitude orbit about the
earth, reenters the earth's atmosphere MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS of the unmanned space program are snmmarized in the
on command and lands on a very long table. They inclnde commercial and military applications of space technology, civil appli
airstrip. The development and initial cations that are partly public and partly commercial and many scientific accomplishments.
35

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:31 UTC
shuttle would supplant all expendable the summer of 198 1, faced with seri threatened were the worldwide Deep
launch vehicles, such as the Scout, Del ous delays and major cost overruns on Space Network for tracking and re
ta, Atlas and Titan rockets, and that the shuttle, NASA decided that devel ceiving data from planetary missions;
by the early 1980's there would be opment of the shuttle must proceed, the ongoing reception of data from the
50 shuttle flights per year. Each flight come what might to other ongoing planetary probes Pioneer 10 and Pio
would deliver 50,000 pounds into low projects. The result was a "slaughter neer 11; the reception of data from
earth orbit at a cost of $ 100 per pound. of the innocent"; massive cuts, post the Pioneer Venus 1; NASA'S Infrared
Of the 50 annual flights at least four ponements and cancellations of doz Observatory at Mauna Kea in Hawaii;
would carry spacecraft for the explo ens of programs, many of which were the reception of data from the deep
ration of other planets. already in advanced stages. space missions of Voyager 1 and Voy
There is a striking disparity between For example, the shuttle forced the ager 2; the reception of data from
those claims and the present situation. cancellation of the U.S. member of a the earth-orbiting satellites IMP-7 and
In 1985 only 10 shuttle flights were pair of complementary spacecraft for IMP-B, and the plans for further mis
carried out at a true launching cost of the International Solar Polar Mission. sions to Venus and Mars. In addition
at least $5,000 per pound, or about The surviving member of the pair, now the shuttle caused a slowdown in the
$2,000 per pound in 197 1 dollars, a known as Ulysses, was developed by development of a gamma-ray obser
figure 20 times greater than the origi the European Space Agency with the vatory, substantial reductions in the
nal estimate. No planetary spacecraft participation of some U.S. scientists funding of supportive space science
has been launched in the four years of and will be launched in May after and technology in the universities, the
shuttle operations. a delay of approximately two years. elimination of the office for solar-ter
The source of the disparity between Well-developed plans for a U.S. mis restrial physics programs at NASA'S
promise and realization can be traced sion to encounter Comet Halley and headquarters, the indefinite postpone
to NASA'S gross underestimate of devel subsequently to rendezvous with Com ment of new solar-terrestrial and at
opmental costs and its gross overesti et Tempel II were also abandoned be mospheric research satellites in earth
mate of the space traffic that could rea cause of the shuttle. The major mission orbit and the indefinite postponement
sonably be expected aboard the shut to the planet Jupiter known as Gali of the development of advanced com
tle. As a result NASA made a wildly leo was canceled for a time because munications technology. Finally, the
overoptimistic estimate of the cost-ef of shuttle funding allocations, and al provisions for developing significant
fectiveness of the shuttle compared though the mission was later reinstat scientific payloads to be flown on the
with that of the existing expendable ed, the shuttle is largely responsible for shuttle are meager.
launch vehicles or their evolutionary its three-year delay.
descendants. I see no reason to be any
more confident about NASA'S economic
NASA'S single-minded devotion to
the space shuttle went unchecked for T wo more arguments are sometimes
advanced by the proponents of
forecasts for the space station. the first eight months of the Reagan the manned space program and these
Administration, and when the presi must be addressed. One argument is
T here is another reason to doubt NA

SA'S assurances that the space sta
dent finally appointed his own NASA
administrator, the cuts were so deep
a peculiar reading of the history of
the space program that I referred to
tion will make it easier to carry out that many of them had to be rescind above as the coattail effect. Accord
other national objectives in space. In ed. Among other projects NASA had ing to this view, the entire program of
space science for the past three dec
ades would have either been nonexis
WIDE-ANGLE PLASMA EXP ERIMENT
tent or run on a very small scale had
CAMERA
it not been for the manned program.
NARROW· COSMIC·RAY EXPERIMENT
ANGLE This assertion is impossible to either
CAMERA prove or disprove; one cannot rerun
history with different boundary condi
tions. Nevertheless, I can offer sever
al reasons for dOUbting the assertion.
In 1946 the U.S. began a vigorous
and successful program of high-alti
tude rocket flights carrying scientific
instruments. The work was given much
impetus during the International Ge
ophysical Year in 1957-58, and it
served as the technical and scientific
basis for all the subsequent advances
in the scientific and utilitarian use of
earth satellites and interplanetary and
ELECTRIC planetary spacecraft. The major peri
COMPARTMENTS
od of growth in these fields coincided
OP T ICAL with the Apollo program, but in my
CALIBRATION view neither set of activities depended
TARG E T
to any important extent on the other.
RADIOISOTOPE
PLANETARY RADIO-ASTRONOMY THERMOELECTRIC Both the scientific activities and the
-
AND PLASMA - WAVE ANTENNA - G ENERATORS Apollo program took place in an opti
mistic, expansionist epoch in nation
al and international history, as did all
VOYAGER 2 spacecraft is shown schematically. It has already probed Jupiter, Saturn and kinds of other scientific activities un
their systems of satellites and rings; this month it will be the first spacecraft to encounter the related to space. Many other major re
planet Uranus. The author served as chairman of the committee that developed the mission. search agencies of the Federal Gov-
36

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ernment have grown to a sustained lev
INTERNATIONAL SOLAR POLAR MISSION CANCELED
el of support comparable to that of the
(U.S. SATELLITE OF PROPOSED PAIR)
research component of NASA without
U.S. MISSION TO COMET HALLEY CANCELED
the benefit of huge, public spectacu
GAL/LEO PROBE TO JUPITER CANCELED (LATER RESCINDED)
lars; examples include the National
DEEP SPACE NETWORK FOR TRACKING THREATENED CLOSING
Institutes of Health, the National Sci
PLANETARY MISSIONS
ence Foundation, the U.S. Geological
DATA RECEPTION FROM PIONEER 10 AND 11 TERMINATED (LATER PARTLY RESCINDED)
Survey, the Department of Energy and
DATA RECEPTION FROM PIONEER VENUS 1 TERMINATED (LATER PARTLY RESCINDED)
the National Oceanic and Atmospher
INFRARED OBSERVATORY AT MAUNA KEA, CLOSED (LATER RESCINDED)
ic Administration.
HAWAII
The second argument often put for
DATA RECEPTION FROM VOYAGER 1 AND 2 CUT BACK (LATER PARTLY RESCINDED)
ward in favor of a manned space pro
DATA RECEPTION FROM IMP-7 AND IMP-B TERMINATED (LATER PARTLY RESCINDED)
gram is that a person in a spacecraft is
LANDSAT PROGRAM CUT BACK
superior to any conceivable machine
GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATORY DELAYED SEVERAL YEARS
because of judgment, resourcefulness,
flexibility and the like. If one consid PLANNED MISSIONS TO VENUS AND MARS CANCELED (REVIVED IN REDUCED FORM
AFTER DELAYS OF SEVERAL YEARS)
ers the complexity and sophistication
SUPPORTING UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CUT BACK
of modern space equipment and the
NASA OFFICE FOR SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL CLOSED
ready control of such equipment by
PHYSICS PROGRAMS
command from earthbound stations,
PLANNED SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL AND INDEFINITELY POSTPONED
such an argument has very limited
ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH SATELLITES
validity.
SCIENTIFIC PAYLOADS ABOARD SPACE INADEQUATELY PROVIDED FOR
My own feelings about this issue are SHUTTLE
aptly expressed by a story from the INDEFINITELY POSTPONED
ADVANCED COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
early development of large balloons
and manned balloon flight. At that
time, about 30 years ago, there were "SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENT" was the result of the decision made by NASA in
advocates of the idea that a large 1981 to proceed with the development of the space shuttle over all other projects. The table
network of manned balloons should summarizes the effects of the decision. Some of the program cuts have since been rescinded,
but the effect has been a severe chill on scientific and other civilian activities in space.
be maintained and continually replen
ished for the purpose of observing both
natural and artificial activities on the
earth. The classic comment on ideas of scientific instruments, and so they Iy by people on the ground, who are
of this nature was made by Edward must be free of vibrations and accel working under far more comfortable
P. Ney of the University of Minneso erations. An astronaut's sneeze could and efficient conditions and with easy
ta, who was one of the pioneers in the wreck a sensitive experiment in a mi access to all the resources available
use of balloons for scientific purpos crogravitational field; clouds of gas or there. Finally, the apparatus in an un
es. Ney had given a public lecture on droplets from thrusters of the space manned spacecraft does not get tired,
some of his work in the late 1950's. In craft or from dumps of water or urine it is free of human contamination and
the ensuing discussion period a mem ruin the local vacuum and optical ob it is not subject to the kind of human
ber of the audience stood up to ask a serving conditions, and complex mag error that can result from onboard
question. "Professor Ney, please tell netic and electric fields associated with manipulation.
me: Is there anything a man can do in a manned spacecraft preclude certain
balloon gondola that an instrument kinds of radio observations. All the foregoing leads one to con
cannot?" Ney's answer, after only a The simplest repair and refurbish I\. clude that the development of
moment's hesitation, was, "Yes, there ment of equipment in space requires advanced technology for launching
is. But why would anyone wish to do it heroic measures, even if the equip and maintaining people in space is a
at such a high altitude?" ment is accessible. The high cost of goal largely independent of other legit
such "space rescues" casts grave doubt imate national objectives in outer space.
T he burden of experience is that,

apart from serving the spirit of ad
on their economic viability. Moreover,
it is much harder and more expensive
There is a large and diverse body of
other civil applications of space tech
venture, there is little reason for send to design and build space equipment nology that deserve consideration on
ing people into space. On the contrary, in such a way that it can be repaired their own merits. Foremost among
there are strong reasons for keeping and refurbished in space than it is to such applications is worldwide tele
operating personnel on the earth. The build equipment that need not meet communications by satellite relays.
life-support systems and the overrid such specifications. More than half of all transoceanic
ing concern for the safety of personnel Inside a spacecraft the working con communications go by way of satellite
in any manned space mission are ex ditions for people are extremely re relays, and this capability is being con
tremely costly and restrictive. More strictive and the resources available tinually expanded. Furthermore, do
over, most space missions of scientific for experimental work are limited. mestic communications in far-flung
or utilitarian importance require high Simple functions that can be carried countries such as Canada and Indone
earth orbits, lunar orbits, interplane out by a skilled technician are all that sia have been revolutionized by satel
tary orbits or planetary orbits that in can be expected, whereas all the real lite methods.
volve months or years of in-flight op sophistication and resourcefulness of Some 20 years ago I was among
eration. Such missions will be inacces an in-flight experiment must be exer those who expressed great hope that
sible to manned spacecraft for many cised by radio command or built into satellite communications would be em
years to come. the equipment before the flight, just as ployed in worldwide educational ef
Some experiments one would like to they are in a robot spacecraft. Nearly forts, particularly within developing
carry out in space require highly sta all investigations can be monitored countries. The hope was based on the
ble platforms and the accurate aiming and controlled much more effective- recognition that substantial benefits to
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mankind can result even from the infrared, visible, ultraviolet and X-ray every U.S. household with a simple so
spread of simple literacy and a knowl portions of the electromagnetic spec lar-energy collector that would meet
edge of basic arithmetic. In 1974 an trum. For example, the two automated 65 percent of its energy needs.
Advanced Technology Satellite in syn satellites Landsat 4 and Landsat 5 car These two examples, space manu
chronous orbit was assigned to deliver ry instruments called thematic map facturing and the solar-power satellite,
elementary educational materials in pers, which map radiation emissions are leading elements in forecasts of an
India on an experimental basis. In all from the earth's surface in several fre explosive rate of growth in space traf
technical respects the experiment was quency bands that are important to fic. I am not so foolish as to suggest
an unqualified success, but there are geologists in their search for world that such undertakings are totally out
still many thorny cultural, sociologi wide mineral resources. of the question at some time in the re
cal and political issues to resolve. Such applications of remote sens mote future. Not one of them, though,
Telecommunications is the only ap ing yield substantial public and private withstands critical scrutiny in the con
plication of space technology that has benefits, but they still have not met text of the 20th century, and their ratio
achieved economic viability, in the the crucial test of full commercial suc of cost to benefit may never be less
sense that the direct beneficiaries ask cess. The Landsat program, for exam than unity.
for certain services and both voluntari ple, operates under the Department
ly and consciously pay their full costs.
Thus I distinguish between the market
of Commerce as a data-service agency
to industry and to other Government T he two major cultural objectives of
the U.S. in space demand quite dif
support of a commercial service and agencies, but it is heavily subsidized ferent consideration. The first is the re
the taxpayer support of a government by the Government. Virtually the en alization of a kind of collective human
service in the public interest. The fu tire field of remote sensing, as well adventure. Popular interest in real-as
ture growth rate of satellite communi as the many other useful applications opposed to fictional-space activity
cations will be determined by market of space technology such as survey was highest during the first manned
forces, at least in the short term, al ing and aircraft and marine naviga landing on the moon in July, 1969. In
though eventually there will be techni tion, remains in the realm of Govern subsequent years the role of the space
cal limits to that growth. ment services. As such, they are all program in creating vicarious adven
Some planners envision a gradual exposed to budget cuts caused by re ture has dwindled markedly, having
transfer of most domestic communi allocations of funding to the manned been supplanted to a considerable
cations within the U.S. to satellite space program; indeed, the Landsat extent by the romance of motion pic
systems. At the same time there are program has suffered severely for pre tures depicting far more dramatic ex
immensely promising developments in cisely this reason. ploits. The American public has now
the transmission of information by Ironically, far more tenuous propos spent more than $200 million to see
modulated beams of laser light carried als are put forward as justifications for Star Wars and hundreds of millions
by optical fibers. Tens of thousands of building the shuttle and the space sta of dollars more to see its derivative
miles of optical fibers are already in tion. One example is the processing of successors; the total is about the sum
stalled between cities in the U.S., and a materials in space; for example, it has needed to carry out a major planetary
transatlantic cable of optical fibers is been widely advertised that the mi mission. I draw no moral from these
under construction. Optical-fiber car crogravitational environment of space facts, but I do consider them a point
riers may therefore come to dominate can be exploited to grow large crystals of reference concerning the public mo
high-traffic communications between of ultrahigh purity or to refine phar tivations for manned space flight.
fixed points in the next 20 years, and so maceuticals on a commercially viable The second cultural objective in
they may limit or slow the growth of scale. Objective studies of this subject space is the conduct of space science.
corresponding techniques in space. Of by the National Research Council and A possible definition of the term is the
course, optical fibers cannot be used other agencies do not support such investigation of natural phenomena
for communications to or from mobile sanguine expectations. The studies re that take place above the surface of
stations, such as aircraft in flight and view the relatively meager results in the earth. By this definition astrono
ships at sea. All these matters are un the field to date and endorse the valid my qualifies as the most ancient of the
der continuous engineering study by ity of further exploratory investiga space sciences. A somewhat different
many private corporations and gov tion. Nevertheless, they conclude that definition, which is the one usually in
ernment agencies in Europe, Japan, the prospects for viable commercial tended by contemporary practitioners,
the U.S. and, undoubtedly, the U.S.S.R. applications have as yet no convinc is the investigation of phenomena,
A proper role for NASA in this field is ing foundation commensurate with the both terrestrial and extraterrestrial
to conduct advanced research and con costs of space flight. and both natural and artificial, by
tribute to the development of hybrid Another proposal that has been giv means of apparatus carried aloft in
communications systems. en much public exposure is the so rocket-propelled vehicles. Thus space
lar-power satellite. The satellite is en science is not a clearly delineated sci
T he other principal civil application

of space technology comes under
visioned as a solar-power collector,
some 20,000 acres in area, that would
entific discipline in the usual sense of
the term; instead its common element
the generic term remote sensing. Re be assembled in earth orbit. Micro is a shared set of basic techniques.
mote sensing includes not only ordi wave beams would transmit the solar The substance of space science is best
nary photoreconnaissance, including energy to receivers at stations on the thought of as a sophisticated, and ex
what have become routine forecasts of earth, which would deliver the energy pensive, mixture of the traditional dis
the weather on a worldwide scale, but over conventional power lines. I am ciplines of astronomy, geology, geo
also the imaging of the earth's surface gratified to learn that the voice of sani physics and oceanography.
and atmosphere over a broad range ty has placed this proposal in limbo. In the decades since the first satel
of electromagnetic frequencies. There Former senators James G. Abourezk lites there have been tremendous ad
have been exquisite instrumental de (D-S.D.) and Floyd K. Haskell (D vances in observing and understanding
velopments in the field, and it is now Colo.) have pointed out that the esti the oceans, the atmosphere, the iono
possible to choose well-defined fre mated cost of one such satellite would sphere and the magnetosphere of the
quency bands of radiation in the radio, be equivalent to the cost of providing earth, the many types of radiation
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from the sun and their effects on the ing with fresh discoveries and well tunately, however, like the large,
earth, and the nature and evolutionary formulated plans for the future. Sup manned space projects, they tend to
history of the moon and planets. There port is now moderately secure for the squeeze out more flexible and much
have been many discoveries of basic ongoing missions of the International less expensive undertakings that his
importance to stellar astronomy. All Ultraviolet Explorer, the Dynamics Ex torically have been highly productive.
the objects of the solar system as well plorer, the International Sun-Earth Ex Smaller projects nurture space science
as the interplanetary medium are now plorer and the Pioneer and Voyager on a broad, national basis and contin
accessible to closeup study. Probes spacecraft. Yet the number of new op ue to have a potentially important role
have been dispatched to the planets portunities for flight has been reduced in our national program, but they are
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and markedly in the 1980's by cancella now nearly extinct.
Saturn, and some of them will also tions and prolonged delays. In the meantime the European Space
transmit data from Uranus and Nep Agency, Japan and the U.S.S.R. are
tune. Pioneer 10, one of my favorite
spacecraft, has been operating in flight T he major emphasis in recent years
in space science has been on bil
forging ahead with important scien
tific missions. The progressive loss of
for nearly 14 years and is now the re lion-dollar missions, such as the Space U.S. leadership in space science can
motest manmade object in the uni Telescope, the Galileo mission to Ju be attributed, I believe, largely to our
verse. It is still functioning well into piter, the Viking landers on Mars and excessive emphasis on manned space
the outer heliosphere and is farther the Voyager probes. This trend also flight and on vaguely perceived, poor
from the sun than Pluto is. A few accounts in part for the reduction in ly founded goals of a highly specula
months ago the International Comet Ex scientific payloads; indeed, the Space tive nature. Given the current budget
plorer flew through the coma of Com Telescope and Galileo are the only ma ary climate and a roughly constant lev
et Giacobini-Zinner, and this month jor U.S. scientific spacecraft that have el of public support for civil space
Voyager 2 will be the first spacecraft been or will be scheduled for launch ventures, the development of a space
to make an encounter with Uranus. ing in the years from 1983 through station, if pursued as now projected,
The scientific community has devel 1988. Such missions represent a tend will seriously reduce the opportunities
oped a great variety of superb instru ency within space science toward ever for advances in space science and in
ments that can withstand the rigors of greater complexity and sophistication, important applications of space tech
launching, and space science is teem- and they do have high merit. Unfor- nology in the coming decade.
-.. --
SPACE STATION, if it were constructed, could resemble the design At this stage the two designs and, indeed, several others can be
shown here, but fundamental decisions about the design are stilI quickly interchanged on the color monitor of a computer-aided de
pending. The latest version of the basic structural design differs sign system, such as the one responsible for the image shown, made
from a previous one in baving two main "towers" instead of one. In by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. Nevertheless, the current
tbis computer-generated image of the current version only the shut NASA schedule for development calls for tbe electronic image to be
tle-docking area of the space station is shown, and the scale of the translated into a real device in earth orbit by the year 1993. The cost
structure is indicated by the human figures near one of the towers. of that effort may be as high as $30 billion in constant 1984 dollars.
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:31 UTC
Growth, Differentiation
and the Reversal of Malignancy
Specific proteins regulate the growth of normal white blood cells and
their differentiation into nondividing forms. Leukemic cells can also be
made to differentiate, suggesting new approaches to cancer treatment
by Leo Sachs
T
he cells in the body descend the various white blood cells and the their cell membrane; there the foreign
from precursors known as stem red blood cells. As a model system I molecules are "recognized" by other
cells. Stem cells can multiply studied myeloid stem cells, the mature kinds of white blood cells, which then
rapidly; their progeny, after matur white blood cells to which myeloid mount an immune response to the in
ing and differentiating into specialized stem cells give rise and myeloid leuke truder. James E. Till and Ernest A.
forms, generally stop growing. Dur mic cells. The cells in myeloid leuke McCulloch of the Ontario Cancer
ing normal infancy and adulthood the mia appear to be frozen in their pre Treatment and Research Foundation
processes of multiplication and differ cursor form. Ordinarily they do not have shown that in the body macro
entiation are in harmony: the growth differentiate into mature cells, and so phages and granulocytes develop from
of stem cells provides new tissue and they continue to multiply. a common precursor form, the mye
replaces dying cells, while the cessa In trying to establish general prin loid stem cells. The cells in our culture
tion of growth after cells reach their ciples governing cell growth and dif therefore followed the same pattern of
final form keeps cell multiplication in ferentiation and the reversibility of development as they do in the body.
check. In cancer the harmony breaks malignancy I had to establish a cell What was the role of the fibroblasts,
down: there are too many immature, culture system that made it possible which had to be present in the culture
multiplying cells. to observe these processes in vitro. In as a "feeder layer" if the myeloid cells
An understanding of how the proc 1963, working with my graduate stu were to grow and differentiate? I had
esses of growth and differentiation are dent Haim Ginsburg at the Weizmann shown in 1965 that the cells of the
regulated in normal cells makes it pos Institute of Science in Israel, I found feeder layer secrete substances induc
sible to answer several questions about that when normal blood-cell precur ing growth and differentiation. The
cancer. Have all the cellular mecha sors are placed in a liquid culture me following year, working with my stu
nisms controlling growth and differen dium containing fibroblasts, or con dents Pluznik and Yasuo Ichikawa, I
tiation gone awry in malignant cells, or nective-tissue cells, the precursors showed that the inducers are detect
do some of the controls still operate? multiply into clones (descendants of a able in the culture medium; moreover,
If some of the mechanisms are intact, single cell) and ultimately differenti the inducers that acted on clones con
can they be reactivated to make can ate. In 1965, working with another taining different types of cells seemed
cer cells differentiate and stop grow graduate student, Dov H. Pluznik, I to differ. The inducers were purified
ing? I have concluded that malignant showed that clones can also develop and shown to be proteins, either glyco
cells can retain the genetic bases for and differentiate in a semisolid medi proteins (proteins with attached sug
differentiation. Appropriately stimu um containing agar. The gel inhibits ars) or proteins without detectable sug
lated, they can complete the normal the mobility of the cells, making it eas ars. The sugars do not seem to be
sequence of growth, differentiation ier to distinguish separate clones. In necessary to the inducers' activity. Us
and cessation of growth. These find 1966Thomas R. Bradley and Don ing the same cell-culture system, other
ings have opened new possibilities for ald Metcalf of the University of Mel laboratories have isolated inducer pro
cancer therapy. bourne and the Walter and Eliza Hall teins for all the many kinds of blood
I studied the processes of growth Institute of Medical Research in Mel cells, including the various lympho
and differentiation in normal and leu bourne also cloned precursor cells in cytes. A range of cell types can secrete
kemic blood cells. In hematopoiesis, agar. The first normal precursors for inducer proteins, both in culture and in
the process by which the body gen which the method was used were mye the body.
erates new blood cells, a single kind loid stem cells, which gave rise to mac
of precursor (the multipotential stem
cells in the bone marrow) develops
rophages and granulocytes.
Macrophages and granulocytes are T he development of a clone of ma
ture macrophages or granulocytes
inte a number of more specialized the body's phagocytic cells: they en requires the multiplication of myeloid
precursor cells, among them myeloid gulf and dispose of foreign materi precursors, followed by their differen
stem cells and lymphocyte precursors. al, including invading microorganisms. tiation. It seemed plausible that a spe
These more specialized stem cells in Macrophages also display molecules cialized protein induces each of the
turn mature and differentiate into all from the engulfed foreign material on processes. Eitan Fibach and I found
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that mature granulocytes in culture se the growth inducers do not cause pre tained further evidence for the distinct
crete a protein that induces myeloid cursors to mature but are crucial for nature of the factors.
stem cells to differentiate but does not cell multiplication and also for cell via The two kinds of inducer seem to
cause them to multiply into clones. Jo bility; without them the precursors achieve their effects differently. Gary
seph Lotem and I then tested liquid die. Other workers, including Ichikawa, Weisinger and I found that differentia
taken from cultures of various cell now at the Chest Disease Research In tion inducer can bind directly to the
types for the ability to induce growth stitute in Japan, Motoo Hozumi of the DNA of a precursor cell, presumably
or differentiation in myeloid cells and Saitama Cancer Center Research Insti activating the genes that are expressed
showed that the processes are indeed tute, Inge L. Olsson of Lund Hospital as the cell matures. Growth inducer, in
triggered by separate factors. In con in Sweden and Robert C. Gallo of the contrast, does not bind to DNA. It
trast to the differentiation inducers, National Cancer Institute, have ob- must stimulate the multiplication of
MYELOID LEUKEMIC CELLS are shown in stages of develop cytes, one of the cell types they can give rise to. Leukemic cells
ment from an undifferentiated, rapidly growing form (top left) to a normally do not differentiate, but in this case the cells were induced
mature granulocyte, which does not divide (bottom right). Normal to do so: they were incubated with differentiation factor, a pro
myeloid precursor cells, a variety of immature, undifferentiated tein made by normal cells. Once the leukemic cells had assumed a
blood cells, pass through these stages as they mature into granulo- mature form they stopped growing and hence were not malignant.
41

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:42 UTC
precursor cells by some other means.
It is now clear that each kind of fac
tor includes a multiplicity of proteins.
Studies in my laboratory and by oth
er investigators elsewhere, including
Metcalf and Anthony Burgess at the
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Rich
ard Stanley at the Albert Einstein Col
lege of Medicine, James N. Ihle at the
Frederick Cancer Research Facility in
Maryland and T. M. Dexter at the Vic
toria University of Manchester, have
shown that four different growth-in
ducing proteins affect myeloid pre
cursors alone. Each protein acts on
myeloid cells that have a specific de
CULTURE SYSTEM devised by the author and his students enabled them to observe the velopmental fate.
growth and differentiation of myeloid cells and identify the regulatory molecules affecting One inducer stimulates the growth
both processes. A layer of fibroblasts, or connective-tissue cells, had to be present in the of myeloid stem cells that can later dif
culture for the myeloid cells to multiply into clones and differentiate into mature forms,
ferentiate into a wide range of prog
either macrophages or granulocytes. Purification of the culture medium showed that fibro
eny: macrophages, granulocytes, red
blasts secrete proteins that are essential for growth and differentiation of myeloid cells.
blood cells, megakaryocytes (the pre
cursors of platelets), and eosinophils
and mast cells (two kinds of cells that
take part in inflammatory reactions).
Another acts on myeloid cells that can
be made to differentiate into macro
phages and granulocytes only, and the
third and fourth growth inducers af
fect only the precursors of macrophag
es and granulocytes respectively. It ap
' pears that the growth inducers make
GROWTH
FACTORS --------- �
.1-.} up a hierarchy of specificity: different
growth inducers act on myeloid cells
--'�
� o as they mature and become more re
�
\
stricted in their developmental pro
gram. Cloning of the DNA for these
growth factors in various laboratories
has shown that each of the growth-in
ducing proteins that act on myeloid
r----- precursor cells is encoded by a sepa
I @ rate gene.
I Inducers of differentiation, for their
I
part, are probably as numerous as the
I
I cell types whose maturation they in
I duce. Cloning of the DNA for differen
I tiation inducers will also clarify the re
I lations among the genes that code for
DIF FERENTIATION these proteins.
FACTORS -- --- ---7":
-'>..
T he inducers of growth and differen

tiation have been given a variety
of names. As a collective term for the
inducers I first used mashran gm, from
the biblical Hebrew word sharo, mean
ing "to send forth," with the initials for
granulocytes and macrophages. Later
other terms were adopted, including
"colony stimulating factors" for all
the proteins, MGI-l (macrophage and
granulocyte inducers type 1) for the
growth factors and MGI-2 for the dif
MATURE GRANULOCYTE ferentiation factors.
In normal cells the action of growth
COUPLING OF CELL GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION in myeloid cells results
from an interaction between regulatory proteins. Growth factors from an external source and differentiation inducers is elegant
(such as fibroblasts) induce precursor cells to multiply. The growth factors also cause the ly coupled. Lotem and I found that
cells to produce their own differentiation factors. Eventually the supply of differentiation when normal myeloid precursors are
factors is sufficient to induce the cells to assume their final forms. Growth then stops. Thus incubated with growth factor purified
cell differentiation (and the cessation of growth) is efficiently linked to cell multiplication. from a culture of other cell types, the
42

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:42 UTC
precursors multiplied and then differ 0+ 0- 0-
entiated, even though we had not add
ed differentiation factor. We showed
@ @ ©
that the source of the differentiation
inducer was the myeloid cells them LEUKEMIC CELLS
1 11
selves. Growth factor, then, has two
effects: it causes the precursor cells to
grow and it induces in them the pro
duction of differentiation factor. When
the precursors have multiplied into a
large enough population, their com
* * @
bined production of differentiation
factor is sufficient to cause them to dif
ferentiate. This normal relation be PARTIALLY
DIFFERENTIATED
tween growth and differentiation can
CELLS
be short-circuited, however, by certain
compounds that cause cells other than
1
the precursors themselves to produce
/� !
and secrete differentiation factor.
The production of differentiation
factor may take place later in the
* ** ©1
growth of some precursors than it does
in others, allowing a larger population
MATURE
of cells to form before differentiation
CELLS
occurs. Specific growth factors may in
!
duce precursor cells to make specific
differentiation factors, thereby leading
to particular kinds of mature cell. This MACROPHAGE GRANULOCYTE
possibility might explain why each of
the four myeloid growth factors is as
sociated with a different set of mature
� @
cells; it offers a possible alternative to
the explanation that different growth
factors act at different stages of cell
P
development.
The normal coupling between cell
growth and differentiation is accompa
RECEPTOR PROTEINS
nied by a second linkage, in the cells of
the blood and other tissues: between
differentiation and the cessation of RESPONSE TO DIFFERENTIATION FACTORS varies among clones of leukemic cells.
growth. Why do mature cells stop mul Some clones are differentiation positive (D+): the addition of differentiation factors isolat
-
ed from cnltnres of normal cells causes them to develop normally. First they assume an
tiplying? Mature red blood cells in hu
intermediate stage of differentiation, in which their surface membrane displays receptor
man beings and other mammals elimi
proteins characteristic of mature cells, and then they take on the appearance of mature,
nate their nucleus and so are unable to nondividing macrophages or granulocytes. Other clones are differentiation defective (D ).
divide. Other mature cells retain their Under the influence of differentiation factors they may reach an intermediate stage of dif
nucleus but do not grow; it has been ferentiation, in which their growth is merely slowed, or they may be entirely unaffected and
suggested that such terminally differ continue to multiply as before. Other compounds can make D- cells differentiate, however.
entiated cells produce growth-inhibit
ing compounds, which block the cells'
own multiplication. obtain cloned lines of malignant cells cancer cells can metastasize to sites
that could be grown in culture and where the growth factors their nor
T eukemic cells have escaped from the were not contaminated with normal mal counterparts need to survive and
L constraints governing the growth cells. In my laboratory and in others grow are lacking. Conversely, the pref
of normal myeloid cells. One limita several such lines of myeloid leukemic erence of some kinds of metastatic
tion on normal growth is the supply of cells have been isolated. Their study cells for particular organs may indi
growth factor. Normal myeloid pre revealed that the cells circumvent the cate that they still require a small ex
cursors must depend on other cells to growth limitation ordinarily imposed ternal supply of growth factor, which
produce the factor, and the supply can by the supply of growth factor in two their preferred organs supply.
be sporadic. During an infection, for ways. Certain strains of leukemic cells To qualify as malignant a cell must
example, fibroblasts and other kinds simply need less growth factor than also escape the second constraint limit
of cells secrete large quantities of the normal cells, and the amount they re ing the growth of normal cells: the cou
factor, thereby increasing the body's quire decreases as the cells grow in cul pling of growth and differentiation,
population of white cells, but at oth ture until they have no need of any which regulates the balance between
er times the level of growth factor de inducer. Another strain produces its multiplying cells and cells that have
clines. Does the continued growth of own growth factor. stopped growing. If growth factor in
leukemic cells indicate that they have Either alteration makes the cells ca duced the production of differentia
escaped from the normal requirement pable of multiplying steadily rather tion factor in leukemic cells, then ma
for growth factor? than intermittently, as normal cells do. lignant cells producing growth factor
To answer the question we had to These changes can also explain how on their own or exposed to it from oth-
43

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HALLMARKS OF MATURITY are evident in leukemic cells that tached (middle left). After a specific differentiation factor has
have been made to differentiate. One way to detect certain surface caused them to differentiate into macrophages, the cells display the
receptor proteins characteristic of mature white blood cells is to ability of normal macrophages to spread out on a surface and move
mix the cells with the red blood cells of sheep. The red cells gather across it (middle right). Mature macrophages and granulocytes are
on the surface of the mature cells, forming "rosettes." Sheep red capable of chemotaxis: movement toward a chemical stimulus. A
cells do not cluster on myeloid leukemic cells (larger cells at top clone of leukemic cells exposed to a chemical stimulus remains
left), but the rosettes do form on leukemic cells that have been ex compact because the cells do not migrate (bottom left). In a clone of
posed to a differentiation inducer (top right). When leukemic cells cells that have been made to differentiate the stimulus causes the
are placed on a surface, they ordinarily remain round and unat- edge of the clone to grow diffuse as cells migrate (bottom right).
44

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:42 UTC
er cells would differentiate and stop
NORMAL CELLS 0+ CELLS 0- CELLS
growing. We added purified growth
I
factor to cultures of leukemic cells that f--
� ..
multiplied without growth factor and 0
II
found that it does not trigger the pro
C)
..
duction of differentiation factor. Thus
> >
the development of leukemia reflects
two sets of genetic changes in myeloid
precursor cells: one set that reduces or
> > I
eliminates the cells' need for an exter > > I
nal supply of growth factor and anoth
er that uncouples cell multiplication
> > > I
from differentiation. z
0
> > I
> >
Although leukemic cells in the body �
i=
I\. generally do not produce differen z > >
W
tiation factor, we wondered whether II
W > > >
differentiation factor supplied artifi lL
lL
cially might cause them to mature and is > > ;)
stop growing. Certain clones of my
eloid leukemic cells, we found, do > >
differentiate when they are incubat
> > >
ed with normal differentiation factors.
When such cells are induced to differ > > >
entiate, they take on the distinguish
> ..
ing characteristics of mature macro
phages and granulocytes. They form > >
the same protein receptors on their
membrane that are found on mature
normal cells and develop the same VARYING PATTERNS OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS are observed among normal cells,
ability to move in the direction of cer differentiation-positive (D+) leukemic cells and differentiation-defective (D-) cells. Normal
tain chemical stimuli. The leukemic myeloid cells undergo an array of changes (arrows) in the synthesis of cellular proteins
when they are exposed to growth and differentiation factors; the cells begin making some
cells incubated with a differentiation
proteins and stop making others. In leukemic cells the protein changes that growth factor
factor that induces the development
ordinarily induces are constitutive, that is, they have already taken place (color). The con
of macrophages also become able to stitutive changes can explain why the cells are able to multiply without growth factor. In D +
spread out and crawl on surfaces to cells the protein changes normally triggered by differentiation factor remain to be induced,
which they are attached. Work in other and so D+ cells respond normally to the factor. In D- clones many of the changes either are
laboratories has confirmed that when constitutive or cannot take place (bars). The clones that are the most resistant to differenti
myeloid leukemic cells are induced to ation factor display the largest number of constitutive changes. Normal differentiation
differentiate, they develop the traits seems to require that the entire array of changes occur in synchrony; constitutive protein
of mature macrophages and granulo changes produce asynchrony and prevent D - cells from responding to differentiation factor.
cytes. Once they have differentiated,

the leukemic cells take 9n a further
characteristic of mature normal cells: dergone more extensive changes in the clones. This finding indicates D
they stop growing. their genetic makeup. leukemic cells retain genes that are
Some myeloid cell lines, then, be Do leukemic cells lose all the genes active in normal differentiation. It is
come leukemic by losing their normal for differentiation as they develop to probable that an appropriate combina
requirement for growth factor but re the D- stage? We found that differenti tion of compounds can induce any my
main capable of following the normal ation can be triggered in D+ clones by eloid leukemic cell no longer suscepti
pathway of differentiation into mac means other than normal differentia ble to normal differentiation factor to
rophages or granulocytes. In contrast tion factor. Certain steroid hormones, mature and stop growing.
to these differentiation-positive (D+) small amounts of X rays and low dos Malignant cells of other lineages
clones, my colleagues and I also isolat es of chemicals used at much higher can also be artificially induced to dif
ed clones of leukemic cells that were doses in conventional cancer therapy, ferentiate. Charlotte Friend, now at
differentiation-defective (D-). Differ such as cytosine arabinoside, adriamy the Mount Sinai School of Medicine,
entiation factor caused some of these cin and methotrexate, can cause such found that the compound dimethyl
clones to develop to an intermediate leukemic cells to mature. Other com sulfoxide causes erythroleukemic cells
stage of differentiation, in which cell pounds that can induce differentiation (leukemic red blood cells) to differen
multiplication was slowed, whereas include insulin, some vitamins, bacte tiate, and Paul A. Marks and Richard
other clones could not be induced to rial lipopolysaccharide (a component A. Rifkind, both of whom are now at
differentiate even to this intermediate of the bacterial cell wall) and cer the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
stage. The D- trait occurs both among tain compounds made by plants: lec Center, found that other chemicals
leukemic cells producing their own tins and some phorbol esters. have the same effect. The erythroleu
growth factor and among those that Such compounds, administered sin kemic strains the investigators studied
do not need growth factor. I have sug gly, in combination or together with did not differentiate in response to
gested that D+ clones represent an ear normal differentiation factor, can also erythropoietin, a protein that normally
ly stage of malignancy and D- clones induce differentiation in D- clones, al induces the production of hemoglobin
correspond to a more advanced stage, though we found the effectiveness of a (a hallmark of mature red blood cells)
in which the malignant cells have un- given compound often varied among in developing cells. The leukemic cells
45

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:42 UTC
therefore resembled our D- clones in bermann and I used the technique of tant a clone was to the induction of
that they did not respond to a normal two-dimensional gel electrophoresis differentiation by normal differentia
differentiation factor. Workers else to resolve cellular proteins according tion factor, the larger was the number
where have found that some of the to their molecular weight and electric of constitutive protein changes the
compounds that stimulate differentia charge. By comparing gels made from cells displayed.
tion in leukemic cells can also do so in different clones or from the same Our results suggest that the normal
other kinds of cancers, including neu clone in different stages of develop process of differentiation requires the
roblastomas (cancers that are derived ment and noting differences in the ar synchronous expression of an array of
from nerve cells) and teratocarcino ray of separated proteins, we could genes; interactions among the proteins
mas (cancers consisting of a mixture identify changes in protein synthesis. encoded by the genes presumably are
of embryonic tissues). Some of the changes bore a clear crucial to differentiation. When the ex
relation to the leukemic cells' malig pression of a gene is constitutive rather
W
e found that the various sub nant character. We found, for exam than induced, the necessary coordina
stances capable of inducing my ple, that in normal myeloid precursors tion of gene expression fails. The asyn
eloid leukemic cells to differentiate growth factor induces the synthesis of chrony can block the normal differ
work in diverse ways. Some of the a number of proteins and stops the syn entiation program, resulting in a cell
compounds that cause D+ cells to dif thesis of others. In leukemic cells, how that never differentiates fully and that
ferentiate induce the production of ever, these protein changes do not need therefore continues to multiply. Geof
normal differentiation factor by turn to be induced: the gels showed that the frey Symonds and I found that cer
ing on the genes that encode it. Other cells had already undergone the chang tain serums cause constitutive protein
compounds, such as the steroid hor es in protein synthesis. For the leuke changes that are characteristic of D
mones, act on the genome without the mic cells the protein changes were leukemic cells to revert, so that their
intermediary of normal differentiation "constitutive." Presumably the leuke expression has to be induced. After
factor. In some D- clones differentia mic cells had no need of externally treatment with these serums the cells
tion requires combined treatment with supplied growth factor because the became capable of maturing under
several compounds, each of which genes that ordinarily are affected by the influence of normal differentiation
turns on some of the genes needed growth factor had already been turned factor. We had in effect unblocked the
for cell differentiation. Together the on or off. genetic program for differentiation.
compounds activate a combination of We also identified some of the pro The finding that various compounds
genes that is sufficient to result in dif tein changes induced in normal cells can stimulate D- cells to mature in
ferentiation. by differentiation factor. D+ leukemic spite of constitutive protein changes
A study of cellular proteins in nor cells, like normal cells, only showed that make the cells resistant to normal
mal and leukemic cells revealed some the protein changes after exposure to differentiation factor indicates that
of the genetic bases for the varying differentiation factor: the changes had there are several genetic programs for
responses of leukemic strains to dif to be induced. Many of the changes in differentiation. Lydia Cohen and I
ferentiation-inducing substances. Dan protein synthesis were constitutive in used two-dimensional gel electropho
Liebermann, Barbara Hoffman-Lie- D- clones, however. The more resis- resis to examine the cellular proteins
of two kinds of myeloid leukemic cells:
those that could be induced to differen
100
tiate by normal differentiation factor
I I
·
but not by the steroid hormone dexa
90 1 - ,
- _.....
1 - -_ ... ·_-t· methasone and those that responded to
dexamethasone but not to differen
80 - .. -.. tiation factor. The clones displayed
different sets of constitutive protein
i=' 70 changes. It appears that normal differ
. .....-
z entiation factor and some other induc
w
I
C,) ers of differentiation activate distinct
a::
w 60 sets of genes, although the net effect
e:-
I of the genes-cell maturation-is the
w
C,)
50 i __ .. . ..
I-- .
.
�
same. It is likely that cells in other
�
CJ I cancers can also follow a variety of
z genetic pathways to differentiation.
:> 40
:>
M
a:: y colleagues and I have found
:::J I
(fJ 30 that none of the cells in our mye
loid leukemic clones have a normal ar
.-
20 . ray of chromosomes. The abnormali
ties we observed include changes in the
10 I -
I--
I number of chromosomes as well as re
I
arrangements and deletions of chro
i I mosome segments. We noted consis
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 tent differences in the clones that can
DAYS be induced to mature by differentia
tion factor and those that cannot. The
SURVIVAL OF MICE injected with myeloid leukemic cells was longer (color) when they
were given differentiation factor than when they were not treated (black). The lenkemic chromosome changes that can be ob
cells were from D+ clones, which matnre and stop growing in culture when they are ex served in leukemic cells presumably
posed to differentiation factor. The extended survival of the mice that were treated with are responsible for the genetic abnor
differentiation factor shows that it inhibited the development of leukemia in the animals. malities in the control of cell growth
46

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:42 UTC
and differentiation that make such MALIGNANT CELL
[IJJ
cells malignant.
One way that malignancy can be
reversed is by restoring the chromo
/�
somes of malignant cells to a more
normal pattern. In 1968 Zelig Rabi
nowitz and I showed that clones of sar
coma cells (malignant cells arising in
connective tissue) cultured under cer
tain conditions often yielded cells that
had reverted to a nonmalignant state. CHROMOSOME CHANGES DIFFERENTIATION
/ \ �
In sarcomas that Carmia Borek and I
induced in cultured normal fibroblasts
by means of chemical carcinogens or
X rays, the revertant cells had the lim
ited life span of normal fibroblasts.
CD IIIII [ill
They also had a chromosome compo GENEW NE GAIN
sition different from that of their ma
lignant progenitors: one more closely
resembling the chromosomes of nor
mal cells. NONMALIGNANT NORMALLY NONMALIGNANT
The chromosomes whose alteration
DIVIDING CELL NONDIVIDING CELL
was crucial to the reversion of malig REVERSAL OF MALIGNANCY can be achieved in two ways. Cells become malignant as
nant cells carried genes that at the time a result of genetic changes disturbing the normal balance between genes that can cause
I called E genes (genes for the expres malignancy (color), generally known as oncogenes, and genes that suppress oncogene ex
sion of malignancy) and S genes (genes pression (gray). In culture malignant cells have been observed to resume normal growth
following chromosome changes that restored the balance between oncogenes and their sup
for the suppression of malignancy).
pressors (left). Arresting malignancy through cell differentiation, in contrast, bypasses the
Chromosome changes that acted to re
genetic changes (right). A malignant cell's genetic makeup remains abnormal, but after
move E genes from the influence of S differentiating the cell assumes a mature form, stops dividing and is no longer malignant.
genes caused cancer; those that re
stored the gene balance led to rever
sion. The E genes were later isolated in
various laboratories and named onco tion factor or a compound that causes the varying susceptibility of malignant
gel)es; the S genes can be called sonco normal cells in the body to increase cells to the differentiation-inducing
genes or anti-oncogenes. the production of differentiation fac compounds.
We asked whether a similar restora tor. It may be that similar effects can Differentiation therapy for leuke
tion of a more normal chromosome be achieved in human beings, provid mia could use the same substances in
makeup takes place when leukemic ing an alternative to the cytotoxic much lower doses, perhaps in combi
cells are made to differentiate and stop drugs now employed in cancer chemo nation with normal differentiation fac
growing. Are the genetic abnormalities therapy, which kill many normal cells tor. Some of the compounds could be
corrected or does the reversion of ma as well as cancer cells. given in small doses to induce differen
lignancy by differentiation bypass the In another therapeutic use, normal tiation while others are administered
genetic changes that made the cells macrophage and granulocyte induc in larger quantities for their cytotox
malignant in the first place? We exam ers-both growth and differentiation ic effects, thereby reducing the total
ined the chromosomes of myeloid leu factors-might be administered to pa number of leukemic cells. In order ·to
kemic cells that had been made to tients undergoing conventional cyto choose the best combination of com
differentiate and found their chromo toxic therapy for other cancers. The pounds and approaches before treat
some composition was still abnormal. factors might bolster their macro ment, leukemic cells from the patient
It appears that arresting multiplication phage and granulocyte popUlations, could be tested outside the body in or
by inducing differentiation bypasses which chemotherapy depletes. The der to determine their susceptibility
the genetic abnormalities that original factors might also be given to alleviate to various substances.
ly disrupted the normal sequence of nonmalignant deficiencies in macro My suggestions have already led
growth and differentiation. phages or granulocytes. Factors that several workers to attempt clinical tri
act on other cell types could be put to als of differentiation inducers in mye
T he finding that malignancy can

be reversed by causing cancerous
similar clinical uses.
The treatment of leukemias in which
loid leukemia. Laurent Degos of the
Hopital St. Louis in Paris is among
cells to differentiate and stop growing the cells, like our D- clones, no longer those who have had encouraging re
opens new possibilities for therapy. respond to normal differentiation fac sults using small doses of cytosine ara
The reversal of the cancer-causing ge tor could employ other differentiation binoside, one of the chemicals with
netic abnormalities themselves may inducing substances. Such compounds which we induced differentiation of
figure in cancer treatment sometime in are already used, in high doses, in can myeloid leukemic cells in vitro. It is
the future. The therapeutic value of cer chemotherapy. Our work suggests likely that the findings with myeloid
bypassing the genetic changes by in that their efficacy may derive not only cells will prove to be generalizable to
ducing cell differentiation can already from the killing of cells but also from other kinds of cells in which other spe
be tested. My group at the Weizmann the induction of differentiation, either cific factors control growth and differ
Institute has demonstrated that the de directly or by stimulating the malig entiation. If they are, reversing malig
velopment of leukemia in mice inject nant cells to produce differentiation nancy by inducing cell differentiation
ed with D+ leukemic cells is slowed factor. Differences in the response of could eventually figure in the treat
when the mice are given differentia- patients to chemotherapy may reflect ment of a range of cancers.
47

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:42 UTC

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
The Structure of Comet Tails
The plasma tall forms and disconnects from the comet in response
to the solar wind and its magnetic field. Observations of comets
Giacobini-Zinner and Halley may help to clarify such phenomena
by John C. Brandt and Malcolm B. Niedner,Jr.
T
he years 1985-86 will one day tember 11, 1985, and relayed a mass curved and fuzzy, usually displaying
be regarded as a golden age for of data that are still being evaluat little or no internal structure. Plas
cometary astronomy. Indeed, if ed. Probes from the European Space ma tails are quite different. They are
we had been allowed to choose two Agency, Japan and the U.S.S.R. will made of molecules that have been ion
years in which to be active as cometary venture to Halley in March, trans ized in the atmosphere by solar radia
scientists, these would have been our mitting valuable measurements bear tion, trapped on interplanetary mag
clear choices. Two important comets, ing on the structure, composition netic fields generated by the sun, and
Giacobini-Zinner and Halley;have ap and physical conditions of cometary wrapped around the comet so that the
proached within range of observat'ion atmospheres, as well as providing the ions form a long, hairpin structure,
as they orbit around the sun. Giacobi first images of a cometary nucleus. which often exhibits threadlike for
ni-Zinner has already yielded a boun The missions will be supported by net mations, knots and large-scale distur
ty of information as a result of being works of ground-based observations; bances. The gases in the coma and the
the first comet to be visited by a space concurrent observations will be made tail fluoresce, that is, they absorb sun
'
craft, and astronomers have deployed by the crew of NASA S Astro 1 space light and reradiate it.
an unprecedented array of resources shuttle mission. According to a generally accepted
to examine Comet Halley. Data are be model proposed by Fred L. Whipple in
ing gathered by observatories on the
earth's surface, by spacecraft orbit T he current missions extend a rich
history of comet observation that
1950,the source of all cometary ma
terial is the nucleus, which is inside
ing the earth, by vehicles in space and has stretched across the centuries. The the atmosphere but is never observed
in orbit around other planets and by word "comet" comes from the ter through telescopes because it is too
six spacecraft that will fly near or into minology of Greek astronomers, who small. Whipple compared the nucleus
the comet's atmosphere. first named these solar visitors "aster to a dirty snowball; it consists of ices
It is fortunate that Giacobini-Zinner kometes," or long-haired star. It is now of water and other molecules. Dust
and Halley-among the few known known that comets are composed of grains, and possibly rocky material,
periodic comets that are sufficiently three main pa�ts: the atmosphere, the are interspersed more or less uniform
bright and are also nearly complete in tail and the nucleus. The visual part ly throughout the icy matrix. The nu
their range of cometary features-have of the atmosphere is often called the cleus is often considered to pe some
come under close scrutiny at virtually coma or head; it is an essentially spher what spherical, measuring several kil
the same time. Astronomers will com ical cloud of gas and dust. The atmos ometers in diameter. How can such a
pare findings derived from similar phere may range from less than 1,000 minor body give rise to plasma tails
observational techniques for the two kilometers in diameter to several mil that are sometimes 50 million kilome
rather different comets. The massive lion kilometers, depending on the spe ters long?
efforts organized to study Giacobini cies of gas. One or more tails, which The answer lies in the dynamics of
Zinner and Halley promise to provide are directed away from the sun, extend the material the nucleus releases into
direct evidence for theories about the behind the atmosphere. There are two interplanetary space. As a comet ap
origin, composition and dynamics of principal types of tails: dust tails and proaches the sun the nucleus absorbs
comets and their tails; we also expect plasma tails. sunlight and heats up until it reaches
them to raise many new questions. Dust tails typically consist of sol the temperature at which the ices sub
The National Aeronautics and id, micrometer-size particles that have limate, or go directly from the solid
Space Administration's International been pushed away from the coma by phase into the gaseous one: The escap
Cometary Explorer (ICE) sped through the pressure force resulting from sun ing gases leave the nucleus at an initial
the tail of Giacobini-Zinner on Sep- light striking the dust grains. They are speed of several tenths of a kilometer
per second; as they move outward they
undergo many chemical reactions. In
addition fleeing gas molecules collide
COMET WEST, photographed on March 9, 1976, was characterized by two types of com
with newly liberated dust grains and
et tail. The dust tail is the wide, diffuse tail to the left, consisting of three broad bands with
propel them outward. Many of the gas
faint emissions between them. It is composed of solid particles that have been pushed away
from the comet's atmosphere by the pressure force resulting from sunlight striking the dust
molecules absorb ultraviolet photons
grains. The plasma tail is the narrower one to the right, which is threaded with intricate of sunlight and gain kinetic energy as
streamers. It is composed of molecules that have been trapped by interplanetary magnetic they break into smaller molecules-a
field lines (carried by particles of the solar wind) that have been wrapped around the comet. process called photodissociation. This
49

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
photographs be made throughout the
night. He argued: "The day-to-day his
tory of a comet has too great an inter
val, and the changes are not necessari
ly at all connected. It is the hour-to
hour history that must be studied to
understand the changes taking place in
the comet. In the case of a very bright
comet, exposures at intervals of half
an hour should be made as long and
as continuously as the conditions will
permit. By this means it will be pos
sible to determine the exact value of
the motion of the particles in the tails
of various comets." Barnard conjec
tured from these studies that discon
nections are caused by interactions
with "currents in interplanetary space
across which the tail may sweep."
Tittle progress was made beyond Bar

L nard's prescient work until 1951.
In that year Ludwig Biermann began
to discern the nature of the currents by
analyzing the motions and accelera
tions of structures observed in come
tary plasma tails.. He calculated that
the pressure of the sun's light was not
COMET GIACOBINI-ZINNER is seen in an electronic image made by Uwe Fink with a
nearly sufficient to account for the
charge-coupled device at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson. The date was strength of the force pushing the tail
July 26, 1985. An extensive atmosphere surrounds the comet, somewhat elongated in a di away from the sun. Biermann argued
rection away from the sun. No plasma tail is seen, probably because the exposure was short. that some form of "corpuscular radi
ation" continuously emitted from the
sun must collide with cometary ions to
conversion of sunlight into kinetic en tography in the late 1800's. The first form the tail and produce the large ob
ergy and the pressure of denser gas high-quality photographs of comets served accelerations.
forcing these molecules outward cause were probably the ones obtained by Sir The next step was to determine the
them to accelerate to speeds that aver David Gill in 1882, but the technique nature of these hypothesized solar par
age about one kilometer per second. was not practiced regularly until Com ticles and explain how they account
The gas and dust mixture expands to et Swift appeared a decade later. Ed for the plasma tail's intricate morphol
become the cometary atmosphere, ward Emerson Barnard pioneered in ogy. It was known that hydrogen and
which continues to expand and to be the intensive exploitation of photogra helium are ionized in the corona (the
replenished as material constantly es phy, working with such simple equip tenuous outer part of the sun's atmos
capes from the nucleus. ment as a portrait-lens camera. He was phere) and that the resulting protons
the first person to observe that plas and electrons flow away from the sun
After the gases leave the nucleus they ma tails are highly intricate, threaded as a result of the high solar tempera
I\. undergo a complicated series of with raylike structures and streamers tures. E. N. Parker of the University of
transformations that produce new mol often accompanied by knots, conden Chicago determined that these atoms
ecules; a recent computer simulation sations and helixes. In the photographs must accelerate as they leave the sun's
of these activities included more than he obtained several times in the course gravitation and travel through inter
1,200 processes and reactions. The es of each clear night, he noted that planetary space. He coined the term
caping gases can also react with par parts of the plasma tail moved at high solar wind to account for the radia
ticles that surround the comet as they speeds. Indeed, photographs that had tion's dynamic motion as it sweeps
speed away from the sun. In one type been made on successive nights usual across the solar system. In 1957, a year
of reaction, called charge exchange, ly bore no resemblance to one anoth before Parker's pioneering paper was
a proton captures an electron from er because of great changes in the tail. published, Hannes Aifven of the Roy
a cometary gas molecule or atom to Although Barnard did not know the al Institute of Technology in Stock
yield a neutral hydrogen atom and a detailed composition of the tails he holm speculated that this corpuscular
positively charged ion. The escaping observed, he was able to distinguish radiation probably carries the sun's
gases are also modified by reactions them from the slower-changing tails magnetic field into space. His paper
between neutral molecules and ions, in now known to be dust tails. showed that the solar wind's magnetic
which they exchange charge. The var Barnard's studies led to the major field couples the solar-wind plasma
ious reactions altering the original revelation of these early years of com with the cometary ions to form plasma
nuclear gases yield a concentration etary photography: the understand tails. Aifven's "magnetic flux tube"
of ions in the coma that will become ing that a plasma tail disconnects and model is widely accepted today. Our
the gaseous constituents of the com floats away into space, to be replaced work and the observations of Giacobi
et's plasma tail. by a new tail. In a 1905 paper, "The ni-Zinner and Halley continue to add
Understanding of the formation and Anomalous Tails of Comets," Barnard detail to his theory.
structure of the plasma tail was greatly described this mystifying cyclic phe At the heart of the theory is the vio
advanced by the introduction of pho- nomenon and advocated that frequent lent collision between the solar wind
50

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
and the comet's atmospheric gases. many ions have been captured, and the served because it channels fluorescing
The solar wind and its magnetic field flow has been so decelerated, that the cometary ions such as those of carbon
both flow toward the comet at typical outward pressures from the ions and monoxide and water vapor.
speeds of 400 kilometers per second. other gases closer to the nucleus are The magnetic field embedded in the
In contrast to the solar-wind plasma balanced by the inward pressures ex solar wind also interacts periodically
traveling away from the sun, the new erted by the solar wind carrying the with the magnetic field of the comet's
ly created cometary ions are traveling captured ions. At this point the flow tail to cause the kind of detachment
toward the sun at perhaps one kilome of the solar wind stops; it is said to Barnard observed. Our study of Com
ter per second. Some basic knowledge stagnate. The magnetic fields it carries, et Kohoutek in 1973-74 shows how
of electricity and magnetism helps to which have been continuously com the process works. The comet was pho
predict what will happen when the gas pressed, form a magnetic barrier that tographed extensively at the Joint Ob
es collide. It is significant that charged is also at rest. This takes place far in servatory for Cometary Research near
particles cannot freely cross a magnet side the atmosphere; in the case of a Socorro, N. M. Its images revealed a
ic field, but instead perform helical bright comet such as Halley it may oc wealth of structural detail in the plas
orbits along its lines of force. When cur between 1,000 and 10,000 kilome ma tail. The photographs made on one
ions from the outer regions of the at ters from the nucleus. night indicated that the tail extended
mosphere (500,000 kilometers or more outward to a point some distance from
from the nucleus) are deposited into
the solar wind, they are "captured" on Since the comet is an obstacle to
the solar wind, a "bow shock" is
the head, stopped and then seemed to
start again. We studied Barnard's writ
the solar wind's magnetic lines of force formed between perhaps 50,000 and ings on what are now called discon
and consequently travel back toward 100,000 kilometers from the nucleus. nection events carefully as we sought
the comet in the same direction as the It is similar to the bow wave made by a to determine whether the Kohoutek
solar wind. ship moving through the water. Far off photographs were indeed demonstrat
Because the solar wind has had mass to the sides of the comet smaller num ing a property of comets or whether
added to it in the form of cometary bers of ions are captured, and conse we were simply misinterpreting faint
ions, it must slow dowrr to conserve quently the solar wind is not signifi images on the film. His photographs
momentum. This deceleration process cantly impeded. The magnetic fields in provided the support we needed to
continues as progressively more ions these areas, which are connected to view disconnection events as general
are captured during the solar wind's fields in the barrier, wrap behind the properties of comets.
flight toward the inner atmosphere. comet, forming two lobes of opposite We next returned to data from Ko
Eventually a point is reached where so polarity. This magnetic tail can be ob- houtek, seeking to understand how
PLANE OF THE ORBIT SUN

ECLIPTIC OF EARTH
ORBIT OF
COMET
GIACOBINI
ZINNER
ORBIT OF
COMET
HALLEY
GIACOBINI-ZINNER AND HALLEY are periodic comets, which proximately once every 76 years and Giacobini-Zinner approach
visit the inner solar system in the course of their regular journeys es the earth every 6.5 years. The colored dots on the three orbits in
around the sun. Halley's comet is observable from the earth ap- dicate the position of the two comets and the earth as of January 15.
51

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
� DIRECTION OF
" TRAVEL OF COMET
"
"
"
"
"
"
� "
"
"
"
"
"
" TAIL
"
,
"
"
_COMA
TO SUN
MAGNETIC FIELD LINES from the incident solar wind are com become very large, the pressure of outwardly flowing ions matches
pressed in the comet's atmosphere, whose ions become captured by the pressure of the inwardly flowing solar wind. This balance makes
the magnetic field lines as the solar wind streams into the cometary it impossible for the solar-wind plasma, and the lines of force it
atmosphere. The compression is caused by the increasing mass of carries, to penetrate any farther into the atmosphere; the result is a
the solar wind as a result of picking up ions; conservation of mo magnetic-free region in the comet. Off to the sides the magnetic
mentum dictates that the flow must slow down. At some point deep field lines WC2p around and behind the comet. These lines drag ions
inside the atmosphere, where the concentration of captured ions has in the atmosphere along with the solar wind, away from the sun.
DIRECTION OF
MAGNETIC
FIELD LINES �
�
S
N
\ AREA OF MAGNETIC
FIELD REVERSAL
IONS IN COMET TAIL are channeled along the magnetic field the supersonic solar wind has captured a large enough mass of com
lines of the solar wind as it wraps around the comet. A sheet of etary ions, it is abruptly slowed as it passes through a "bow shock,"
electric current (vertical arrow) and a magnetic field of Idw strength which is analogous to the shock wave caused by a supersonic air
separate lobes of opposite magnetic field polarity in the tail. When craft or the bow wave caused by a boat as it moves through water.
52

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
disconnections can take place even
though magnetic field lines have no be
ginning and no end. The Eighth Inter
\ I
MAGNETIC-SECTOR
I
BOUNDARy ......
planetary Monitoring Platform satel
lite measured the solar-wind plasma
and the magnetic field near the earth.
By translating these data to the posi
tion of Kohoutek we found the likely
cause of disconnection events. Kohou
tek lost its tail when the comet passed
through a magnetic sector boundary: a
border between sectors of opposite po
larity in the magnetic field. We con
cluded that a tail disconnection proba
bly occurs every time a comet passes
from one magnetic sector to another.
There are plenty of opportunities for
comets to lose their tails; during the
sun's 25-day rotation period it forms
four magnetic sectors of alternate po
larities that expand constantly as they
turn with the sun. When the sectors are
detected in the plane of the earth's or
bit, they appear in the shape of four
swirling spirals.
According to our model, a comet

I\. drops its tail when it CroSSBS a sec
tor boundary because the new sector
contains a magnetic field that opposes
the field from which the tail developed.
From a plasma-physics point of view,
the opposition of the two fields creates
a situation that could hardly be more
SPIRAL SHAPE of the solar wind's magnetic field (as seen from above the plane of the
unstable. The result is a process known earth's orbit) results from the sun's rotation as it emits plasma carrying the field. Four "field
variously as magnetic reconnection, sectors" are usually observed with each rotation. Successive sectors are of opposite polarity.
magnetic merging or magnetic annihi
lation. Although the theoretical details
of the phenomenon are poorly under
stood in spite of decades of study, it is tion event and those expected from are tracking Halley from its passage
generally accepted that the topology the model. Other mechanisms have across the northern hemisphere of the
of the magnetic field in the cometary been proposed to explain disconnec celestial sphere on its inbound journey
atmosphere changes in a fundamental tion events, but the explanation based through its return to the outer solar
way. When the old magnetic field lines on the cutting and reconnection of system across the southern hemisphere
of the comet are approached by the magnetic field lines at a sector bound this spring.
magnetic field lines of the new sector, ary seems to be the most viable. In order to achieve extended periods
the old field lines are cut and recon There are basic weaknesses in this of frequent coverage, good weather
nected into the pattern of the field lines model of disconnection events that and an even distribution of observa
of the new sector. When the field lines should be solved by the extensive tion in both the earth's hemispheres is
of the comet are thus cut, the material current observations of Halley. The required. In the Southern Hemisphere,
they contain remains trapped in the first weakness is that our macroscopic which is largely covered by oceans,
old field lines while the comet contin model of the morphology of discon four island-network sites have been es
ues to move into the new magnetic nection events and the evolution of tablished, two in the Pacific and one
field. The tail appears to detach when plasma tails has been plagued by frag each in the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
the last part of the material embedded mentary data. The picture has been Portable telescopes will be set up at
in the old field moves away from the pieced together by utilizing images of these sites to fill in what would oth
comet. When the disconnection proc different comets and analyzing data erwise be sparse coverage as the com
ess is complete, the comet immediately from various observatories that rely et moves across the Southern Hemi
starts to grow a new plasma tail: one on a variety of instruments, emulsions sphere in March and April.
whose polarity corresponds to that of and exposure times. We expect that the Halley's dust tail and plasma tail
the new magnetic sector. Large-Scale Phenomena Network of should both be observable. The tails
Our model calling for disconnec the International Halley Watch will will point roughly in the same direction
tion events every time a comet cross help by providing a comprehensive on the comet's journey toward the sun;
es a sector boundary, or roughly ev record of Halley's journey. The net on its outbound leg the tails should be
ery week, is supported by high correla work consists of approximately 100 separated by a wide angle. There is ev
tions between observed disconnection facilities around the world, each one ery reason to expect that the impres
events and crossings of magnetic sec equipped with wide-field photograph sive tail lengths observed during the
tor boundaries. We have also found ic instruments that should record a 1910 apparition will be repeated, al
agreement between observed morpho major fraction of the comet's plasma though the tails will not appear as long
logical changes during a disconnec- and dust tails. These observatories this time owing to foreshortening and
53

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
the greater distance from the earth. ing one week in March the cameras cometary parameters; we have had no
Analysis of photographs made in 1910 will obtain images every six hours. accurate values for the magnetic field,
suggests that Halley's tail achieved They will also record the comet every temperature, density, composition or
lengths of several tenths of an astro hour and a half for one-day intervals bulk velocities in any cometary plas
nomical unit. (A tenth of an astronom when Halley is approached by two ma. Data on these parameters are nec
ical unit is equal to 15 million kilome spacecraft, the U.S.S.R.'s Vega-2 and essary to determine which processes
ters.) As a result of highly favorable the European Space Agency's Giotto. are important and how rapidly chang
geometry and projection factors, the The second weakness in our model es in the comet can be expected.
angular tail lengths in 1910 were as insufficient data on the microscopic The first of the missions, ICE, passed
great as 50 degrees. In 1985-86 these conditions of cometary plasma and through the plasma tail of Giacobini
apparent lengths should be in the range the tail's magnetic fields-is being ad Zinner some 8,000 kilometers from
of from 10 to 15 degrees. dressed by six spacecraft. One, ICE, the nucleus on September 11, 1985. It
has already had a successful encounter provided significant evidence for the
T hePhenomena
coverage by the Large-Scale
Network will be sup
with Giacobini-Zinner. The other five
will encounter Halley in March of this
shape of the captured magnetic field,
the two-lobed tail and the flow of elec
plemented by photography of Halley year, and ICE will be an upstream mon tric current in the tail-features that
by the wide-field cameras on board itor. Prior to these missions there have follow from Alfven's 1957 model. ICE
the Astro 1 space shuttle mission. Dur- been no in situ measurements of any measured a striking amount of turbu-
1 2 3 4
" E " " E E " E
EO " E E E " E E
EO EO " E " EO EO "
EO " EO EO EO EO " EO
EO EO EO EO
0
z EO EO EO EO
� EO " � EO
a:
<l: EO EO EO EO
....J
0
(f) EO EO EO EO
'7 " EO EO EO
V
" EO EO " " EO
EO " EO EO EO EO
" " EO EO -" <= :s: EO_
�
EO EO " EO
" EO EO EO NEW
TAIL
EO " EO EO
" " EO EO
EO EO
E
EO EO
" EO
EO "
" EO
EO EO
MAGNETIC SECTOR BOUNDARY
) )
PLASMA TAIL DISCONNECTS when the comet crosses a sector lines retain ions they have captured, but they are no longer bound
boundary, moving from a sector where the magnetic field has the to the comet. When all the old magnetic fields have been ejected
same polarity as the tail to a sector where the field has opposite from the atmosphere, the newly created ions in the atmosphere have
polarity. When the new field enters the coma and is pressed into the no magnetic connection to the plasma tail. The tail appears to dis
oppositely directed old fields threading the tail, the old field lines connect from the coma. The atmosphere immediately supplies ions
are cut by a process known as magnetic reconnection. The old field for a new tail having the polarity of the new magnetic field sector.
54

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
lence as it encountered the bow-shock
region. The mission also produced
two major surprises: not all the expect
ed signs of bow shock were observed
and some unexpected high-energy ions
were detected by two experiments. The
observations of the bow shock have
led some workers to speculate that
comet plasma may under certain con
ditions gently slow the solar wind in
stead of decelerating and shocking it
more rapidly, as was predicted in the
classical model. Detailed study of the
ICE mission's data should help to ex
plain these findings and others.
T he launchings of the Halley-bound

spacecraft are timed to minimize
the launch energy necessary to reach
the comet. Aiming for the comet when
it is passing through the earth's orbit
al path takes advantage of the mo
mentum of the earth's orbital mo
tion, which transfers momentum to the
spacecraft and thus effectively boosts
their energy during the launching. The
most daring of these missions will be
carried out by Giotto, which will en
counter a large concentration of com
etary dust as it flies within 500 kilo
meters of the nucleus. The leading sur
face of Giotto is protected by a double
shield. The first shield should fragment
and slow the incoming particles; the
second shield is intended to prevent the
particles from penetrating the main
body of the spacecraft.
In order to approach closely, Giotto
will need data on the position of the
nucleus. The U.S.S.R. will provide this
information through an agreement
called Pathfinder. Cameras on the So
viet probes Vega-l and Vega-2 will re
cord the position of the nucleus, which
will be relayed under the auspices of
an Inter-Agency Consultative Group
composed of the four flight agencies
and the International Halley Watch.
Vega-l will fly within 10,000 kilome
ters of the nucleus; Vega-2 may be tar
geted closer to it. The Vega and Giotto
missions should supply the first photo
graphs of the nucleus of a comet. The
Japanese probes, Sakigake and Suisei,
will provide additional information
about Halley while staying far enough
away from the comet to avoid the haz
ard of cometary debris. Sakigake will
monitor the solar wind streaming onto
the comet from a position about one
million kilometers or more upstream
of the comet. Suisei will penetrate the
comet's atmosphere at a distance of
200,000 kilometers and obtain data on
plasma density and velocity. It will DISCONNECTION of Comet Halley's tail was photographed during its last visit, in 1910.
also obtain ultraviolet images of the Disconnections were first reported by Edward Emerson Barnard, who correctly hypothe
comet's atmosphere. sized in 1899 that they were caused by some interaction with the interplanetary medium.
The massive efforts directed toward He advocated photographing comets frequently to trace such changes. Halley's discon
Halley and Giacobini-Zinner should nection event was pieced together from different photographs made in 1910 on June 6 at
dramatically advance understanding the Yerkes Observatory (top) and at Honolulu (middle) and on June 7 at Beirut (bottom).
55

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
GIACOBINI-ZINNER HALLEY
NASA U.S.S.R. EUROPEAN JAPAN

SPACE AGENCY
VEHICLE ICE VEGA-1 VEGA-2 GIOTTO SAKIGAKE SUISEI
7
LAUNCH DATA AUGUST 19 8 DECEMBER 1984 DECEMBER 1984 JULY 1985 JANUARY 1985 AUGUST 1985
(DECEMBER 1983)
�:��
ENCOUNTER: 7
;��
DATE SEPTEMBER 11, 1985 MARCH 6, 1986 MARCH 9, 1986 MARCH 13, 1986 MARCH 8, 1986 MARCH , 1986
. .. .. . . ._----+---_...- .... -1-... .. ..
�)
..._-_ . .._._. . ... - ._... .. .. . . . .. . .. .
DISTANCE TO NUCLEUS
-- .. .. ... _--_._ .....
8,000 (TAILWARD) 10,000 (SUNWARD) 3,000 (SUNWARD) 500 (SUNWARD) 4 x 106 (SUNWARD) 2 x 105(SUNWARD)
.
... .... ..
. . . .
77 7 7
21 80 69 4 5
. .
_
(KILOMETERS) -
+ . .. ... +._._------ - + -_._-----+-----1

-
DISTANCE FRO:-:-M-:-::c S, -;
U,- ,- -1-
N - - X- - -S-- -- X S . X S X
........ . - . ............. .. . .. _ . . .
.55 10 1.185x lOs 1.245 10 1.335x 10B 1 215 10 1.20 lOs

(KILOMETERS)
r---···DisTANC = -c::F-::c � -
-,: -,:::- --:
E ROM EAR-T-H -7.0
-+ - - X - - - 7- --- -t-·- - 7- -··X· -· · ·
· S······ ···········+ � .-- - - X- - ---
S -; �··-7
- -X·· - -S--+- .- - - -X- - S- ---i- - 7- -X - - S-- --I
5 10 1. 4 1 0 635 1O 4 0 10 1 665 10 1. 1 10
(KILOMETERS)
COMET EXPERIMENTS 8 13 13 10 3
SPACECRAFT ENCOUNTERS with two important comets are (ICE was launched into orbit between the earth and the sun in Au
listed in this table. The encounter with Giacobini-Zinner provid gust, 1978, and was retargeted in December, 1983, for the encoun
ed valuable data on the structure of comet tails when the Nation ter with Giacobini-Zinner.) The missions that will intercept Halley
al Aeronautics and Space Administration's Illtematiollal Cometary in March should provide a more detailed understanding of the prop
Explorer (ICE) passed through the plasma tail last September 1 1. erties of comet tails by supplying information from the sunward side.
of cometary physics, but many ques changes over time will be needed to et Wild II in 1995 and record valuable
tions, including those that emerge deepen understanding of comet tails. data as it travels with the comet along
' its orbital path for approximately two
from the new data, will remain. The NASA S Comet Rendezvous and Aster
direct exploratory missions provide in oid Flyby mission, planned for launch and a half years. If the mission is suc
formation based on a series of snap ing in' the early 1990's, should pro cessful, it will mark the next logical
shots taken along single trajectory vide this important information. The step in attempts to explore and under
lines. Global data recording cometary vehicle is expected to approach Com- stand the nature of comets.
GREAT COMET OF 1843 dominated the northern skies. It was million kilometers long, or longer than the distance from the sun to
depicted in this lithograph as it was seen over Paris on March 19. the orbit of Mars. The artist recorded a bright tail that is probably of
The comet, perhaps the brightest one of the past two centuries, has the dust variety. Although there must have been a plasma tail, it was
not lJeen seen since the 1843 appearance. The tail was about 300 probably embedded in the dust tail and was too faint to be observed.
56

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
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� --- -� -- - - ... - -- YE!!!
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
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""'"".....;.;.;.........
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_
... .-,........
. ... ...__�_'fuwJ!
.
plain English. FRED untangles the for an Expert System;' D. 5. Prerau, AI

Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 2, Summer
request, breaks it into segments the
1985; pp 26-30.
computer understands-and provides
the data, in plain English. " A Natural Language Interface for
For its next evolution, we are teach Medical Information Retrieval;' G.
ing FRED to approach several data Jakobson, C. LaFond, E. Nyberg and V.
Shaked. T hird A ASMIJoint National
bases at once (rather than one at a
Congress on Computer Applications in
time), and put all relevant data into a
Medicine, May 1984, San Francisco,
single reply.
California. pp 405-409.
The nature of thought. Computer Experience and Cognitive
Another of our AI research direc Development, R. W Lawler. Ellis
tions is basic, long-range research into Horwood Limited, Chichester, U.K.
ways of teaching computers to learn (1985). (Summary of book.)
for themselves, through experience "T he Learning of World Models by
and/or inference. Connectionist Networks;' R. S. Sutton
This involves research into such an and B. Pinette. Proceedings of the
area as the way children learn, as well Seventh Annual Conference on
as deep studies into the nature of deci Cognitive Science Society, 54 (August
sion-making itself. 1985).
Much remains to be discovered, of "Training and Tracking in Robotics;'
course-but the promise oftrue O. G. Selfridge, R. S. Sutton, A. G. Barto.
machine learning is perhaps the most Proceedings of the Ninth International
exciting in the entire computer field. Joint Conference on Artificial
The outcome of these projects Intelligence, 670 (August 1985).
some near-term, some more in the
future-will be to make the computer
a far more useful and friendly tool for
(iji�
an immense variety of industrial and
human problems.
The box lists some of the pertinent
papers GTE personnel have pub
lished on various aspects of Artificial

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:49:56 UTC
SCIENCE AND THE CITIZEN
Signing Off also by concerns about the effects of Ionson insists he has more good pro
SDI funding on academic freedom. posals than he can fund; he admits the
anagers of the Strategic De Ionson maintains that SDI funds for boycott will red uce scientific inp ut to
M fense Initiative (SDI) pro

gram (pop ularly known as
"Star Wars") have recognized from the
unclassified research at universities
come with no strings attached. Ambi
the SDI, but only to a negligible de
gree. His chief worry, he maintains, is
guities in recent policy statements by that such boycotts of fundamental, un
start that developing a shield against the SDI and the White House worry classified research are themselves an
enemy ballistic missiles must rely the boycott organizers, however. They infringement on academic freedom be
heavily on fundamental science done are afraid that classification might be cause they generate political pressure
in university laboratories. They have imposed on an initially unclassified re against taking part in research.
established an Office of Innovative Sci search project as the work progresses
ence and Technology that plans to toward militarily significant results. High- Tech Big Brother
spend some $600 million on research Even if the research were to remain
T tion technology has outpaced the

over the next five years, much of it at unclassified, organizers think the he swift advance of communica
universities. The funds would support Government might seek to limit the
what the office's director, James A. communication of results by such laws protecting individual privacy, ac
Ionson, calls goal-oriented basic re means as export controls, which cording to a report issued by the con
search in fields relevant to the pro would restrict access to the informa gressional Office of Technology As
gram, such as lasers, computer science, tion by foreign nationals. Ionson calls sessment. Congress should consider
materials science and plasma physics. such fears groundless, saying his of the situation, the OT A said, with a
The office's invitation for research fice will try to ensure that any unclas view to balancing the individ ual's right
proposals, announced last March, sified work funded by the SDI on cam to privacy and the Government's re
drew a flood of submissions. By June puses is not subject to further controls. sponsibility for maintaining public
they numbered about 3,000, and work Another objection stems from the safety.
ers at about 60 universities had already view that the SDI money, together As recently as 20 years ago, the re
been given research contracts funded with other recent increases in funding port points out, electronic surveillance
by the SDI. Yet many of the people of research by the Department of De was limited to the tapping of tele
whose skills could be important to the fense, could make much of university phones and the installation of that sta
Star Wars program are p ublicly shun science dependent on a single source ple of espionage and police fiction, the
ning it. By N ovember, on some 90 of funding-to its peril, should the po concealed microphone. Since then
campuses a total of more than 1, 600 litical climate change. Signers of the "there has been a virtual revolution in
faculty members and almost 1,200 pledges also express concern at the the technology relevant to electronic
graduate students in relevant disci prospect of a vast diversion of talent s urveillance." N ow devices are avail
plines had signed statements condemn away from research they say the U.S. able that will keep track of a person's
ing Star Wars as unworkable and stra needs to p ursue if it is to maintain its movements, actions, written messages
tegically unwise. The signers pledged commercial and scientific strength. and speech-even if the person is at
that they would neither solicit nor ac The boycott is meant to be a frank home with the doors locked and the
cept money from the program. political statement: its organizers want curtains drawn. For example, a sensi
According to John B. Kogut, profes to show the p ublic and Congress that tive microphone pointed at the out
sor of physics at the University of Illi much of the scientific community is side of a window can pick up a con
nois at Urbana-Champaign and a co opposed to the SDI and doubts its fea versation in the room and record it;
ordinator of the boycott there, a total sibility. They fear that the infusion of moreover, the investigator does not
of 58 percent of the faculty members SDI research money into universities have to listen to the entire recording
in 14 top physics departments have could raise the level of support for Star but can put it through a computer pro
signed such pledges; the institutions Wars on campuses by creating a de grammed to pick out certain topics
include Princeton University (where pendent, and therefore silent or sup or names.
some 75 of the physics faculty signed), portive, constituency for the program. With other techniques a person's ac
the University of Illinois (74 percent), Kogut points out that several of the tivities at home or at work can be re
Cornell University (69 percent), the fields, such as optics, for which ample corded on videotape; his movements
California Institute of Technology support will be available are ones that outdoors at night can be tracked by
(60 percent), Harvard University (49 were starved for funds until recently. cameras that function in dim light; his
percent) and the M assachusetts Insti Whatever its broad political effects travel by automobile can be followed
tute of Technology (38 percent). Al turn out to be, the campaign may al if a "beeper" emitting an electronic
though the campaign, initiated last ready have succeeded in reducing the signal has been attached to the car; the
spring at Illinois and Cornell, first number of applicants for SDI funds. numbers he dials on his telephone can
took hold among physicists, it has Warhaft thinks that at Cornell, where be recorded, and his bank and credit
gained significant support in other dis faculty have s ubmitted only about a records stored in computers can be ex
ciplines. Zellman Warhaft, associate dozen preliminary proposals ("white amined electronically.
professor of engineering at Cornell, papers") to the Office of Innovative The OT A found that aside from the
says the pledge circulating there car Science and Technology, the "discus Central Intelligence Agency, the De
ries the signatures of 75 percent of the sion and heated debate" engendered fense Intelligence Agency and the Na
astronomy faculty, 46 percent of the by the drive has caused many investi tional Security Agency (the study did
chemistry faculty and 44 percent of gators to reconsider their views of the not encompass classified information),
the engineering faculty. program. "In my opinion," Warhaft 35 out of 142 Federal agencies sur
The signers are motivated not only says, "the very good schools are not veyed are engaged in or planning to
by an aversion to Star Wars itself but going to take part" in SDI research. engage in electronic surveillance. Fa-
60

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
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vorite devices include closed -circuit the same as an unrotated pattern. This sahedron (a 20-faced polyhedron each
television, night-vision systems, minia result was surprising because an ele of whose faces is a triangle). The icosa
ture transmitters and "pen registers" mentary theorem of crystallography hedron has inherent fivefold symme
that keep track of the numbers dialed says that, just as it is impossible to tile a try: five triangular faces meet at each
from a particular telephone. Proce plane with five-sided figures, so a crys of its 12 vertexes. Twenty crystals
d ures include interception of cellular tal, which consists of one elementa twinned in such a way would indeed
radio transmissions, monitoring of ry unit repeated indefinitely, cannot produce a d iffraction pattern that has
computers and monitoring or intercep have fivefold rotational symmetry. fivefold symmetry: each of the individ
tion of electronic mail. In many cases The discovery of a material having ual crystals would give rise to its own
the agencies initiate surveillance only such an unusual property led a large d iffraction pattern and the superposi
with court approval, but the law does number of investigators to search for tion of the patterns would have the
not require that. The major applicable other quasicrystals and to propose same symmetries as an icosahedron.
law, Title III of the Omnibus Crime structures that would make such mate Pauling has determined the lattice
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, rials possible. structure of an aluminum-manganese
protects only oral communications The atoms of a normal crystal are crystal that could grow in such a con
transmitted by wire. arranged regularly on parallel planes. formation. The crystal, which resem
The OT A said Congress has several The distances between adjacent planes bles crystal structures first discovered
choices. One is to do nothing, in which are determined by simple periodic in the early 1950's, has a cubic unit
case policy would be made by adminis functions. Through each atom an infi cell with an edge length of 26. 7 ang
trators and court decisions. The effect nite number of different planes can be strom units. He checked his model
would be "continued uncertainty and drawn, each of which belongs to a d if against an X-ray powder pattern (a
confusion regarding the privacy ac ferent infinite set of parallel planes. pattern made by passing a beam of X
corded phone calls, electronic mail, In most of the proposed q uasicrys rays through a finely powdered sam
data communication and the like." talline structures, as in normal crys ple of the aluminum-manganese al
Another option is to "bring new elec tals, the atoms can be seen to lie on loy) sent to him by Shechtman. A
tronic technologies and services clear parallel planes. Sets of parallel planes powder pattern provides information
ly within the p urview of Title IlL" Leg intersect each other at angles of 108 about the lattice structure of a crystal
islation to do that has been introduced degrees, which is the angle between ad but not about the relative orientation
in the Senate and the House as the jacent sides of a pentagon, and so the of d ifferent crystals within a sample.
Electronic Communication Privacy planes themselves fall into a pattern Pauling is convinced that he has found
Act of 1985. that has fivefold symmetry: if the q ua the correct structure because his mod
sicrystal is rotated by one-fifth of a full el, constructed without reference
State of Controversy circle, each set of planes takes on an to the pattern, nonetheless matched
orientation formerly occupied by a it very closely. "The probability of
F lographers
or a little more than a year crystal d ifferent set. For such symmetry to be chance agreement," he estimates, "is
and solid-state physi possible, however, the atoms cannot be surely less than one in 1, 000."
cists have been faced with the possibil arranged on the planes in a regular Investigators trying to determine the
ity that there is a previously unknown way, and the distances between adja possible structure of quasicrystals con
"quasicrystalline" form of ordered cent parallel planes cannot vary peri tend, however, that the hypothesis of
matter. Unlike a crystal, such matter odically. It is therefore not clear how twinning does not fit all the available
cannot be described in terms of a re to describe a quasicrystal in a way that data. Indeed, Cahn recalls that "when
peated lattice. Unlike an amorphous indicates the positions of every atom. Shechtman first showed me the d iffrac
solid, on the other hand, it does have a John W. Cahn of the N B S , one of tion pattern, I said, 'Go away, Dany,
long-range orientational order. Shechtman's coauthors, points out that that's just twinning: We then spent
The patterns of speculation over the "in crystallography you can say 'Here more than two years, before we pub
nature of this new state of matter have is what the unit cell looks like; repeat lished, ruling out just such conven
been disturbed by Linus Pauling. He that and you have the crystal. ' But how tional crystallographic explanations. "
says the data on which the hypothesis much must one say about a quasicrys Cahn and other solid-state physicists,
is based can be explained, without pro talline structure in order to define it including David R. N elson of Harvard
posing such a quasicrystalline state, uniquely?" University, insist that results obtained
by a well-known crystallographic phe Pauling contended, in a talk deliv by the techniques called microdiffrac
nomenon called directed twinning, in ered in August to a session on "crystal tion and high-resolution microscopy
which several identical crystals grow lography applied and misapplied" at eliminate Pauling's hypothesis from
along shared faces. a meeting of the American Crystallo consideration.
The original evidence for the exis graphic Association, that it is not nec In microdiffraction a d iffraction pat
tence of quasicrystals was an electron essary to consider such exotic struc tern is made of an area as small as 100
d iffraction pattern published in N o tures. In his talk, a revised version of angstroms in d iameter. Such patterns
vember, 1984, in Physical Review Let which was later p ublished in Nature, he have been made from many locations
ters by Dany Shechtman of the Israel suggested that the same fivefold sym on the same sample of aluminum
Institute of Technology-Technion and metry could be caused by twinning: by manganese alloy; every microdiffrac
colleagues at the Technion, at the a growing together of 20 identical crys tion pattern made by an electron beam
French N ational Center for Scientific tals from a single seed. aimed at the appropriate angle, re
Research and at the U.S. N ational Bu In Pauling's model each crystal gardless of position within the sample,
reau of Standards (N BS). The pattern, grows as a compressed trigonal pyra shows fivefold symmetry. Cahn argues
which was made by aiming a beam of mid: a squat pyramid with a triangular that if the material were composed of
electrons at a rapidly cooled alloy of base. The 20 pyramids grow with their twins, not all the microdiffraction pat
aluminum and manganese, had five tips pointing in toward the seed. Each terns would include every one of the
fold rotational symmetry; in other crystal fits together with the neighbor twinned crystals; some would there
words, when the pattern was rotated ing pyramids, and so as they grow their fore consist of only the d iffraction pat
by one-fifth of a full circle, it looked bases fit together as the faces of an ico- terns due to a few of the crystals and
62

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
would not display fivefold symmetry.
High-resolution microscopy can pro
vide an image of a feature as small as How to Become a "Black Belt"
two angstroms across. A feature such
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
may make up elementary particles tex lines-the analogues of cosmic in their own right, also provide an an
such as quarks and electrons.) strings-should accompany the tran swer to the puzzling question of the
About a decade ago Yakov B. sition to the bulk superfluid. Accord earth's wandering poles.
Zel'dovich of Moscow University sug ing to the same scenario, the superfluid For many years it has been known
gested that loops of cosmic strings hav should also begin to circulate around that the geomagnetic poles appear to
ing lengths on the order of a few hun the tube. Both the density of vortex have wandered over the surface of
dred trillion miles could have precipi lines and the rate of flow in the tube are the earth. The evidence for this seem
tated the gravitational condensation of readily measurable; either would pro ing motion was accumulated through
galaxies. The Zel'dovich proposal has vide a quantitative test of the string studies of the vestigial paleomagnet
been developed by a number of other formation scenario. ism exhibited by certain rocks: if the
investigators. In particular, T. W. B. Cosmological considerations aside, age and original p osition of such a
Kibble of the Imperial College of Sci Zurek's experiment is interesting in it rock is known, the orientation of the
ence and Technology in London has self as a study of superfluids. Although geomagnetic field lines when the rock
proposed scenarios for string forma quantized vortex lines are not new en was formed can be reconstructed and
tion in cosmological phase transitions tities, the possibility of inducing vor the old position of the poles can be
that enabled him to estimate the initial ticity by a rapid phase transition is deduced.
density of strings. Unfortunately his novel. Several research groups are The observed changes in the posi
prediction cannot be verified directly. considering plans to carry out the Zu tions of the ancient magnetic poles
What Zurek offers is a way out: an rek experiment. were originally thought to be the result
analog experiment. By determining the of sporadic geomagnetic instabilities
density of vortex lines formed during a Landslide that caused the magnetic poles to fluc
phase transition to superfluid helium tuate about the fixed geographic p oles
A even
one might infer the density of cosmic thick shell of the earth, perhaps (whose locations coincide with the sta
strings formed in the early universe. including part of its very ble spin axis of the earth). It soon be
The experiment he puts forward is core, has slipped erratically around came clear, however, that the distances
simple. A ringlike tube containing the earth's center in the course of mil traveled by the paleomagnetic p oles
liquid helium in its normal state at lions of years. The evidence for this were greater than could be allowed by
about two degrees K. is subjected to proposition is presented in Journal the prevailing theory of the earth's
high pressure. By rapidly removing of Geophysical Research by J ean A. magnetism. Moreover, the apparent
the pressure a transition to the super Andrews of Columbia University's paths traced by the wandering magnet
fluid state is induced. If Kibble's sce Lamont-Doherty Geological Obser ic poles varied according to the conti
nario is correct, the forming of vor- vatory. Andrews' findings, startling nent where the data were collected.
For some time these discrepancies
seemed to be explained by the theory
of plate tectonics: the drift of conti
nents on great plates of the earth's sol
id outer layer, the lithosphere, had
jumbled the paleomagnetic data by re
arranging the positions of the rocks
from which the data had been collect
ed. The apparently excessive distances
between past magnetic and present ge
ographic poles could therefore be
viewed as the combined result of plate
motions and geomagnetic instabilities.
Yet calculations of ancient pole loca
tions that took these two factors into
account still left a substantial amount
of the p olar wandering unexplained.
Because the geomagnetic poles are
linked to the geographic ones and
could not have wandered freely over
the surface of the earth, Andrews
reasoned that the entire surface of
the earth must have wandered over
the poles instead: a major part of the
earth's thick plastic mantle, which un
derlies the lithosphere, must have
shifted about the center of the earth,
carrying the entire lithosphere with it.
Such a large-scale motion of the man
tle and lithosphere, when added to the
relative motions of the lithospheric
plates and the vagrant motion of the
geomagnetic poles, could fully explain
APPARENT WANDERING of the North Pole is due to slippage of the mantle and litho
polar wandering.
sphere around the center of the earth; the pole has actually remained stationary in space.
To prove this hypothesis Andrews
.The endpoints of the line segments designate positions of the pole on the surface of the had to select well-defined p oints in the
earth at particular times (millions of years ago) in the past. Each point is encircled hy its earth's mantle from which she could
range of locational error. Landmasses are shown at their present latitudes and longitudes. measure any change in position with
64

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
For more information, phone 1-800-638-4835.
N1CDONNEL
OUGLAS

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
respect to an "average" paleomagnetic by the river. Rivers d ownstream from an asteroid impact or a massive vol
pole, corrected for the random geo dams have a greater capacity for car canic eruption might cause not only
magnetic variations. S uch points exist. rying solids and therefore tend to local destruction but also deleterious
They are hot spots: upwellings of mol erode the land they flow through. changes in the global climate.
ten rock that originate in fixed regions Robert H. M eade and Randolph S. Smith proposes some specific pro
of the mantle. Their current and his Parker of the Geological Survey dis tective measures. Most of the world's
toric positions can be identified by cuss the phenomenon in the second an 700 or so dangerous volcanoes are
geologic features such as the Hawai nual National Water Summary. They not monitored systematically; Smith
ian Islands, which are permanently report that the M ississippi now dis thinks that mass-produced seismome
impressed on the surface of the earth charges into the Gulf of M exico less ters, volcanic-gas detectors and tiltme
as a crustal plate drifts over a hot spot. than half the sediment it discharged 35 ters (which could detect bulges that
The mean positions of past magnetic years ago. In recent decades the Rio might precede an eruption) should be
poles, when they are measured against Grande's delivery of sediment to the deployed on all of them. The data
past hot-spot positions, indicate that Gulf of M exico has dropped from 20 could be transmitted by satellite to re
hot spots, and therefore the earth's million tons per year to less than one search centers. With every volcano
mantle and lithosphere, have shifted million. Since the Hoover Dam began watched as closely as M ount St. Hel
in unison: about 180 million years impounding water from the Colorado ens, scientists could issue warnings
ago the North Pole was displaced River in 1935, the amount of sediment with greater confidence and precision,
some 22 degrees in latitude from its delivered to the Gulf of M exico has and government authorities would be
present position. fallen from 150 million tons per year more likely to order evacuations. Ulti
What could cause such slippage of to 100,000 tons. mately the goal would be to prevent
the earth's outer layers? Andrews be Philip Cohen, chief hydrologist of eruptions or reduce their intensity.
lieves the likeliest explanation is one the Geological Survey, discussed the Smith considers two ideas worthy of
that Thomas Gold of Cornell Univer implications of the findings. "J ust be further study: drilling into the magma
sity proposed 30 years ago. He pointed cause certain rivers are carrying less chamber under a volcano in the hope
out that if the mantle of the earth is sediment does not mean that we can of allowing the lava to escape harm
sufficiently plastic, the presence of a relax efforts to control soil erosion," lessly, and draining lakes situated in
region of high density in the mantle he said. "The amount of sediment de volcanic calderas to prevent the explo
could cause just such large-scale mo livered to the oceans by rivers is only sive interaction of underground lava
tion of the surface of the earth. Apply 10 percent of the total soil eroded." with water.
ing the equations that govern rotating Hence 90 percent of the eroded soil is The worst natural disaster would
bodies, he showed that an extraneous not going immediately into streams be the impact of a large asteroid like
mass placed on a rotating, deformable and being carried to the sea. Instead it the one thought by many workers to
sphere will cause the sphere to re is being stored somewhere between the have precipitated the extinction of
distribute its mass in such a way as eroded site and the sea, mostly on hill the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
to achieve the lowest possible energy slopes, behind dams, in stream valleys Such impacts are obviously rare, but
state. For a plastic sphere the mini and on floodplains. "The water-quality Smith holds that an impact of a much
mum-energy state is reached by shift implications of this large amount of smaller but still dangerous object
ing the entire surface so that the extra sediment in storage are enormo us. Be should be expected in a pop ulated area
neous mass ultimately finds itself on cause many of the toxic materials that every 1,000 to 10,000 years. Hence he
the sphere's equator. The mantle could travel in streams are attached tightly proposes a program to find and track
similarly shift, as a whole, around the onto sediment particles, any accurate comets and asteroids whose orbits in
center of the earth in order to move prediction of the fate of toxic sub tersect that of the earth. The program
a region of high density toward the stances in a stream will req uire an un would entail the construction of at
Equator. derstanding of what is happening to least 10 new optical telescopes, the
Regardless of its cause, the identifi the sediment." launching of orbiting infrared and op
cation of this shifting of the earth's tical telescopes and regular flyby mis
mass about its center is likely to have Hazards sions like those now under way to Hal
an impact in many areas of geology. A ley's comet. On the basis of data from
T M exico have lent unexpected time

number of conclusions in paleoge he tragic events in Colombia and these missions workers would frame
ography and paleoclimatology, which plans for deflecting or destroying an
depend critically on the correct de liness to a paper p ublished recently in object headed for the earth, perhaps
termination of ancient latitudes, may Geology by J oseph V. Smith of the Uni by detonating small nuclear bombs in
have to be revised. versity of Chicago. Smith argues that it its vicinity.
is time to stop thinking of volcanic Some of the technology necessary to
Tender Sediments eruptions, earthquakes or even the im ward off asteroids would be similar to
pact of an asteroid or comet as being that envisioned in the Reagan Admin
T he construction of dams for IrrI

gation, hydroelectric power and
forever beyond human control. The
suggestion is not new; for example,
istration's Strategic Defense Initiative.
Like the "Star Wars" plan, Smith's
flood control has greatly diminished proposals for destroying an incoming proposals (he also suggests stepped-up
the amount of sediment being deliv asteroid before it can strike the earth research on earthquake prediction and
ered to the oceans by the major rivers have been advanced at least since the prevention) would be extremely expen
oHhe U.S., according to the U.S. Geo 1960's. Smith thinks there are two rea sive. The money would come from
logical S urvey. Dams tend to trap sed sons the suggestion should now be tak a worldwide agreement to red uce ex
iment. Contrary to what one might en more seriously. First, schemes for penditures on nuclear weapons, ini
think, the effects are mostly undesir protecting people against natural di tially by a few percent per year. It
able. Shorelines in the Mississippi del sasters, although still highly spec ula would be disbursed by international
ta are receding rapidly because ocean tive, no longer seem technically fan agencies. In Smith's view the coopera
waves and tides can easily carry off the tastic. Second, the stakes have been tion needed to protect people against
red uced amount of sediment deposited raised: recent research indicates that natural hazards could in itself be "a
68

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
To preserve
small but important catalyst toward
attainment of a peaceful world."
Tailored Photosynthesis
A part biological and part metallic

novel composite material that is
shunts photosynthesis from its usual

role, the synthesis of carbohydrates,
your copies of
to a role it never played in the natural
world: the production of hydrogen,
which in principle could supersede SCIENTIFIC
AMERICAN
fossil fuels. The biological part of the
composite material is thylakoid mem
brane, the structure in chloroplasts
that captures the energy of sunlight
for photosynthesis; the metallic part A choice of handsome and durable library
is platinum. Elias Greenbaum, who
created the new comp osite at the Oak files-or binders-for your copies of
Ridge National Laboratory, describes SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. Both styles
his work as the extraction of a func
tional organization from a plant and bound in dark green library fabric stamped
the tailoring of that organization to
serve human needs.
in gold leaf.
Greenbaum's novel composite pre
serves essentially intact the initial step Files Each file holds 12 issues. Price per file
in photosynthesis, a step that requires $6.95; three for $20.00; six for $36.00, postpaid.
light. In this step the energy of an arriv
ing photon, or quantum of light, serves (Add $2.50 each outside U. S.A.J
to liberate an electron in photosystem
I, a part of the thylakoid membrane. Binders Each binder holds 12 issues. Issues
The electron, relayed by a sequence
of molecules inside the membrane, open flat. Price per binder $8.50; three for $24.75;
then takes part in the red uction of the six for $48.00, postpaid.
electron-transporting molecule nico
tinamide adenine dinucleotide phos
(Add $2.50 each outside U.S.A.)
phate (NADP+), which is thereby con , ----- --- ------------- -,
verted into NADPH. (Reduction sig To: Jesse Jones Box Corp., P.O. Box 5120, Philadelphia, Pa. 19141
nifies the donation of electrons.) The I
next photosynthetic step is also undis I
turbed. Here the energy of an arriving
I
photon enables the part of the thy la
koid membrane called photosystem I
II to p ull an electron from a molecule I
of water and supply it to photo system
I, thus readying the membrane for an
I
other reaction cycle.
Ordinarily in photosynthesis the
NADPH would fuel further reactions file binder
in which carbon atoms from carbon
dioxide are incorporated into carbohy Send me SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
drates, notably hexoses, or six-carbon
sugars. In Greenbaum'S composite the o Files 0 Binders
light-dependent photosynthetic reac For issues dated D through 1982 D 1983 or later.
tions are decoupled from these so
I enclose my check or money order
called d ark reactions. What Green I
for $ (US. funds only).
baum has done is to precipitate plati I
num onto the thylakoid membrane at
the places where electrons are donated I Name __________________��----------------------- I
(please print) I
to NADP+. The electrons go instead I
to the platinum, which acts as a cata
lyst for a chemical reaction quite d if
I Address ____
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ferent from the dark reactions of nat I I
ural photosynthesis. The light-depen City _______ I
dent reactions in photosynthesis can be
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summarized as the extraction of elec I I
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____
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trons from water, so that what remains
of the water is oxygen atoms and pro
tons, or hydrogen nuclei: hydrogen
atoms from which the electron has
L �OTE :n : a:t: =-m:e�efund: :0" fo:.t:x :e�f=-de::.e:
Satisfac
69

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
been stripped. The reaction catalyzed the electrostatic attraction of opposite Ralph R. Isberg and Stanley Falkow
by platinum is the reconstitution of charges: evidently the reducing site of of the Stanford University M edical
hydrogen from these protons and photosystem I (the site where the thy Center worked with Yersinia pseudotu
electrons. In sum, then, the platinized lakoid membrane donates electrons to berculosis and Escherichia coli. Y. pseu
chloroplasts redirect photosynthesis NADP+) has a net positive charge. In dotuberculosis is an invader of cells: in
so that the energy of light breaks wa a further experiment Greenbaum dis gested in contaminated food, it enters
ter into molecular oxygen and molec pensed with the addition of a reducing the body by penetrating the cells that
ular hydrogen. agent to the platinum-plating solution line the intestine. Ultimately it causes
Greenbaum's composite emerged and relied instead on the reducing site g uinea-pig plague, a veterinary disease
from a series of experiments in which of photosystem I. Exposing the mem resembling typhoid fever. E. coli is not
chloroplasts extracted from spinach brane to light caused electrons to be an invader of cells. It harmlessly in
leaves were ruptured, exposing the come available at the site, and metallic habits the inner face of the intestinal
thylakoid membrane. N ext a suspen platinum precipitated there. Again a tract of man and other mammals. Is
sion of thylakoid membrane was com photoactive composite resulted. berg and Falkow report in Nature that
bined with a solution of platinum ions. It is a bit early to proclaim that the transfer of a single gene from Y.
In the presence of a reducing agent (an platinized chloroplasts may generate pseudotuberculosis into E. coli converts
electron donor, typically molecular hydrogen for the energy economy of the latter into an invader (although not
hydrogen) metallic platinum would the future. Still, the advantages of a cause of disease).
precipitate out of solution and onto such a fuel cycle are plain. The mak Isberg and Falkow reasoned that
the membrane fragments. A solution ing of hydrogen by means of tailored some limited region of the genetic ma
of tetraamineplatinum ions, in which photosynthesis would consume only terial in Y. pseudotuberculosis must un
platinum atoms are surrounded by water, and the combustion of the fuel derlie the ability to invade, so that the
amine ( NH3) groups, failed to yield a would regenerate the water. ability should be transferable. To find
composite material with photosynthet the region they first broke down the
ic activity. Each tetraamineplatinum Inside Job Yersinia DNA into short fragments.
ion has a net electric charge of +2. They packaged the fragments into
S
A solution of hexachloroplatinate ome bacteria, including those re phage lambda, a virus that infects bac
ions did yield photoactivity. (That sponsible for typhoid fever and tu teria, and proceeded to parcel out the
is, the thylakoid-platinum composite, berculosis, invade animal cells and total genetic "library" of Y. pseudotu
trapped on filter paper, responded to survive there; other infectious bacteria berculosis in different E. coli cells.
light by simultaneously generating hy are content to make their living outside The E. coli were applied to a mono
drogen and oxygen from water. ) Each the cell. Now two investigators have layer of some 10 million HEp-2 cells,
hexachloroplatinate ion, in which a isolated a gene responsible for the in a laboratory cell line derived from a
platinum atom is surrounded by six vasion process. Understanding of such human lung carcinoma. After three
chlorine atoms, has a net charge of genes could lead to the development ho urs the monolayer was washed re
-2. Greenbaum proposes that the of alternatives to antibiotics for com peatedly. The only E. coli remaining
successful precipitation results from bating harmful invasive bacteria. would be those that somehow had
linked themselves to the cells of the
monolayer. Some might have got in
side the cells. The survivors of the
washing were cloned (that is, allowed
to generate colonies of identical off
spring) and the clones were given a sec
ond opportunity to enter HEp-2 cells.
Then the HEp-2 cells were bathed in
the antibiotic gentamycin, which can
not penetrate cells. The surviving bac
teria would have to be inside the cells.
Twelve clones survived. The cells were
examined under the electron micro
scope. E. coli indeed were inside them.
The genetic material from Y. pseudo
tuberculosis that confers the ability to
invade proves to be a DNA strand no
longer than 3,200 bases; Isberg and
Falkow call it the inv locus. It is in fact
a single gene, which specifies the struc
ture of a single large protein with a
molecular weight of 108,000. In the
case of Y. pseudotuberculosis. at least,
the genetic basis of the ability to in
vade cells is strikingly uncomplicated.
Isberg and Falkow observe that their
work "may be a first step towards de
fining a previously undefined class of
proteins encoded by many invasive
BACTERIAL INVADERS of a mammalian cell are the five dark bodies toward the top of
this electron micrograph of the interior of a lung-carcinoma cell. The bacteria are Esche disease-producing microorganisms as
richia coli, which normally cannot invade; a single gene, designated if/v, was transferred to part of their strategy of pathogenesis."
the E. coli to change them into invaders. Each bacterium is about two micrometers long. J ust what this protein d oes to promote
The micrograph was made by Stanley Falkow of the Stanford University Medical Center. invasion remains to be learned. When
70

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
it is, methods may emerge by which to
undermine the invasion and so block
infection by those bacteria that cause
The price of looking it up just went waI down!
harm by invading cells. Harmless bac
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More Than 3,000 Illustrations tion: The pages are thumb-indexed for handy reference.
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instance, may d iminish screwworm pear throughout the text. These illustrations help make the Webster's a ding out c e�rly in .boldface. To make reading easier still,
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• A Dictionary of Commonly Used
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Toll Free - 24 h o u rs - 7 days a week
• Forms of Addresses Credit Card Customers Call
first steps toward utilizing a fungal tox I

• The Basics of Practical Math BOOKSTORES
in to control Bermuda grass.

• Commonly Used Financial and
Commercial Terms
Dept W246. 1 26 Fifth A,e., N.Y.. NY tOO l t
1.800.228.3535 I
Although some varieties of Bermu • A Dictionary of Foreign Words
and Phrases
��:939�� I:r:�;Us��u�?��;
Unabridged Dictionary at your special
In Nebraska 1.800-842.seoe
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da grass can prevent soil erosion and ae ....Check One
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make excellent lawns, in more than 80 fNn.J.� t[�� n�� :e��;.)o�.��t�d D Payment enclosed
A Tradition of Quality residents: Please add sales tax. D I prefer to charge this purchase to: I
countries it is considered a trouble Concise, correct. complete definitions have
been the hallmark of the Webster'S since the
D � O=:!C D . I
some weed that interferes with the
farming of at least 40 d ifferent crops,
-distinguished philologist Noah Webster pub
lished the first edition in 1 806. The Webster address
=;;;- ------= 0--
I
I
=AccountJ Exp.
notably sugarcane. (It is also a signifi city
I
© '985 Barnes & Noble Bookstores, I n c .
Signature
cant cause of hay fever.) Fumio S uga
L �_ _ _ _ _ _ _ � _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ �
O l f e r g O O d only i n continental U . S . A
wara and Gary A. Strobel of M ontana

State and Larry E. Fisher, G. D. Van
D uyne and Jon Clardy of Cornell
write in Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences that they have suc
A n n o u n ce m e n t of W i l l ia m C. Foster
cessfully isolated and characterized a
Fe l l ows P rogram for 1 986-87
fungal product known as bipolaroxin
that is toxic to Bermuda grass. (Some
The U . S . Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (AC DA) has annou nced
other plant species s uch as corn and
that it i s accept i n g appl ications fo r visiting scholars, u n d e r the W i l l i am C. Fos
wild oats are also susceptible to the
ter Fel lows P rog ram for 1 986-87. This p rogram is designed to g ive speci a l i sts
toxin, but only at much greater con
In the phYSical sCIences and other d i sci p l i nes relevant to AC DA's activities an
centrations.) The investigators believe
opport u n ity to partiCi pate actively i n the arms control and d i sarmament activ
bipolaroxin is the first such host-selec
ities of the Age n cy and to g ive the Agency the perspective and expertise such
tive toxin from a weed pathogen to be
persons can offe r.
identified.
Wi l l i am C. Foster F e l lows for 1 986-87 w i l l be appOi nted for twe lve months
Sugawara and Strobel worked with
beg i n n i ng i n the s u m m e r o r early fall of 1 98 6 . They will be compensated in
laboratory cultures of the fungus Bipo
accordance with the I ntergovernmental Personnel Act which allows the Agency
laris cynodontis, a pathogen that causes
to re I m b u rse a u n iversity for the services of its em ployees . Fel lows m u st be
leaf blight in the plant. To winnow out
citizens or na� ionals of the U n ited States and on the fac u lty of a recog n ized
the toxin, they applied successively pu
I �stltutlon of h i g h e r learn i n g . Prior to appOintment they will be s u bject to a f u l l
rified extracts of the fungus to p unc
f i e l d backg ro u n d secu rity and loya lty i nvestigation f o r a t o p secret clearance .
ture wounds on Bermuda grass sam
· A p p l i cations s h o u l d be made in the form of a l etter i n d icat i n g the perspec-
ples and noted whether or not spots or
tive and expertise which the a p p l icant offers acco m pa n i e d by a c u rricu l u m vi
lesions developed. Having isolated bi
tae a n d a n y oth e r m at e r i a l s s u c h as l etters of refe rence a n d s a m p l e s of
polaroxin, Sugawara and Strobel crys
p u b l ished articles w h i c h the a p p l i cant b e l i eves s h o u l d be co n s i d e red i n the
tallized the molecule and Fisher, Van
selection p rocess . The dead l i n e d ate for appl ications i s J a n u ary 3 1 , 1 98 6 . Ap
Duyne and Clardy characterized it by
p l i cations and req u ests for i nformation on avai l a b l e ass i g n m e nts s h o u l d be
X-ray-diffraction analysis.
sent to W I l l i a m C. Foster Fel low P rog ram , Attenti o n : Personnel Officer, room
Although the workers are far from
5722 , U . S . Arms Contro l and Disarmament Agency, 320 21 st Street, N . W. ,
deploying bipolaroxin in the field, the
Was h i ngto n , D . C . 2045 1 , telephone (202) 632-2034 .
investigation has already increased un
derstanding of the molecular structure
and biological activity of the toxin.
U N ITED STATES A R M S C O NTROL A N D D I SARMAM E N T A G E N C Y
It could ultimately provide chemical Wash i n gton, D . C . 20451
clues to the development of new herbi
cides from natural sources.
71

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
How Exxon brol<e
complex fluids to solve a
It costs about $7,000 pumped down the d ri l l pipe to the bot
tom of the wel l , where it wou l d then
per day to drill for oi l or thicken i nto a viscous paste .
gas on land. Offshore, The f luid Exxon developed consists of
water d roplets and g ranu les of water
comparable costs range swellable clay f i nely dispersed in a con
upward to $100,000 tinuous oil phase. Each water d roplet is
su rrounded by a toug h film c reated by a
daily. Even short inter water-soluble polymer that reacts with
ruptions are expensive. an oi l-soluble su rfactant. This f i l m is
ruptured by h i g h shear forces when the
Delays can occu r when d ri l l i ng f l u i d , f l u i d f lows through the nozzles i n a d ri l l
w h i c h is used t o carry rock c h i ps t o the b i t The water i s released and i nteracts
su rface and to control wel l pressures, is rapidly with the clay. As the shear-thick
lost i nto underg round formations. When ening f l u i d (STF) emerges from the
this happens, d r i l l i n g must often be nozzles, it becomes a viscous paste
stopped until the problem is corrected . with the consistency of modeling clay.
Trad itional methods of correcting d ri l l The paste can seal the loss zone.
ing f lu i d loss are not always effective.
G ranular materials pumped downhole
may not plug the leaks . Cement may
need too much time to harden . Other
plugging substances are u n rel iable
because they depend on mixing two or
more components downhole. Where
plugging fai l s , the only effective remedy
h as been to isolate the loss zone by
placing an extra steel casing over it,
often at considerable cost.
Complex
Fluid Development
To solve the p roblem, Exxon soug ht
to c reate a unique f l u i d that cou ld be

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
new ground in
serious drilling problem.
Interactive Research ing a number of d r i l l i n g f l u i d loss p rob research and development of petro
lems i n wel l s where other approaches leum p rocessing and prod ucts, as wel l
Development of STF was the result of had fai led . as pioneering science, a n d t h e engi
a team effort i nvolving scientists and neering req u i red to develop and apply
engi neers i n several Exxon u n its.
Exxon Production Research Com
Exxon Production new tech nology i n the manufactu re of
fuels and other prod ucts . For more
pany (EPR) knew the oil f ield envi ron Research Company i nformation , write Exxon Research and
ment with its problems, complexities EPR, a whol ly owned subsidiary of Engi neeri ng Company, Room 201 ,
and engi neeri ng requ i rements . Exxon Exxon Corporation , is involved i n re Box 1 01 , Florham Park, NJ 07932.
Research and Engfneering Company search and development on methods
(ER&E) had expertise i n the chemistry of of f i n d i ng and developing oil and gas
E))(ON
su rfactants and polymers . Tog ether, they reseNes around the worl d . For more
ref ined the formulation through a series i nformation on shear-thickening f l u i d ,
of tests i n fu l l-scale su rface equi pment, write Exxon Production Research Com
) then i n wel l s provided by Exxon Com- pany, po. Box 21 89, Houston, TX
o pany, U . S.A. , using materials supplied 77252-21 89.
by EXxon Chemical Company. The f inal
result was successfu l ly f ield-tested , solv-
Exxon Research and
Engineering Company
ER&E is also a whol ly owned subsid
iary of Exxon Corporation . ER&E scien
tists and eng i neers are involved i n the

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:15 UTC
Applications of Optical
Phase Conjugation
((Time-reversed" light waves can be used to improve laser-beam
quality, compensate for atmospheric turbulence, track a moving
satellite, encode and decode messages and compare image patterns
by David M. Pepper
B
oris Va. Zel'dovich and his col phase conjugation [see "Optical Phase Amnon Yariv of the California Insti
leagues observed a curious phe Conjugation," by Vladimir V. Shku tute of Technology and me (then at
nomenon as they did an experi nov and Boris Va. Zel'dovich; SCIEN Caltech), and by David M. Bloom,
ment at the P. N. Lebedev Physical TIFIC AMERICAN, December, 1985]. Gary C. Bjorklund and Paul F. Liao of
Institute in Moscow in 1972. The in Phase-conjugate-wave technology the AT&T Bell Laboratories. The tech
vestigators intentionally distorted an has many intriguing applications. A nique involves the interaction in a non
intense beam of red light from a pulsed high-quality optical beam can, for in linear medium of four optical beams:
ruby laser by directing it through a stance, be transmitted through a turbu three input beams and one outPlJt
frosted glass plate. Then they aimed lent atmosphere and, after generation beam. The three input beams consist of
the smeared beam down a long tube of its phase-conjugate beam, be made a probe beam, whose "time-reversed"
containing high-pressure methane gas. to retrace its path exactly. When the replica is sought, and two counter
In accordance with a well-known ef beam returns to its point of origin, it propagating pump beams that are
fect called stimulated Brillouin scat will therefore be free of degradation. necessary to "sensitize" the nonlinear
tering the beam interacted with the Such beams can be used in the pointing medium. The steps leading to the pro
molecules of the gas and was reflected and tracking of moving objects, the duction of the fourth beam, the phase
backward; the gas acted as if it were a processing of images, optical comput conjugate output beam, are analogous
mirror, but a very unusual one. What ing, interferometry, laser gyroscopes, to those of conventional holography.
surprised the investigators was that af fiber and satellite communication sys In holography a photographic emul
ter the reflected wave passed back tems, laser weapon systems and photo sion is illuminated with light from an
through the same piece of frosted glass lithography. The "mirrors" that gen object and a reference beam. The ref
a nearly perfect, undistorted optical erate phase-conjugate beams also erence beam and the light from the ob
beam emerged. In other words, the make possible novel laser resonators. ject interact to produce a hologram,
distortions introduced during the first or three-dimensional interference pat
passage through the glass had been un Generating "Time-reversed" Light tern, in the emulsion. After the film is
done. (Reflection from a convention developed the fixed, or static, holo
al flat mirror, in contrast, would have Two standard methods of producing gram can be read by illuminating it
increased the distortions.) The back phase-conjugate waves are stimulat with the same reference beam. The re
ward-traveling wave could therefore ed Brillouin scattering and four-wave sult is a three-dimensional reconstruc
be loosely thought of as the "time-re mixing. In the years following the tion of the object's image.
versed" replica of the incident wave. landmark experiment by Zel'dovich In four-wave mixing the nonlin
The phrase "time-reversed" is in investigators have found that phase ear medium acts as the photograph
tended to imply that the beam reflected conjugation by stimulated Brillouin ic emulsion. The interaction of the
back by the gas faithfully carried all scattering can occur in a variety of probe, or object, beam with one of the
the distortions introduced by the frost substances other than compressed gas. pump, or reference, beams produces a
ed glass plate, but in a reversed sense. Such substances are called nonlinear wave pattern of reinforcement and
When the beam returned through the mediums. The term is used here in a cancellation (constructive and destruc
glass, the distorting properties of the special sense: the optical properties of tive interference) in the medium that
plate therefore canceled the effects a nonlinear medium, in contrast to amounts to a real-time, or dynamic,
they had originally produced. In other those of a linear medium, are affected hologram. The phase-conjugate out
words, if it were possible to make a by light. Examples of nonlinear medi put beam is generated when the other
motion picture of the incident beam, ums include semiconductors, crystals, counterpropagating pump beam is re
the "time-reversed" beam would be liquids, plasmas, liquid crystals, aero flected from the hologram. Actually
portrayed by playing the same film sols and atomic vapors. two holograms are created: each pump
backward. "Time-reversed" waves are Nonlinear mediums are also utilized beam, in conjunction with the probe
more accurately known as phase-con in four-wave mixing, a scheme that beam, yields a hologram from which
jugate waves, or wave-front-reversed was proposed in 1977 by Robert W. the other reference beam is reflected.
replicas. The technology by which Hellwarth of the University of South Although each method-stimulat
they are generated is known as optical ern California, followed by studies by ed Brillouin scattering and four-wave
74

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mixing-has advantages and disadvan
tages, the end result of both is a phase
conjugate mirror, a peculiar mirror
that exists in three dimensions and re
turns a "reflection" of the initial beam
that exactly retraces the path of the
initial beam. In both cases the dynamic
aspect of the nonlinear medium en
ables the phase-conjugate mirror to re
spond to time-varying input beams.
The reader is challenged to imagine
while reading the article what he or she
might see while gazing into such a mir
ror. (The answer is given at the conclu
sion of this article.)
Adaptive Optics
Optical phase conjugation has many

applications because there is often a
need to compensate for static and dy
namic distortions encountered in opti
cal systems. High-power lasers, track
ing systems, atmospheric communica
tion networks and photolithographic
systems are all hampered by such
noise, which can also hamper the ef
fectiveness of a weapon system. Either
four-wave mixing or stimulated Bril
louin scattering can help.
Many of these applications depend
on a so-called double-pass geometry:
an arrangement in which a laser beam
is phase-conjugated and reflected in
such a way that it passes through the
same medium twice. Such a reflected
beam exactly retraces the path of the
incident beam in a "time-reversed"
sense. In one example of such a geom
etry a low-power seed laser injects a
highly directed light beam into an
amplifier that is typically made up of
a solid or a gas of highly excited at
oms or molecules. As the beam passes
through the amplifier it "tickles" the
molecules into releasing their energy
as radiation. A powerful beam is pro
duced, but at the cost of directivity:
inhomogeneities in the amplifying me
dium distort the beam so that it diverg-
PHASE-CONJUGATE MIRROR is able

to compensate for distortions imposed on an
image of a cat. In both photographs the im
age was distorted by transmitting it through
a piece of frosted glass. Reflection of the
image back through the same piece of glass
by an ordinary mirror yielded an unrecog
nizable image (top photograph). Reflection
of the image back through the frosted glass
by a phase-conjugate mirror, on the other
hand, corrected the distorted image (bottom
photograph). It did so because a phase-con
jugate mirror produces a beam that prop
agates back through the distorting glass in
a "time-reversed" sense: its trajectory re
traces that of the original beam and there
by undoes the distortions. Jack Feinberg of
the University of Southern California per
formed the experiment using an argon laser.

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:27 UTC
es. The distortions can be removed if a ray of amplifiers in which the phase of clei in the pellet would fuse, releasing
phase-conjugate mirror placed at the the radiation is random is merely pro useful energy.
end of the amplifier receives the beam. portional to the number of amplifiers. Self-targeting can be applied to oth
When the phase-conjugate beam from The basic scheme, proposed by Niko er situations as well: the fusion pellet
the phase-conjugate mirror travels lay G. Basov and his colleagues at can be replaced by an orbiting satellite.
back through the amplifier, its motion, the Lebedev Physical Institute and On illumination any scattered light re
which is the reverse of the original by Thomas R. O'Meara and his col turning from the satellite and collect
beam, undoes the degrading effects of leagues at the Hughes Research Labo ed by a phase-conjugate laser system
the medium. The double-passed beam ratories, has been recently demonstrat can be amplified and sent back to the
that emerges is both powerful and ed by David A. Rockwell and Concet satellite. To the extent that the inter
highly directed. to R. Giuliano, also at Hughes. vening atmosphere and satellite posi
As a consequence of fundamental Another example of a double-pass tion do not appreciably change during
and practical considerations there are geometry is the self-targeting of radia the round-trip optical transit time, the
limits on the physical size of a single tion, which also relies on a beam from phase-conjugate mirror not only will
amplifier and hence on the output a low-power seed laser. In this case, compensate for atmospheric turbu
power it can produce. By using a set of however, the seed laser directly illumi lence (the phenomenon that causes the
amplifiers in a parallel arrangement nates a target, such as a fusion pellet "twinkling" of stars) but also will
and a phase-conjugate mirror one can containing a mixture of deuterium and make it possible to track the satellite
both compensate for optical distor tritium (isotopes of hydrogen). Some by maintaining a continuous beam of
tions within each amplifier and "phase of the light scattered by the pellet pass illumination on it. The satellite could
up," or synchronize, an entire ensem es through a nearby amplifier. As the subsequently direct the amplified laser
ble of amplifiers. Since the ensemble beam passes through the amplifier its beam to a missile and, if the radiation
acts as an optical phased array of am power is increased. A phase-conjugate were sufficiently intense, destroy it.
plifying elements, the peak intensity of mirror at the end of the amplifier pro Such schemes have been proposed and
the output beam is proportional to the duces an intense "time-reversed" beam extensively evaluated for laser weapon
square of the number of amplifiers. that is directed back to the target. If the systems since the early 1970's.
The peak intensity produced by an ar- beam were powerful enough, the nu-
Lensless Imaging
ORDINARY MIRROR Many optical systems rely on large

numbers of lenses that are difficult to
control and adjust. Phase-conjugate
schemes have been proposed that
could eliminate such difficulty. They
could, for instance, be used to transfer
a given two-dimensional pattern from
one plane in space to another. That is
precisely the goal of photolithogra
phy, the technique by which a mask
pattern containing a microelectronic
circuit layout is transferred to a semi
conducting chip that is coated with a
photographic emulsion. (Direct physi
cal contact of the mask with the sub
strate may be undesirable.)
The feasibility of such image trans
fer has been demonstrated by Marc D.
Levenson and his colleagues at the
I B M Research Laboratory in San Jose
PHASE-CONJUGATE and more recently by Malcolm C.
MIRROR Gower of the Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory in England. Light from a
laser passes through the mask pattern,
a semitransparent mirror and then an
amplifier. The intensity of the beam
increases at the expense of introducing
distortions into the beam. The result
ing image is sent back through the
amplifier by a phase-conjugate mir
ror. The "time-reversed" beam is both
powerful and free of distortions, so
that when it reflects from the semi
transparent mirror, it exposes the
emulsion with the pattern. The phase
conjugate system has advantages in re
lation to conventional methods such as
PROPERTIES OF A PHASE-CONJUGATE MIRROR are compared with those of an compensating for optical aberrations.
ordinary mirror. As shown here, a beam of light illuminates both mirrors. The ordinary Lensless-imaging schemes involving
mirror (top) merely reflects the beam. The phase-conjugate mirror (bottom) redirects the di optical phase conjugation are useful in
verging beam so that a converging, "time-reversed" beam is formed, independent of angle. other ways. One is the removal of dis-
76

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tortions introduced by fiber-optic ca have the same phase relation to each ages, the scheme can in principle also
bles. Such distortions arise as follows. other as they did at the beginning of allow for the transmission of three-di
Imagine sending a three-dimensional the fiber.) In other words, just as a mensional images through fibers.
image (say of a tree) through a plate piece of frosted glass scrambles an im
glass window. The window does not age, so does an optical fiber. Phase-Conjugate Resonators
degrade to any serious degree the qual The image can be unscrambled if
ity of the image. If the same glass win it is phase-conjugated and sent back How might the performance of a la
dow is replaced by a long optical fiber, through the same fiber, or through an ser change were one or both of its cavi
the image will be unrecognizable after other, identical fiber link. This con ty mirrors to be replaced by a phase
traveling only a few centimeters. The cept, initially pointed out by Yariv, conjugate mirror, forming a so-called
reason is that the image of the tree has been successfully demonstrated by phase-conjugate resonator? A resona
travels in many optical modes, each of Gilmore 1. Dunning and Richard C. tor is a hollow cavity for reinforcing
which corresponds to a given ray that Lind of Hughes, and more recently by a sound wave or an electromagnetic
zigzags down the fiber. Since all the Baruch Fischer and Shmule Sternklar wave. Typically it consists of a long
modes traverse different paths, they of the Technion-Israel Institute of tube filled with an amplifying medium
are out of step by the time they reach Technology in Israel. Even though (a solid or a gas), capped at each end
the end of the fiber. (They no longer they worked with two-dimensional im- with a highly polished semitransparent
MASK SEMITRANSPARENT
MIRROR
PHASE-CONJUGATE
MIRROR
PHOTOGRAPHIC
EMULSION SEMICONDUCTING
CHIP
PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY, the transfer of a two-dimensional pat mogeneities in the amplifying medium distort its qnality. After the
tern from one plane in space to another, can be done without beam is phase-conjugated (red) it propagates back through the am
optical lenses by employing a phase-conjugate mirror. The process plifier, undoing the distortions and emerging with the original beam
can be used to transfer a mask pattern containing a microelectron information restored. On reflection from the semitransparent mir
ic circuit layout onto a semiconducting chip coated with a pho ror, an intensified image of the mask pattern exposes the emulsion.
tographic emulsion. A beam of light (blue) from a laser passes The system compensates for optical aberrations, has high resolu
through the mask, a semitransparent mirror and then a laser ampli tion over a large field of view, eliminates laser speckle, minimiz
fier. Although the amplifier increases the power of the beam, inho- es beam spreading and avoids physical contact with the substrate.
_••"'......_ UNRECOGNIZABLE
IMAGE
INPUT
IMAGE
/
PHASE-CONJUGATE
MIRROR
ORDINARY
MIRROR
DISTORTIONS DUE TO FIBER-OPTIC CABLES can be re fiber (blue). Since all the modes traverse different paths, by the
moved by a phase-conjugate mirror. The distortions arise because time they reach the end of the fiber they are out of step, producing
a spatial image (left) sent down a cable travels in many optical a scrambled image (center). The image can be unscrambled if it is
modes: each mode corresponds to a given ray that zigzags down the phase-conjugated (red) and sent down an identical cable (right).
77

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mirror. Laser output results when light the phase-conjugate mirror can com Stanford University and in the Soviet
passes through one of the mirrors. pensate for static and dynamic aberra Union, France, Great Britain and Can
In 1978 a team at Caltech headed by tions in the cavity due to, for instance, ada. Devices based on four-wave mix
Yariv that included John C. AuYeung, imperfect optical components, as well ing and stimulated Brillouin scattering
Dan Fekete and me explored this ques as dynamic thermal and mechanical have both been employed.
tion. In the course of our work we suc perturbations. A phase-conjugate res Lind and Duncan G. Steel (then at
cessfully developed the first pulsed onator is therefore highly efficient at Hughes) have, for instance, recently
phase-conjugate laser. In our experi extracting the optical energy stored in constructed the first continuously las
ment a ruby rod served as the amplify the laser medium. A more subtle effect ing phase-conjugate resonator. The
ing medium. We placed a convention relates to what is called "resonator sta phase-conjugate mirror they used con
al mirror at one end of the rod and bility." The ability of a conventional sisted of a one-centimeter cell filled
a phase-conjugate mirror at the other resonator to store energy is dependent with atomic sodium vapor, pumped by
end. The phase-conjugate mirror, in on the relation between the radiation, a dye laser. Inserting a frosted glass
this case a four-wave mixer, consisted the cavity length and the mirror curva sheet within the laser cavity had vir
of a cell filled with carbon disulfide; ture. A phase-conjugate resonator is tually no effect on the system: it con
the pump beams were obtained from free from such constraints. tinued to produce a reasonably good
another pulsed ruby laser. The properties of the phase-conju beam, even as the plate was moved
We found that a phase-conjugate gate resonator occupy the attention into the cavity. The same frosted plate
resonator has unique properties. Per of a number of research groups in prevented a conventional version of
haps the most obvious property is that cluding those at Hughes, Caltech and the same dye laser from producing any
beam at all.
A phase-conjugate resonator of par
ticular interest can be built using
a four-wave mixer. Since two pump
beams are employed, the intensity of
the output phase-conjugate beam can
exceed the intensity of the input probe
beam. In other words, a four-wave
mixer can be made to have optical
gain. Such a four-wave mixer is said
to be an amplifying phase-conjugate
mirror. Even an "empty" laser resona
tor, consisting of only an amplifying
phase-conjugate mirror and a conven
tional mirror, can therefore be made
to lase; no internal amplifying medium
is necessary. Since the phase-conjugate
mirror also reflects any light striking it
back to the point of origin, lasing will
still occur even if the conventional
mirror is moved about. Yariv and I
proposed such a device and with the
assistance of Fekete have tested it; it
has also been demonstrated by Bloom,
Liao and N. P. Economou of the
AT&T Bell Laboratories.
Perhaps the most novel laser resona
tor was built by Jack Feinberg of the
University of Southern California and
Hellwarth. They merely positioned a
kitchen spatula in the vicinity of a
phase-conjugate mirror (a barium tita
nate crystal pumped by a laser). The
amplifying properties of the phase
conjugate mirror created a phase-con
"SPATULA LASER" consists of a reflecting mirror (spatula) and a phase-conjugate
jugate resonator, with the crystal and
mirror (crystal at beam intersection). A conventional laser consists of a long tube capped at
the reflective surface of the spatula
each end with a highly polished mirror. The tube is typically filled with an amplifying
medium (a highly excited solid or gas). The spatula laser requires no amplifying medium
forming the cavity mirrors. An intense
because the phase-conjugate mirror provides the necessary gain. The amplification is beam of light was then seen between
achieved by pumping, or exciting, the rectangular crystal with two laser beams known as the spatula and the crystal. The phase
pump, or reference, beams. One of the pump beams enters the photograph from the corner conjugate mirror tracked any motion
at the lower left and is reflected by a mirror ( green disk) to the phase-conjugate mirror. of the spatula by maintaining the beam
Some of the laser beam is absorbed by the crystal; most of the beam continues on to the on its surface. Moral: Do not wear
wedge-shaped mirror in the upper-right corner. The beam reflected by that mirror becomes
anything reflective near an amplifying
the other pump beam. After the crystal has absorbed sufficient energy from the two coun
phase-conjugate mirror!
terpropagating pump beams it will begin to lase with any shiny surface in its vicinity, as if
the region between the crystal and the shiny surface were filled with an amplifying medium.
The laser beam lying along the line between the spatula and the crystal is thereby generated. Image Processing
If the spatula were moved, the phase-conjugate mirror would track it by maintaining the
beam on its surface. The laser beam emerges through the crystal (right). The experiment The common element in all four
was done by Feinberg and Robert W. Hellwarth of the University of Southern California. wave-mixing processors is the optical
78

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ATMOSPHERIC TURBULENCE is compensated for by optical or on a paved road on a hot afternoon.) When the beam was phase
phase conjugation. Laser light that traversed a 100-meter outdoor conjugated and sent back through the atmosphere, the near-perfect
range produced highly distorted beam spots (sequellce of three pho quality of the beam spot was restored (right). The video-processed,
tographs at left) that vary in space and time. (The turbulence that color-encoded photographs were made at an exposure of 112,000
produced the distortions is also responsible for the twinkling of second. Gilmore J. Dunning and Richard C. Lind of the Hughes
stars and the apparent undulation of objects viewed over a heater Research Laboratories did the experiment with a tunable dye laser.
HOLOGRAPHIC
EMULSION
BELOW
THRESHOLD
ASSOCIATIVE MEMORY can recognize two images that share square matches a ray from one of the holograms stored in the film a
common features with each other. A memory-storage element is strong output ray is produced (heavy lille); if the rays do not match,
formed by illuminating a photographic emulsion with a reference a weaker output is produced (medium alld thill lilies). Strong and
beam and an image of a square (top left), creating a hologram, or an medium output rays are reflected by the phase-conjugate mirror at
interference pattern, in the film. The process is repeated on the the right (red). Weak output rays, however, do not have enough
same emulsion for a triangle and a circle. The incident angle of the energy to cause conjugation to occur and therefore pass through the
reference beam is changed in each case so that the images can phase-conjugate mirror (blue ray at right). In this way the qualities
be distinguished. The photographic emulsion-now a holographic of "squareness" are selected. After the strong and medium output
memory element-is developed and placed between two phase-con rays are conjugated a second time by the phase-conjugate mirror at
jugate mirrors (bottom). The image to be categorized (imperfect the left the process is repeated. Successive iterations yield a square
square showll here) is reflected by a semitransparent mirror onto as an output. In other words, the system "recognized" that the input
the emulsion (blue). Every time a ray of light from the imperfect image was an imperfect square, not an imperfect circle or triangle.
79

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interaction of the beams. On a funda ist, in essence samples, or probes, the ratories in France, Feinberg and Y. H.
mental level the conjugate beam can atmospheric turbulence. If the projec Ya of the Telecom Research Labora
be thought of as an algebraic product tionist allows the light to strike a con tories in Australia have made signifi
of the three input optical beams (the ventional four-wave mixer, the "time cant contributions to this field.
probe beam and the two counterprop reversed" beam will undo the atmos One potential application of four
agating pump beams); the nonlinear pheric distortions and make its way wave mixing to image processing is a
medium in the four-wave-mixing cell back to his friend with no information. real-time pattern-recognition device. It
provides for the multiplicative effect By placing a transparency of the diver was proposed by several colleagues
through the coupling of the beams. in the path of one of the pump beams, and me at Caltech in 1978 and dem
Hence if any or all of the input beams however, the phase-conjugate mirror onstrated by Jeffrey O. White (then
are encoded either in a spatial fashion can be spatially encoded with the at Caltech) and Yariv in 1980 and
(by passing the beams through various wanted information. In this way the independently by S. O. Odulov and
slides or other optical transparencies) phase-conjugate mirror reflects a pre M. S. Soskin of the Institute of Phys
or in a temporal manner (by pUlsing distorted image of the diver. The result ics of the Academy of Sciences of
them), the conjugate output beam will is that a unique "time-reversed" beam the Ukrainian S.S. R. during the same
be encoded in a way proportional to bearing a distortion-free image reach year. The scheme involves a four-wave
the product of all the information of es the friend at the beacon laser. mixer. The three input beams to the
the interacting beams. Image processing also plays an im mixer (that is, the two pump beams
Research groups led by Yariv at portant role in a variety of fields such and the probe beam) pass through re
Caltech and by Osamu Ikeda at the as criminology (the comparing of spective transparencies whose spatial
Tokyo Institute of Technology have fingerprints), biological sciences and patterns are to be compared. The pat
shown that by spatially encoding the medicine (classification and identifica tern formed by the resulting conjugate
pump beams, instead of the probe tion of various classes of cells and their output beam reveals the overlap, if
beam, in a four-wave mixer one can mutations), artificial intelligence, ro any, between the patterns of the trans
transmit images in a "one way" man botics and automation systems. So parencies. In White and Yariv's experi
ner, even through a distorting medium. phisticated optical systems could facil ment, for instance, one slide bore the
(Remember that the lensless-imaging itate these and other comparison tech character string C-A-L-T-E-C-H and
techniques discussed above involve niques. Conventional holography has, another slide bore the letter C. The
the double-pass transmission of an im for instance, been employed for some output of the system was two bright
age.) Suppose a projectionist wants to time to perform image-processing spots, each of which "pointed" to one
send an image or a motion picture (say functions. The theory was developed of the two occurrences of the letter in
of a sportswoman diving off a spring in 1963 by Anthony B. Vander Lugt of the character string.
board) to a friend some distance away. the University of Michigan, who also
Owing to atmospheric turbulence, the demonstrated various classes of im Associative Memory
diver would be unrecognizable. age filters and pattern-recognition
The image can be transmitted by re schemes by means of conventional Implicit in the design of an ideal pat
placing the projector with a four-wave fixed holograms recorded on film tern-recognition device is the assump
mixer and equipping the friend with a emulsions. Four-wave-mixing technol tion that the test letter perfectly
beacon laser. The sequence of events is ogy, since it is a form of real-time, or matches the key letter in the character
as follows. The friend aims his beacon dynamic, holography, can enhance the string. What if the test letter differs
laser toward the projectionist. The dis power of the technique. Jean-Pierre somewhat from the key letter? Sup
torted beam, as seen by the projection- Huignard of the Thomson-CSF Labo- pose, for instance, that the letters are
f\
INPUT
DATA
1 \
-----7�
OPTICAL
FIBER
\
SEMI TRANSPARENT
MIRROR�
PHASE·
CONJUGATE
MIRROR
OUTPUT
DATA
ORDINARY/
-----)�I OP � I----?)(\�
AL
FIBER
MIRROR
TEMPORALLY BROADENED PULSE can be reconstituted by a optic cable transmitting the pulse will rearrange the pulse in such
phase-conjugate mirror. The broadening occurs because the various a way that the slower traveling components enter the second half
frequency components (shown here as different colors) that consti of the cable first. As the conjugated pulse propagates through the
tute a pulse propagate at slightly different speeds through space. A remainder of the cable the faster traveling components will there
four-wave-mixing phase-conjugate mirror (pumped at the central fore catch up with the leading (that is, slower) part of the pulse: the
frequency component of the pulse) placed midway along a fiber- pulse is renarrowed and the cable can transmit more information.
80

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:27 UTC
INPUT
� ORDINARY
INPUT PHASE-CONJUGATE MIRROR
1
~ ��I
OFF
MIRROR
------:;..
PUMP BEAMS
t t t t t
I�I
OUTPUT
PULSE
1
OUTPUT
PULSE
t t t t t
PUMP BEAMS
� �I
OFF
~
TEMPORAL REVERSAL of a pulse sequence is achieved by a gate mirror (right) will reverse the temporal ordering if the mirror
phase-conjugate mirror. An ordinary mirror (left) preserves the is turned on when the entire pulse is inside the mirror. The mirror is
temporal ordering of a pulse sequence on reflection. A phase-conju- actuated by applying two reference, or pump, beams to the mirror.
set in different typefaces (Gothic and memory information and phase-con lasers (one to provide the pump beams
Roman, say) or that one or both are jugate mirrors to provide the neces and the other to provide the probe
blurred or even have missing areas. sary image feedback [see bottom illustra beam) that have slightly different fre
These examples are of particular inter tion on page 79]. Physically the device quencies may be involved in a given
'
est because they correspond to daily is simply a resonator capped with a system; a pulse of light, which con
experience: one recalls an incomplete phase-conjugate mirror at each end. sists of a continuous band of fre
image through a complicated process The holographic memory element is quencies, could be incident on a phase
known as associative memory. positioned within the resonator cavi conjugate mirror.
Teuvo K. Kohonen of the Universi ty. One of the phase-conjugate mirrors As Yariv, Fekete and I suggested in
ty of Helsinki and more recently John has a threshold characteristic that en 1979, a phase-conjugate mirror could
J. Hopfield of Caltech have developed ables it to select the features stored in possibly be exploited to compensate
models of associative memory, var memory that have the most in com for pulse-spreading effects in fiber-op
iations of which can be realized by mon with those of an input image for tic cables. Such effects limit the infor
means of a system containing phase the next iteration. mation-handling rate of a cable since
conjugate mirrors. The model might Although digital computers can exe densely spaced pulses that spread ap
provide insight into how neural net cute image processing and associative preciably can spill into one another,
works within the brain function. The memory functions, they do the job in rendering the data string unrecogniz
basic idea consists of a mathematical discrete steps. The optical approach able. The spreading occurs because the
algorithm that, in essence, compares offers an advantage: image informa frequency components of a pulse trav
a given input data string with one in tion can be processed in a parallel el at slightly different speeds through
memory, generates a new version of manner. In other words, the entire pic a given material. If a four-wave-mix
the data string and then iterates, or re ture field is processed at the same time. ing phase-conjugate mirror is placed
peats, the procedure with the new ver at the midpoint of a fiber-optic cable
sion as the input. The comparison, se Frequency Effects that is transmitting a pulse, the fre
lection and feedback process repeats quency components will be reordered
until the input and output data strings Throughout the discussion of the ap so that the slower-propagating frequen
cor;"'erge, or agree. Many research plications of four-wave mixing the im cies leave the mirror before the faster
grouA induding those led by H. John plicit assumption has been made that propagating frequencies do. The fast
Caulfield of the University of Ala the three input beams and the one out er-propagating ones will therefore
bama, Demetri Psaltis of Caltech, put beam have the same frequency, or catch up with slower ones on transit
A. D. Fisher of the U.S. Naval Re optical wavelength. Such a scenario through the second half of the cable,
search Laboratories and A. A. Vede is known as the "degenerate" case. In restoring the quality of the pulse by re
nov of the I. V. Kurchatov Institute of 1978 Richard L. Abrams of Hughes narrowing it to its original state.
Atomic Energy in the U.S.S.R., have and I analyzed the case of "nearly de How does a phase-conjugate mirror
been exploiting electronic techniques generate" four-wave mixing, an exam reorder the frequency components of a
(computers) and electro-optical tech ple of which occurs when the frequen pulse? In the degenerate case the probe
niques to simulate the process. cy of the incident probe is slightly beam and one of the two counter
More recently Bernard H. Soffer, shifted with respect to the frequency of propagating pump beams generate a
Dunning, Yuri Owechko and Emanuel the two identical pump beams. stationary optical interference pattern
Marom, all at Hughes, and, indepen There are several situations in which within the medium of the four-wave
dently, Dana Z. Anderson of the Joint nearly degenerate four-wave mixing mixer. The other pump beam is reflect
Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics occurs: the frequency of a probe beam ed from the pattern and produces the
in Colorado are developing architec reflected from a moving satellite phase-conjugate beam. In the nearly
tures for all-optical associative memo would be Doppler-shifted with respect degenerate case the frequency shift
ries. The Hughes scheme uses a con to the pump beams in a ground-based causes the interference pattern to
ventional fixed hologram to store the phase-conjugate mirror; two separate move through space, creating a mov-
81

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:27 UTC
ing phase-conjugate mirror within the quency. The actual properties of the when the probe beam as well as both
medium of the four-wave mixer. As filter depend on the geometry of the pump beams are illuminating the non
a result, when the other pump beam phase-conjugate mirror and the specif linear medium. Hence by turning on
is reflected, its frequency is Doppler ic nonlinear medium employed. The or off one or more beams the reflec
shifted (just as the pitch of a train filter will not function, for example, tivity of the mirror is controlled and a
whistle changes when the train passes unless the atoms of the medium can message can be encoded in the output
a stationary observer). Conservation respond fast enough to the moving in conjugate beam.
of energy requires the frequency shift terference pattern. First proposed in Suppose a satellite is equipped with
of the conjugate beam in relation to the 1978 by Abrams and me, phase-con a low-power beacon laser. Assume
pump beams to be equal in magnitude jugate narrow-band filters have now now that this probe laser is directed to
but opposite in sign to the frequency been constructed in various laborato a ground station equipped with a la
shift of the probe beam; the frequen ries, using a host of nonlinear mediums ser amplifier and a four-wave-mixing
cy distribution of the probe wave is and laser sources. Although in the phase-conjugate mirror. If the conju
"flipped" symmetrically. future the filters might replace con gator is pulse-encoded, it not only will
By changing the frequencies of the ventional models in satellite and oth compensate for atmospheric turbu
various beams that interact in a phase er communication systems, at present lence and amplifier distortions but also
conjugate mirror a so-called narrow they are merely intriguing devices. will direct an encoded message back
band reflective optical filter can also to the satellite. Moreover, under the
be realized. Typically such a filter will Time-Domain Applications proper conditions the system can track
block (that is, not conjugate or reflect) the spacecraft's motion.
all frequencies except those within a Another major class of information A phase-conjugate mirror can also
very narrow band that can be one ten processing techniques involves pulsing reverse a pulse sequence in time so that
millionth of the optical frequency. In one or more of the interacting optical the last part of the sequence to enter
contrast, a simple piece of colored beams of a four-wave mixer to encode the device is the first to leave. Such
glass has a relatively coarse band-pass messages. Such a system could be used a pulse-sequence reversal device was
filter: it will pass light having a fre to effectively communicate with a sat proposed independently by David A.
quency that is within a band equal to ellite. A reflected wave can be generat B. Miller, then at Heriot-Watt Univer
about a hundredth of the optical fre- ed by a phase-conjugate mirror only sity in Edinburgh, O'Meara and Yariv.
ORDINARY
MIRROR
(
(
)
OFF
PHASE-CONJUGATE
MIRROR
OFF
ON
PARALLEL AMPLIFYING SYSTEM could be used to initiate mirror. By the time they reach the mirror they are out of step
fusion. A fusion pellet is illuminated by a pulsed low-power la because they have traveled different distances. When all the pulses
ser (blue). Pulses scattered from the pellet pass through the three are inside the mirror, it is turned on, conjugating each pulse and re
parallel laser amplifiers shown here. The intensity of the individual versing their temporal order with respect to one another (red). On
pulses is increased, but at the expense of introducing distortions. the return trip the distortions are removed and the pulses become
The pulses are then directed to a four-wave-mixing phase-conjugate synchronized, so that an intense pulse of radiation hits the pellet.
82

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It could have important consequences Spectroscopy, the study of the interac mirror? In an ordinary mirror the
in laser-fusion research. tion of matter and radiation, has par viewer obviously sees his or her face.
Imagine a phase-conjugate mirror so ticularly benefited. In this application Some of the light scattered from vari
long that a pulse sequence can spatial the experimental picture is turned ous parts of the face will be reflected
ly fit in the nonlinear medium. (A pulse around: the three input beams (the by the mirror and find its way into
that has a duration of a billionth of probe beam and the two pump beams) one's eye. The phase-conjugate mirror,
a second would, for example, require are now used to investigate the prop on the other hand, would direct any
a foot-long phase-conjugate mirror.) erties of the nonlinear medium it light scattered from the face right back
When all the pulse sequence is con self. One can, for example, explore to its point of origin. Light scattered
tained within the medium, one imme the physics and spectroscopy of four from the nose will therefore be reflect
diately turns on the phase-conjugate wave-mixing processes by measuring ed and sent back to the nose. The only
mirror by activating the two counter the intensity of the phase-conjugate light seen by the viewer would be the
propagating pump waves. Once the beam as a function of such parameters illumination light that initially scatters
pump waves are activated, the last part as the polarization, frequency, intensi from the cornea, strikes the phase
of the pulse sequence to enter the me ty and angle of incidence of the pump conjugate mirror and returns to the
dium will be the first part to leave it. and probe beams, the pressure of a eye. In other words, the viewer would
O' Meara has combined the features buffer gas (in the case of a gaseous me see a uniformly lighted mirror surface
of the pulse-seq uence reversal device dium) and the intensity of applied elec with no obvious details. A second per
with a· double-pass compensation tric and magnetic fields. son looking at the viewer directly
scheme. In this arrangement a phase The application of these techniq ues (that is, not by way of the mirror)
conjugate beam propagates backward to such nonlinear mediums as atomic would, however, see the viewer's face
through a medium to compensate for vapors, aerosols, photorefractive crys illuminated by the action of the phase
distortions. He has also proposed a tals and various organic species pro conjugate mirror.
system that could simultaneously syn vides another source of detailed infor As a rather speculative note on
chronize pulses from a chain of la mation about fundamental atomic and which to conclude, I shall point to an
ser amplifiers arranged in a parallel quantum-mechanical processes. Even intriguing curiosity. The particle-wave
configuration. The system could il though the field of laser spectroscopy duality of light and matter raises the
luminate a fusion pellet and com has existed for many years, the phase question of whether the propagation
pensate for optical distortions intro conjugate geometry offers yet another of matter can be reversed. The non
duced in the process, thereby optimiz tool for gaining insight into the inter linear optical interactions leading to
ing performance. action of light with matter. phase conjugation involve stimulated
The freedom to encode temporally In addition the quantum-optical effects and are therefore restricted by
the various beams in an independent properties of interactions producing a law in physics, the Pauli exclusion
manner can be exploited to realize yet phase-conjugate beams may be useful principle, to particles known as bo
another class of all-optical processors in realizing novel classes of ultrasensi sons. All bosons are integer-spin par
known as time-domain convolvers and tive detectors, which might be sensitive ticles. (Spin is a parameter of q uan
correiators. The correlator, as an ex enough to respond to gravitational tum theory.) A photon, or quantum of
ample (proposed by O'Meara and Ya waves or to tap an optical-fiber tele light, for instance, has a spin of 1 and is
riv), is in essence a temporal analogue phone line. Although the development therefore a boson. Electrons, protons,
to the spatial-domain, real-time pat is still in its infancy, research is being neutrons and certain unstable elemen
tern-recognition device and so can rec carried out on an international level. tary particles, on the other hand, are
ognize a given pulse sequence. Other The concepts, techniques and basic fermions, or half-integer spin particles,
variations of such a processor can rap applications of optical phase conj u and as such are forbidden by the Pauli
idly encode and decode temporal mes gation can in principle be applied to exclusion principle to take part in stim
sages. These time-domain schemes most other areas of the electromag ulated interactions.
could be employed in signal proces netic spectrum. This may open the Many classes of bosons such as heli
sors, radars and optical devices. door to microwave phase conjugation, um-4 nuclei (composed of two pro
Govind P. Agrawal and Christos for instance, with obvious applications tons and two neutrons), Cooper pairs
Flytzanis of QUANTEL in France have in the fields of radar, millimeter-wave (electron-positron quasi particles ex
suggested that phase conjugation could imaging systems and high-frequency isting in superconductors) and certain
also be used to sense the state of the temporal signal processing, as well as short-lived elementary particles (pi
optical logic elements forming the microwave spectroscopy. and K mesons, for example) can in
heart of potential optical computers. Groups in the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. principle take part in "time-reversed"
An optical logic element might consist are also considering such candidates as matter-wave interactions. Superfluids
of counterpropagating beams in a non phonons (sound waves) for phase-con and superconductors may be suitable
linear medium, an arrangement resem jugation experiments. Acoustic-wave mediums for such interactions. The ac
bling the configuration of the pump signal-processing devices and sonar tual realization, however, seems a faint
beams in a four-wave mixer. A probe are two areas that could benefit from possibility because of the weakness
beam properly directed into such a such research. The technology might of most particle-particle and particle
logic element would therefore be con ultimately allow for the detection and photon interactions, the requirement
jugated and could be read to ascertain tracking of submarines. of an intense, undistorted beam for
the logic state. The probe would not observing the effects, and the short
affect the operation or modify the log Answers and Questions lifetime of many bosons. Yet before
ic state of the memory element. the invention of the laser the field of
Now that the reader has been ex nonlinear optics (which is the back
Fundamental Studies posed to many of the potential applica bone of optical phase conjugation),
tions of optical phase conjugation, I although known in principle, was itself
The emergence of optical phase con shall provide the solution to the ques a gedanken, or thought, experiment
jugation has unified many areas of ap tion posed earlier: What do you see and was therefore ruled out as a via
plied and fundamental optical physics. when you look at a phase-conjugate ble experimental possibility.
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Mineral Deposits
from Sea-Floor Hot Springs
Seawater circulating through fractured volcanic rock above sources
of heat participates in chemical exchanges with the rock. A major
result is significant deposits of metal, some now uplifted onto land
by Peter. A. Rona
hen the theory of plate tec that is capable of concentrating metal Seawater and fractured oceanic crust
W tonics gained wide accept

ance some 15 years ago, it
brought good news and what seemed
lic mineral deposits.
Such deposits could not form were it
not that the oceanic crust is fractured.
are ubiquitous in ocean basins, but
heat sources capable of convectively
driving seawater through the crust are
at the time to be bad news. The good The crust fractures because it con localized. They exist mainly at sites
news was that the theory explained tracts as it cools from its original mol where molten rock separates from the
the way the earth works: Continent.s ten state to a solid. Movement of the mantle and rises into the crust to form
are continually in motion and ocean crust as it forms at spreading centers magma chambers. The chambers are
basins open and close as new oceanic and fluid pressures augment the effect. distributed along the boundaries that
crust is created by sea-floor spreading Hence seawater can penetrate through segment the earth's lithosphere, or rig
and old oceanic crust is destroyed by the crust, which is typically six kilome id outer shell, into 10 major plates and
reassimilation into the earth's interi ters thick, to the underlying mantle. numerous minor ones. Magma cham
or. The apparent bad news was that Where heat sources exist in or under bers are also found under volcanic
the young age and homogeneous com the crust, a convective circulation of sites in plate interiors away from plate
position of the newly created oceanic seawater through permeable crust re boundaries, an example being the Ha
crust would seem to preclude the for sults. (In convection heat is transport waiian Islands within the Pacific plate.
mation of significant deposits of met ed by a fluid, which can be air as well The magnitude of the thermal and
als in ocean basins. Recent discover as water.) A sea-floor convection sys chemical exchange between the ocean
ies of metal-rich hot springs associated tem involves a downwelling of cold ic crust and seawater convectively cir
with mineral deposits in ocean basins and dense seawater through permeable culating at plate boundaries is impres
have changed the picture. The finding oceanic crust that is associated with a sive. Thomas J. Wolery and Norman
may eventually lead to mining in the heat source. The water is heated and H. Sleep of Northwestern Universi
sea on a commercial scale. It also elu wells upward. Such a system, involv ty estimated the circulation. They as
cidates the origin of some of the ma ing the convective circulation of hot sumed that the difference between the
jor mineral deposits on land. and aqueous (hydrothermal) solutions, calculated amount of heat delivered to
The older model of a static earth promotes both efficient thermal and sea-floor spreading centers (the bound
envisioned the ocean basins as pas chemical exchanges between the ocean aries where plates diverge) by the crea
sive sinks for the material weathered and the oceanic crust. tion of oceanic crust and the average
from continents and transported to the measured heat flow through sea-floor
T chambers
oceans, primarily by rivers. This mod he principal sources of heat are materials is attributable to cooling by
el accounted for the only deposits of containing magma, or the convective circulation of seawater.
minerals on the sea floor then known. molten rock. Heat also originates from They estimated that the entire mass
They consist of gold, tin, titanium, dia chemical reactions between seawater of the oceans circulates through the
monds and other heavy materials me and certain constituents of the man crust at oceanic ridges every 10 mil
chanically eroded from exposed rocks tle rock. An additional heat source is lion years. On an annual basis the mass
on land and concentrated in pockets on the geothermal gradient: the increase flow rate is comparable to that of the
the sea floor by flowing water, and also in the temperature of the earth with Amazon River.
of phosphorite and manganese chemi depth, primarily due to the dissipation A two-way chemical exchange oc
cally precipitated in the form of nod of heat from the radioactive decay of curs as seawater convectively circu
ules and crusts from materials dis elements in the crust and mantle. lates through oceanic crust at high
solved in seawater.
As the dynamic-earth model of plate
tectonics developed, it became evident
SEA-FLOOR CHIMNEY several meters high on the East Pacific Rise vents hot water,
that the ocean basins were themselves precipitating particles of iron-copper-zinc sulfides assimilated in chemical reactions with
a source of heat and metals. The met fractured rocks in the oceanic crust. The investigators who found such chimneys in 1979
als result from an exchange process be called them black smokers because they resemble smokestacks. The photograph was made
tween the ocean and the oceanic crust by Kyung-Ryul Kim from the submersible Alvin. Part of the sampling equipment is visible.
84

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:40 UTC

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:40 UTC
temperatures. Certain elements and anomalous physical and chemical con energIZIng the hydrothermal circula
compounds, notably magnesium and ditions must apply if ore-forming hy tion, and (5) continuing volcanic ac
sulfate, are removed from the water drothermal convection systems that tivity or sedimentation to bury a sea
and transferred into the crust. Other concentrate mineral deposits are to floor mineral deposit and so protect it
elements, notably certain alkali metals arise. The physical conditions include from oxidation and disintegration.
such as lithium and potassium, alka (1) high thermal gradients to vigorous The chemical environment that fa
line earths such as calcium and bari ly drive the upwelling limb of convec cilitates the dissolution of metals from
um and transition metals such as cop tively circulating fluid; (2) a combina the crust and their transport, precipita
per, iron, manganese and zinc, are dis tion of low permeability in the zone of tion and concentration in a sea-floor
solved from the crust and transferred heat exchange (to maintain the tem deposit can be described as follows.
to the circulating seawater, turning the perature of the solution at several Seawater that is cold, dense, alkaline,
water into a metal-bearing solution. hundred degrees Celsius) and discrete oxidizing and poor in metals pene
John M. Edmond and his colleagues at zones of high permeability (to channel trates down through permeable crust,
the Massachusetts Institute of Tech the upward flow and focus the dis assimilates heat by flowing near a mag
nology determined that the magnitude charge through an impermeable cap ma chamber and rises in the upwelling
of some of these exchanges is compa rock, or overlying layer, so that de limb. As the thermally expanded sea
rable to the input of the same elements posits are concentrated rather than water moves up through the crust it
and compounds by rivers carrying ma dispersed); (3) crustal movements to takes part in the two-way chemical
terials weathered from the continents create a suitable distribution of per reactions with the surrounding rocks.
to the oceans. meable zones; (4) injections of mag The magnesium transferred from the
A circulating fluid is not enough: ma to replenish the magma chamber water combines with hydroxide and
\
\
\
\
I
I
I
\
\ NOR T H
AMERICAN
P LATE
HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS
PACIFIC
PLATE
]
)
AMERICAN
PLATE
MINERAL DEPOSITS formed by sea-floor hot springs are identi id, fractured volcanic rock or sediment as a permeable medium and
fied by the colored circles on this map. The conditions necessary for a source of metals, and a magma chamber as a source of heat. Fa
the formation of such a deposit are seawater as an ore-forming flu- vorable conditions occur at sites along the boundaries of the plates
86

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:40 UTC
silica to form mineral phases in the Toronto and William S. Fyfe of the wide, flanked by marginal zones within
crust. The reaction is accompanied by University of Western Ontario have which the oceanic crust generated by
the release of hydrogen ions, produc calculated that cooling 350 cubic kil spreading in the axial zone is broken
ing acidity in the solution. Seawater ometers of magma will heat 1,000 cu into fault blocks by movements of
sulfate (S04) is reduced to sulfur by bic kilometers of circulating seawater the crust.
reaction with ferrous iron in volcan (equal to the annual runoff of the Spreading centers exhibit systematic
ic rock and forms hydrogen sulfide Chang Jiang, or Yangzi River) to 300 differences related to the rate of sea
(H2S). An acidic solution evolves that degrees C. At a metal concentration floor spreading. The rate of spreading
aggressively dissolves metals existing of one part per million that seawater on each side of an axis is classified as
at very low concentrations (parts per has the capacity to deposit one mil slow (two centimeters or less per year),
billion) in the oceanic crust. lion metric tons of metal. as in the Atlantic Ocean, and interme
Additional sources of metals are flu diate or fast, as in the Pacific. As the
A mechanisms precipitate the met

ids derived from magma and vola variety of chemical and physical rate of spreading increases, the differ
tile elements derived from the mantle ence in altitude between the axial and
(antimony, arsenic, mercury and sele als from solution and concentrate the marginal zones decreases (from
nium). The metals are transported, them as mineral deposits, both along several kilometers to hundreds of me
primarily as complexes with chlorine the upwelling zone within the crust and ters) and the underlying magma cham
from the original seawater, at concen on the sea floor, where the solutions bers become wider (20 kilometers
trations of from one to 100 parts per discharge as metal-rich hot springs. rather than one kilometer) and shal
million in the hydrothermal solutions. The two chief precipitation mecha lower (one kilometer rather than six
Ed T. C. Spooner of the University of nisms are mixing and boiling. kilometers). The common features as
Mixing of the hydrothermal solu well as the systematic differences be
tion with normal seawater may take tween spreading centers influence the
place when the confining pressure of nature of the ore-forming hydrother
the overlying seawater prevents boil mal systems.
ing, as is the case when the water depth
E
is more than 2,000 meters and the wa xplorations by oceanographic re
ter temperature is 350 degrees C. The search vessels of many nations are
result is a quenching of the solution, developing a clear picture of sea-floor
lowering its temperature and changing mineralization in different settings of
its composition from acidic to alka sea-floor spreading. The mineralizing
line. Metallic minerals precipitate rap process exhibits many common fea
idly. Under reducing conditions (the tures and some differences that depend
ANATOLIAN PLATE absence of free oxygen) the metals on the setting. Sites in the Red Sea rep
combine with sulfur derived from sea resent mineralization in one setting: an
water and dissolved from the crust early stage of the opening of an ocean
to deposit polymetallic sulfides. Under basin, associated with a slow spreading
oxidizing conditions the metals com center that bisects the Red Sea. There
bine with oxygen, hydroxide, silica sul hot, metal-rich brines fill a number of
fate or carbonate to deposit metallic basins along the axial zone. The brines
oxides, hydroxides, silicates, sulfates are produced by ore-forming hydro
or carbonates. thermal convection systems that oper
Boiling takes place when the confin ate in the basins. Cold, dense seawater
: RIC A N
ing pressure of the overlying seawater that penetrates down through volcanic
decreases to the critical point, which rocks in marginal zones becomes un
usually occurs at water depths of less usually salty because it passes through
than 2,000 meters for a solution at 350 thick beds of rock salt (sodium chlo
P L ATE
degrees C. A liquid phase containing ride) buried in the crust. Such beds are
the sodium chloride separates from a characteristic of an early stage of the
vapor phase that retains the hydrogen opening of an ocean basin, when un
sulfide. Boiling may result in the pre der dry climatic conditions evapora
cipitation of polymetallic sulfide de tion exceeds the replenishment of sea
posits under the sea floor or in the dis water because the inflow from exterior
charge of a hypersaline brine denser oceans is restricted by the surrounding
than normal seawater. landmasses.
The anomalous physical and chem As the salinity increases, salt crystals
ical conditions for ore-forming hy precipitate, settle and accumulate in
drothermal convection systems appear thick beds on the sea floor. The high
in sea-floor spreading centers that ex salinity of the circulating solutions en
hibit both common features and dif hances their capacity to transport dis
ferences. All spreading centers have a solved metals as complexes with chlo
segmented structure along their axes, ride from the salt. It also decreases
consisting of linear segments some 10 their density, so that the heated solu
kilometers long that alternate with tions collect as density-stratified brines
transverse offsets at fracture zones when they discharge from the floors
ranging from a few kilometers to of the basins. Metals precipitate from
that make up the lithosphere (the earth's hundreds of kilometers in length. All the hot brines as particulate mineral
rigid outer shell) and in volcanic regions spreading centers have an axial zone of phases that settle in the basins and
within plates, as in the Hawaiian Islands. volcanic activity about one kilometer are trapped, forming layered deposits
87

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:40 UTC
COPPER-IRON-ZINC SULFIDES COPPER-IRON-ZINC SULFIDES
of metalliferous sediments up to 100
AND/OR· : : AND/OR
•
kilometers thick.
' The metal-complexing capacity and
IRON-MANGANESE OXIDES. . IRON-MANGANESE OXIDES the density stratification of the brines
.
. ' .
AND HYDROXIDES AND AND HYDROXIDES AND

: make the Red Sea hydrothermal con
. '.
IRON SILICATES .. . : IRON SILICATES

vection systems exceptionally efficient
in the transport and trapping of met
als. The largest metal deposit known at
any sea-floor spreading center is a lay
ered, polymetallic sulfide body with
SEAWATER SEAWATER
in the seven-kilometer diameter of the
1 J
Atlantis II Deep in the axial zone of the
Red Sea, in water 2,000 meters deep
due west of Mecca. The deposit is esti
COPPER-IRON-ZINC SULFI DES mated to contain a salt-free bulk dry
COPPER weight of 100 million metric tons and
COPPER
to consist of 29 percent iron, 2 to 5
percent zinc, .3 to .9 percent copper, 60
parts per million of silver (6,000 met
ric tons at 1.8 ounces per ton) and .5
part per million of gold (50 metric tons
at .015 ounce per ton).
This deposit ranks with the larger
ancient sulfide deposits on land. The
Saudi-Sudanese Red Sea Commission,
which represents the adjacent coastal
states, sponsored a mining-feasibility
test there in 1979. The commission
plans to undertake a full-scale pilot
mining operation when the world met
al market improves.
HELIUM , METHANE (?) HELIUM, METHANE (?) As an ocean basin widens by slow
.£\. spreading from the early stage
MAGMA CHAMBER represented by the Red Sea to the ad
vanced stage of opening represented
by the Atlantic, several changes take
MINERALIZATION PROCESS is shown in a cross-sectional view of two symmetrical
place. The oceanic circulation changes
hydrothermal convective circulation systems at a sea-floor spreading center. Seawater pen
etrates downward to a depth of several kilometers through fractured crust containing vari
from restricted to unrestricted; more
ous metals. Heat from an underlying magma chamber causes the water to expand and to oxygen is present, so that conditions
rise convectively. The heated water dissolves a number of elements, including metals, from shift from reducing to oxidizing, and
the rock and loses a few elements. Additional metals may come from the magma chamber the salinity of hydrothermal solutions
and the underlying mantle, along with helium and possibly methane gas. In "leaky" systems generally decreases to that of nor
fresh seawater penetrates downward and mixes with the upwelling hot, metal-rich solutions, mal seawater as the rock-salt beds are
triggering the precipitation of metals as sulfides in the crust; metals remaining in solution moved away from the axial zone by
are deposited on the sea floor from hot springs. In "tight" systems the solutions discharge
the spreading sea floor. Any sulfide de
directly into hot springs that deposit sulfides on the sea floor. The diagram is schematic.
posits exposed on the sea floor would
be decomposed by oxidation unless
they were preserved by an imperme
CONSTITUENT BASALT SEAWATER RIDGE/RIVER
able cover of sediment or lava. Depos
COPPER (Cu) -
+ its such as those of the Atlantis II Deep
IRON (Fe) -
+ may lie under such layers at sites along
MANGANESE (Mn) -
+ 1 the margins of the Atlantic. Indeed, a
ZINC (Zn) -
+ strip of deposits may be concentrated
POTASSIUM (K) -
+ 2/3 in oceanic crust along the flow lines of
LI THIUM (Li) -
+ 10 sea-floor spreading from an enduring
RUBIDIUM (Rb) -
+
hydrothermal system such as the one
BARIUM (Ba) -
+ 2/3
at the Atlantis II Deep.
CALCIUM (Ca) -
+ 1
Evidence that deposits of this type
SILICA (SiO,) -
+ 2/3
exist was obtained by the ship Discover
MAGNESIUM (Mg) + -
1
1 er of the National Oceanic and Atmos
SULFATE (SO,) + -
SODIUM (Na) + -
VARIABLE
pheric Administration in 1972. The
CHLORINE (CI) ? ? VARIABLE ship was making a transect to charac
terize the sea floor across the Mid-At
lantic Ridge at the latitude of Miami.
EXCHANGE OF CHEMICALS between circulating seawater and the basaltic rock of the
On the east wall of the axial valley
mantle is charted. The temperature is assumed to be between 200 and 400 degrees Celsius.
A minus sign means the basalt or the seawater is a source of the element, a plus sign that it
of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge the ship un
is a sink. The column at the right shows the ratio of the amount of the material introduced expectedly dredged a black, layered,
to the oceans by hot springs at oceanic ridges to the amount introduced by rivers flow crumbly specimen of rock. It was ex
ing off the continents. With lithium, for example, ridges deliver 10 times more than rivers. tremely pure manganese oxide (50 per-
88

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:40 UTC
cent manganese) that had accumulated ments of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge pro could be produced by a "leaky" hydro
quite rapidly, indicating that it origi vide partial windows deeper into the thermal convection system. In such a
nated by precipitation from low-tem crust. In 1976 Enrico Bonatti, who was system normal seawater leaks down
perature (less than 200 degrees C.), then at the University of Miami, and ward and mixes with upwelling hydro
metal-rich hot springs. The site has his colleagues dredged volcanic rocks thermal solutions to precipitate either
been named the TAG Hydrothermal from the walls of the equatorial Atlan copper-iron sulfides, under reducing
Field (for the Trans-Atlantic Geotrav tic fracture zones that contained a net conditions within the crust, or layered
erse project). It is still being investigat work of copper-iron sulfide veins. Bo manganese deposits, under oxidiz
ed, in part through dives with the sub natti and his associates drew an anal ing conditions where the residual so
mersible Alvin. ogy between these veins and a type of lutions discharge at the sea floor.
The layered manganese oxide de sulfide that underlies many ancient
M
posits produced by the discharge of ore bodies, called massive sulfide bod ineralization in the setting of an
low-temperature hot springs at the ies, on land. early stage of the opening of
TAG field lie on top of the volcan The combination of such deposits an ocean basin associated with an in
ic rocks of oceanic crust. The walls below the sea floor and layered manga termediate-to-fast spreading center is
of large fracture zones that offset seg- nese oxide deposits on the sea floor represented by sites in the axial zone
1.5
(j)
a:
w
f
W
::;;:
o
...J
g
I
f
a.
w
o
2
BASALT
t
0 2 22
DISTANCE (KILOMETERS)
1,700
RED SEA sea-floor mineralization typifies
AXIAL BASIN
one kind of setting in which the process
takes place: an early stage of the opening of
MnO" FE(OH), an ocean basin, associated with a slow sea
1,800 floor spreading center. The crust of the Red
1't Sea basin contains thick beds of rock salt
CaSO.
formed under earlier conditions. Seawater
(j)
a:
w
1,900 '--tf penetrating down through the crust becomes
unusually salty; the salt both enhances the
f-
W DENSITY-STRATIFIED HOT BRINE ability of the solution to transport metals as
6 complexes with chloride from the salt and
I increases the density of the solution. The
f-
a. 2,000 result is a density-stratified, metal-rich hot
w
0 brine that forms ponds in axial basins as is
shown at the left. The reactions represented
are the precipitation of metals as copper
2, 100 iron-lead-zinc sulfide particles under reduc
ing (no free oxygen) conditions in the lower
layers of the hot brines and as sulfate parti
cles under oxidizing conditions where the
2,200 upper layers of the brine mix with seawater.
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 The particles settle to the sea floor to form
DISTANCE (KILOMETERS) layered deposits of metalliferous sediment.
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of the Gulf of California such as the Gulf of California at 21 degrees north only a matter of years. Their short life
Guaymas basin. This basin contains latitude on the East Pacific Rise. In is deduced from radiometric dating of
several hundred meters of sediment 1978 a team of French, American and chimney materials, the residence time
contributed by the surrounding rivers. Mexican investigators, making a geo of convectively circulating solutions,
The sediment is intermixed with tiny logic transect across the site in the the age of associated organisms and
shells of calcium carbonate and silica French submersible Cyana, happened the calculated rate of heat dissipation
from organisms that settle from sur to observe and sample curious mounds in excess of the heat replenishment by
face waters. An ore-forming hydro up to 10 meters high at a margin of sea-floor spreading. The chimneylike
thermal convection system is inferred, the axial zone in water 2,600 meters vents rise as much as 10 meters above
involving a downwelling of seawater deep. Some months later, workers in mounds of about the same height that
through the sediment and its interac the IFREMER (Institut Fran�ais de Re are mainly composed of debris from
tion with hot volcanic rocks underly cherche pour I'Exploitation de la Mer) the disintegration of the chimneys. A
ing the basin to form hydrothermal so Laboratory in Brest determined that horizontal section through a chimney
lutions that dissolve metals from the the material was composed of copper is likely to show several minerals with
rock and sediment. As the solutions iron-zinc sulfides, making the curious in a radius of a few centimeters. Cop
well upward they become alkaline by mounds the first massive sulfide bodies per-iron sulfides precipitated from the
reacting with the carbonate-rich sedi found on the sea floor. Massive sulfide hottest solutions line the orifice; mov
ment, and they precipitate metallic sul bodies are economically among the ing outward, one finds iron-zinc sul
fide deposits (copper, iron, lead and most important types of ancient min fides intergrown with calcium sulfate
zinc) that are conserved within the sea eraI deposits mined on land. precipitated from lower-temperature
floor. At the sea floor the solutions de In 1979 a team of American, French solutions that have mixed with seawa
posit the remaining metals in various and Mexican investigators made dives ter. The grade of the chimney metals is
mineral phases in the form of pagoda at the same site in Alvin. Near the relict comparable to that of many ancient
shaped edifices surmounting mounds massive sulfide mounds they made massive sulfides on land. A typical
up to 20 meters high. Such mounds a dramatic discovery: turbulent black mound at the Pacific site contains 31
were first observed in dives with Alvin clouds of fluid that billowed up from percent zinc, 14 percent iron, 1 percent
led by Peter F. Lonsdale of the Scripps chimneylike vents. They named these copper, five ounces of silver per met
Institution of Oceanography in 1977. features black smokers by analogy ric ton and trace amounts of gold.
Where the hot solutions flow through with factory smokestacks. The venting The quantity of metal in a typical sin
sediments rich in organic matter the fluid is a high-temperature (350 de gle chimney mound (up to several
matter is cracked to form gas and oil grees C.), clear, acidic, reducing met thousand metric tons), however, is
that impregnate the sediment and rise al-rich hydrothermal solution. Mixing too small to qualify as a prospect for
from the sea floor as plumes of bub with the ambient seawater causes cop commercial mining.
bles and droplets. per-iron-zinc sulfides to precipitate as The hydrothermal convection sys
A site representative of mineraliza fine black particles suspended in the tems that produce the black smokers
tion in an advanced stage of the open buoyantly rising black plumes. are primarily "tight." Seawater pene
ing of an ocean basin lies south of the Individual black smokers persist for trates one or two kilometers to a mag-
EASTERN ASIA EAST PACIFIC RISE

CONTINENT MARGINAL SEA ISLAND CHAIN
METALS, METALS,
METALS HYDROCARBONS METALS HYDROCARBONS
if)
IT:
W
f-
w
::?:
o
....J
g
�
0..
200
W
o
300
o 15,000 15,200 18,700

DISTANCE (KILOMETERS)
SETTINGS OF SEA-FLOOR HOT SPRINGS are shown in this spreading center (the East Pacific Rise), a volcanic island arc above
schematic cross section of the Pacific Ocean. The settings are a a subdnction zone at a convergent plate boundary and a marginal
90

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:40 UTC
rna chamber. The heated water wells sequence a vapor separated from a the components of a hydrothermal
up, evolves into a hydrothermal so dense liquid that had formed a pond convection system are present. Exper
lution by chemical exchange with the in the caldera. imenters have caused rock to react
volcanic rocks and discharges direct with seawater at elevated tempera
W emerging knowledge of sea-floor

ly from the sea floor without signifi hat are the applications of this tures and pressures in closed contain
cant prior mixing. Under conditions ers. They have found that reaction
of unrestricted oceanic circulation on mineralization? Sea-floor mining may with diverse volcanic rock types or cer
an oceanic ridge such as the East Pa still be in the future, but the discover tain types of sediment produces acid
cific Rise this convection is inefficient ies of metal-rich hot springs at sea ic, reducing, metal-rich solutions simi
as an ore-depositing system because floor spreading centers are elucidating lar to those discharged from sea-floor
nearly all the metals discharged in a the processes that formed many an hot springs. The finding implies that
black smoker literally go up in smoke cient hydrothermal ore deposits now sea-floor hydrothermal ore-forming
and are dispersed by oceanic currents. on land. Since the 19th century a few processes transcend any particular set
Only small deposits remain in the form economic geologists had inferred that ting and apply to such diverse settings
of mounds surmounted by chimneys. submarine volcanic "exhalations" in as the spreading centers I have de
Two volcanic seamounts that have volving the localized expUlsion of scribed, to volcanic arcs and to rift
summits 2,000 meters down in the wa fluids must have had a significant role zones in continents.
ter off the spreading axis of the East in the formation of certain ore de The sea floor around volcanic arcs
Pacific Rise were investigated in 1982 posits. The recent discoveries fulfill overlying subduction zones at conver
by Bonatti, Rodey Batiza of Washing that vision. Moreover, the oceanic gent plate boundaries along the west
ton University and Thomas Simkin of hot springs offer natural laboratories ern Pacific encompasses the least ex
the Smithsonian Institution. In Alvin where ore-forming processes can be plored and most promising settings.
they dived into the summit calderas observed directly. Among them are the marginal seas
(circular depressions several kilome A narrow interpretation of this ap that lie between volcanic island arcs
ters in diameter formed by collapse plication is to extend the observations and an adjacent landmass. Examples
resulting from the withdrawal of mag to ophiolites: sections of oceanic crust are found near Japan, the Philippines,
ma from an underlying chamber) of and upper mantle generated at former Indonesia and Melanesia. Sea-floor
the seamounts. Various hydrothermal sea-floor spreading centers and subse spreading centers exist in many of
deposits were present in the calderas. quently lifted onto a landmass. The these marginal seas. Most of the mas
The investigators saw to their surprise hydrothermal deposits in ophiolites are sive sulfide deposits in ophiolites of
shimmering hydrothermal fluids that regarded as direct analogues of the de the Cyprus type were formed at such
were vented from chimneys and actu posits formed in the sea-floor settings I spreading centers.
ally flowed downhill. That meant the have described. A classic example is Another volcanic island-arc setting
emerging hot fluid was denser than the the ore deposits of the Troodos Massif, conducive to ore-forming hydrother
ambient cold seawater. Bonatti and his a 2,000-sq uare-kilometer area of an mal convection systems is the island
colleagues inferred that the hydrother cient oceanic crust exposed on the is arc proper and the region between it
mal solutions had boiled. As a con- land of Cyprus. The word copper was and a deep-sea trench where oceanic
derived from Kypros, an old name of crust enters a subduction zone. The
the island, and reflects the importance Kuroko (meaning black ore) massive
of the Troodos deposits as a source of copper-iron-Iead-zinc sulfides found
that metal from preclassical to modern on northern Honshu Island in Japan
SOUTH AMERICA (ANDES) times. Some 90 massive copper-iron represent such deposits. They con
zinc sulfide deposits occur as saucer tain remnants of sulfide chimneys like
METALS shaped bodies with dimensions of up those observed on the East Pacific Rise
to hundreds of meters in diameter and and are thought to have been formed
weights of up to 15 million metric tons. by black smokers venting on the sea
They fill depressions in volcanic lavas floor about 13 million years ago. There
that erupted on the sea floor about 85 are similar deposits of various ages on
million years ago. the island of Fiji, in the Buchans mine
The Troodos Massif is part of a belt of Newfoundland, at Avoca in east
of ophiolites containing similar ore ern Ireland and at Captain's Flat and
bodies that extends through southeast Woodlawn in eastern Australia.
ern Turkey, southern Iran and Oman. In contrast to the Kuroko deposits in
Other ophiolite belts of various ages volcanic rocks of an island arc, the
containing hydrothermal mineraliza Besshi copper-iron-Iead-zinc massive
tion extend through Tibet along the sulfide deposits of southern Honshu
northern margin of the Himalayas; on occur in sedimentary rocks interbed
islands of the western Pacific includ ded with volcanic rocks. Steven D.
ing the Philippines, New Guinea and Scott of the University of Toronto
New Caledonia; along the eastern and has drawn an analogy between the set
western margins of North America ting in which they were formed some
and the northern margin of South 200 million years ago and the deposits
America; in Italy's Apennine Moun forming in and on the sediments of the
tains; in western Scandinavia, and in Guaymas basin.
the Ural Mountains of the U.S.S.R.
19,300
I
A broader application is to treat the n the perspective of earth history, ep
sea-floor hot springs as natural labo isodes of local or global rifting of
sea between the island arc and an adjacent ratories in order to study hydrother landmasses created settings favorable
landmass, which in this case is eastern Asia. mal ore-forming processes wherever for sea-floor hydrothermal convection
91

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systems. The last global rifting episode conditions conducive to ,ea-floor ore cient mineral deposits concentrated by
took place about 200 million years forming hydrothermal convection sys such springs. The unifying process in
ago, when the supercontinent of Pan tems prevailed between 2.6 and 2.7 bil volves the exchange of heat and mass
gaea began to break up. Rifts that lion years ago in rocks of the Archean between volcanic rock and seawater
opened (and incipient rifts that failed period, which are exposed in the Cana circulating in sea-floor hydrothermal
to open) in the Atlantic and the Medi dian Shield of eastern Canada. More convection systems. The process is as
terranean passed through stages simi than 80 copper-zinc massive sulfide sociated with crustal rifting and vol
lar to the events taking place now in deposits are known to have formed canic activity in the different settings
the Red Sea and the Gulf of Califor during this period, including the larg of sea-floor spreading centers, volcan
nia. Hydrothermal deposits formed est one known (the 200-million-met ic island arcs and continents.
then that may now be buried under kil ric-ton Kidd Creek ore bodies in Tim Variations of the basic process pro
ometers of sediments. When plate di mons, Ontario) and deposits of the duce different kinds of deposits and
vergence was followed by the conver productive Noranda mining district may even converge to produce similar
gence and collision of plates, some of of Quebec. deposits. For example, similar saucer
these deposits were uplifted and ex The analogies that have been drawn shaped, layered massive sulfide depos
posed on land, as they were in Cyprus. between such old ore bodies and the its are formed by the development of
Similar episodes and sites can be mineralization processes taking place excess salinity either by the dissolution
identified in association with the ear in the sea today show how the thinking of local salt beds, as in the Atlantis II
lier Proterozoic period. Frederick J. of geologists has reversed since the ad Deep, or by boiling, as in the calde
Sawkins of the University of Minneso vent of plate tectonics 15 years ago. At ras of seamounts. In contrast, mound
ta has interpreted a number of sedi the time it was the general geological shaped deposits may be concentrated
mentary deposits formed between 750 opinion that mineralization was un by black smokers buoyantly venting
and 1,500 million years ago in the Pro likely in a dynamic sea floor. The dis from the sea floor. Variations in the
terozoic as the product of metal-rich coveries of mineralization at sea-floor metal content of the deposits are relat
hot springs discharging in settings like spreading centers since then demon ed to the metal content of the source
that of the Guaymas basin. The depos strate otherwise. What oceanic crust rocks; for example, hydrothermal cir
its include the Sullivan layered lead lacks in age, diversity of composition culation derives more lead from con
zinc sulfide ore body of southeastern and complex deformational history is tinental rocks than it does from ocean
British Columbia, the layered silver made up for by the intensity of hydro ic rocks. The interplay between the
lead-zinc' deposits of Mount Isa in thermal ore-forming processes wher investigation of mineral deposits at
Australia and the lead-zinc deposits ever there are adequate magmatic heat sea-floor hot springs and the study of
of the McArthur River, also in Aus sources at submerged plate bounda their ancient analogues is enhancing hu
tralia. Kurt Bostrom of the Universi ries and sites of midplate submarine man ability to find large hydrothermal
ty of Stockholm has interpreted Pro volcanism. mineral deposits on land and advanc
terozoic iron and manganese oxide ing human knowledge of the effect of
ores of northern Sweden in terms of a An understanding is developing that chemical and thermal exchanges be
rift setting. I\. links metal-rich hot springs in tween seawater and the oceanic crust
Still farther back in geologic time, different sea-floor settings with an- in the sea floor.
ANCIENT MINERAL DEPOSIT" originally formed by sea-floor in sediment that originally formed in a sea-floor setting. The gray
hot springs and now on land account for a number of major sour lines indicate ophiolite belts: material that was generated at for
ces of ore (colored circles). They include deposits in volcanic rock or mer sea-floor spreading sites and was later lifted onto a landmass.
92

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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:40 UTC
The Chemical Defenses
of Higher Plants
Some plant-produced chemicals poison herbivores or repel them;
others reduce plants' nutritive value or impede an insect's growth.
Herbivores in turn have ways ofexploiting these natural products
by Gerald A. Rosenthal
ven a casual consideration of the able or unsuitable as a source of food. Adult P. polyxenes avoid plants of
E relation between higher plants

and the multitude of animals
Rather, the plant's suitability depends
to a large degree on its secondary me
the group Cruciferae (the mustards),
which produce such allelochemicals as
that consume them makes one marvel tabolites: metabolic compounds that sinigrin, a compound that contains al
at the plants' ability to survive. When it are not involved in the common proc lylisothiocyanate, a toxic constituent.
is attacked by a predator such as an esses of life and that vary from plant On the other hand, the butterflies for
insect, a plant can neither run away to plant, helping to determine each age avidly among the Umbelliferae,
nor defend itself physically. Yet many plant's unique characteristics, which include such plants as celery.
plants have evolved subtle ways to In 197 1 the late Robert H. Whittaker Erickson and Feeny reared p, polyx
protect themselves that are no less ef and Paul P. Feeny of Cornell Univer enes larvae on a diet of celery leaves
fective: they employ chemical defen sity added a new level of precision that had been induced to take up sini
ses. Such defenses may be simple or to Fraenkel's concept. They suggested grin, The larvae fed, and their growth
elaborate. Some plants manufacture that secondary metabolites produced was markedly inhibited. Celery con
toxins that poison the attacking herbi by an individual of one species and taining a level of sinigrin equivalent
vore, whereas others produce complex able to affect the growth, health, pop to the level found in cruciferous vege
compounds that interfere with the at ulation biology or behavior of anoth tation was lethal to all the tested lar
tacker's growth cycle or its ability to er species should be called allelochem vae. These experiments demonstrated
digest the plant. ics. (Chemical ecologists now use the that toxic allelochemicals could rend
Insects and other herbivores have terms allelochemic and allelochemical er an otherwise suitable host plant un
in turn developed responses to this interchangeably; I much prefer the lat acceptable to an insect pest.
chemical warfare. Many herbivores ter term.) Among the many types of David A. Jones and his colleagues at
have managed to adapt to the defen allelochemicals are attractants, repel the University of Hull developed an
sive mechanisms of plants, developing lents, allergenics and toxins. In this ar other experimental verification of the
chemical defenses of their own. Some ticle I shall discuss the allelochemicals effectiveness of toxic allelochemicals.
insects have developed ways to con employed by certain plants to defend They studied bird's-foot trefoil and
vert potentially harmful substances themselves from predation by insects white clover, species that are capable
produced by plants into sources of nu and various other herbivores. of producing cyanogenic glycosides,
trition or protection from insectivores. compounds made of sugars bound to
The study of such chemical interac he customary way to determine cyanide complexes, and storing them
tions among organisms forms the basis T the defensive capacity of a higher in their leaves. If two particular en
for an emerging discipline known as plant's allelochemicals is to demon zymes are present when the plant's
chemical ecology. strate their toxicity toward one or leaves are damaged, the cyanogenic
The chemical ecologist studies the more of a variety of insects that have glycosides are broken down to release
role of natural chemical products in come to be accepted as standard refer the cyanide complex, from which free
'
the relations among organisms. One ence species in evaluating biological cyanide is eventually liberated. Bird's
such relation is feeding: all plant-eat toxicity. The usual approach is to in foot trefoil and white clover are "poly
ing insects have basically the same nu corporate the natural allelochemicals morphic" for cyanogenesis: only some
tritional requirements, which can be into an artificial diet that would nor individual plants can produce both
satisfied, more or less, by most higher mally sustain the insect. J. M. Erick the cyanogenic glycosides and the en
plants. What is it, then, that determines son, then a student of Feeny's, and zymes required to liberate cyanide.
an insect's specific feeding pattern? Feeny, working on the black swallow Hence not all plants of each species
On what basis does it select or reject a tail butterfly, Papilio polyxenes, mod can defend themselves by means of
particular plant as a food resource? ified this method to provide a more cyanogenic glycosides.
As the late Gottfried S. Fraenkel natural approach. Instead of creating Jones exploited this peculiar proper
suggested, it is not a plant's primary an artificial diet for their insects, they ty to determine how effective a strata
metabolites (the substances it synthe introduced a plant allelochemical into gem cyanogenesis is for the plant pop
sizes that are essential for its growth a plant that is part of the butterflies' ulation within his region of study, He
and reproduction) that make it suit- natural diet. examined a map, published in 1954
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by Hunor Daday, then at the Welsh snails remain active during the winter. logically distinct stages: larval, pupal
Plant Breeding Station in Aberyst Cyanogenesis would be less valuable and adult. Some go through several
wyth, showing the geographic distri to plants in areas where winter weath larval stages before pupating. Certain
bution of plants able to synthesize both er controls herbivore populations. other insects do not go through mor
cyanogenic glycosides and the appro Another kind of defense employ phologically distinct stages; the hatch
priate enzymes and thus able to pro ing toxic allelochemicals has been de lings, which resemble adults in appear
duce free cyanide. Daday had found a scribed by Eloy Rodriguez of the Uni ance, do go through several periods of
dramatic relation between the Janu versity of California at Irvine. In a ecdysis, or molting, however, grow
ary mean temperature of the regions noteworthy study of the vegetation of ing in size at each stage. Two types of
within his study area and the pro Baja California and Chihuahua he has hormones that play a key role in in
portion of clover plants in those re found that the trichomes, or hairs, of sect development are the juvenile hor
gions that could produce free cyanide. many desert plants are storehouses of mones produced by larvae and a hor
In warmer regions, such as the area toxic natural products. The trichomes mone group known collectively as ec
around the Mediterranean Sea, about of the desert plant Phacelia, for exam dysteroids, which act to initiate the
70 to 90 percent of the collected ple, contain numerous poisons, insec cycles of ecdysis that occur within the
plants exhibited cyanogenesis, where ticides and allergenic substances. The developmental sequence.
as in colder regions, such as portions trichomes of another desert plant, the Adolf F. J. Butenandt of the Max
of the U. S. S. R., almost none of the thistle Parthenium hysterophorus, con Planck Institute for Biochemistry in
analyzed clover was cyanogenic. tain certain allergenic chemicals that Munich and Peter Karlson, who was
Jones and his colleagues observed deter herbivores from feeding. then at the University of TUbingen,
that slugs and snails, two major pred were the first investigators to isolate
ators of the bird's-foot trefoil, tend ome allelochemicals protect plants ecdysteroids. From nearly 1,000 kilo
to consume acyanogenic plants rath S that produce them not by poison grams of silkworms they eventually
er than cyanogenic ones. The ability ing or repelling herbivores but by in isolated 25 milligrams of an ecdyster
to produce free cyanide would there terfering with the predators' normal oid called ecdysone and about a third
fore be more advantageous to plants cycles of growth and development. of a milligram of another one called
in warmer habitats, where slugs and Many insects grow in three morpho- 20-hydroxyecdysone. Soon afterward
ABNORMAL PUPA with three heads develops when the larva of val exoskeleton, each time developing a new head capsule. The re
the fall armyworm eats an extract of Ajuga remota, a bugleweed. sulting extra head capsules block the function of the mouthparts,
The plant produces phytoecdysones: compounds that mimic normal and the larvae starve. Mimicking a predator's natural hormones is
growth hormones, called ecdysteroids, of the larva. Phytoecdysones one of the more sophisticated forms of chemical defense practiced
cause the insect to undergo the cellular events that normally pre by plants. Other methods include poisoning the herbivore or making
cede metamorphosis several times without actually shedding the lar- substances that can deter it from feeding or from depositing its eggs.
95

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:53 UTC
Koji Nakanishi, now at Columbia plants. These workers found that after logues of juvenile hormones. In many
University, and T. Takemoto of the swarms of locusts had virtually denud insects juvenile hormone acts as a con
University of Tokushima discovered ed broad stretches of savanna vegeta trol on the process of development.
that certain plants are excellent sour tion the sole surviving plant species As long as the growing larva produc
ces of ecdysonelike materials. They was a bugleweed, Ajuga remota. When es juvenile hormone, ecdysteroids can
were able to extract 25 milligrams of they fed extracts of A. remota to a num initiate a molt only from one larval
20-hydroxyecdysone from a mere 2.5 ber of insects, a striking developmen stage to the next; the insect cannot
grams of a dried rhizome (a subterra tal aberration resulted: in metamor metamorphose into a pupa unless the
nean food-storage organ) of the com phosing from larvae to pupae, each juvenile hormone is degraded and thus
mon fern, Polypodium vulgare. That insect grew not one but several head unable to influence the process of pu
inspired a search by many other in capsules. The insects' extra head cap pation directed by ecdysteroids. Ju
vestigators for other phytoecdysones sules blocked their mouthparts and venoids, which are substances that re
(plant-produced ecdysteroids). Even they starved. Kubo established that semble juvenile hormones but are pro
tually several dozen structurally dif this developmental abnormality was duced by plants, can be of significant
ferent compounds were isolated, a due to the presence in the plant of protective value to the plant if they are
few of which were found to be even several phytoecdysteroids that had lethal. (Otherwise they may only pro
more potent than similar compounds blocked the normal metamorphosis long the insects' larval stage, which,
that occur naturally in insects. from larva to pupa. In each insect ironically, is typically the most destruc
In recent years Isao Kubo and his the cellular events that normally initi tive phase of an insect's life.)
colleagues at the University of Cali ate metamorphosis had occurred but
fornia at Berkeley, working in Ken the actual shedding of the larval exo he first juvenoids were discovered
ya, confirmed that phytoecdysones can skeleton had been aborted. T in 1964, when Karel Shima came
act as powerful protective agents by Just as A. remota protects itself by from the Entomological Institute of
disturbing the growth cycles of insects producing analogues of ecdysteroids, the Czechoslovak Academy of Scien
that prey on phytoecdysone-producing so certain other plants employ ana- ces to work with Carroll M. Williams
a b
INSECT REPELLED BIRD'S-FOOT TREFOIL SNAIL DIES
c d
I/'
�
FLOSSFLOWER
PREMATURE
PUPATION
e
>
>
>
>
>
>
MALNOURISHED > OTHER WILLOWS PRODUCE

TOMATO PLANT INSECT SITKA WILLOW LESS NOURISHING LEAVES
HIGHER PLANTS' CHEMICAL DEFENSE METHODS may usually flee from a pheromone-releasing plant as they would from a
range from the simple to the elaborate in their mode of action. predator. Other plants defend themselves by blocking the function
Some plants, such as the thistle Parthellium hysterophorus (a), man of an insect's biochemicals. For example, the flossflower, Ageratum
ufacture repellent chemicals that discourage predators from feeding houstoniallum (d ), manufactures a substance that blocks insects' ju
or laying eggs. Others, such as the bird's-foot trefoil (b), manufac venile hormone, killing larvae by forcing them to molt prematurely.
ture lethal toxins; some bird's-foot trefoil plants produce cyano Many plants do not keep permanent stores of defensive chemicals
genic glycosides (compounds consisting of sugars bound to cyanide but manufacture them only in response to predation. When the to
complexes) and enzymes that liberate cyanide from the cyanogenic mato (e), for example, is attacked by a chewing insect, it is stimulat
glycosides. More complicated defensive strategies consist in pro ed to manufacture proteinase inhibitors, macromolecules that inhib
ducing natural substances that mimic substances normally produced it the insect's digestion of many plant proteins. A more exotic kind
by a herbivore, as A. remota mimics natural growth hormones (see of inducible defense may also occur. When a Sitka willow (J), is at
illustration 011 preceding page). Another such plant is the wild pota tacked by certain caterpillars, the nutritional quality of the leaves
to Solallum berthaulthii (c), which synthesizes an ingredient of the of neighboring willows-even those that have not been attacked
aphid's alarm pheromone (the substance an aphid can release when deteriorates. Perhaps the tree emits a substance that acts like a pher
under attack to warn others that an insectivore is present). Aphids omone, warning other willows to prepare for an attacking herbivore.
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at Harvard University. The two inves national state called diapause. When on the organism that receives or con
tigators planned collaborative studies insects that have been fed prococene sumes them. In the case of the grass
of Pyrrhocoris apterus. a bug found II are later treated with juvenile hor hopper and the milkweeds, a chemical
in Europe. P. apterus normally goes mone, the deleterious effects of the that may originally have been an allo
through five distinct stages before met prococene are reversed. mone (the cardenolide) has become a
amorphosing into an adult. Shima and Plants can mimic many other sub functional kairomone, benefiting the
Williams made the surprising discov stances that are naturally secreted by insect that consumes the plant.
ery that insects reared at Harvard did insects. For example, the aphid Myzus The grasshopper's adaptation to the
not ecdyse from the fifth stage to the persicae, which preys on such plants as milkweeds' defensive chemicals may
adult; instead they went through a the wild potato, secretes a substance be one example of coevolution. Co
sixth and sometimes even a seventh called an alarm pheromone when it evolution is a reciprocal process in
stage. Shima had never observed such is attacked by a predator. The vola which the properties and characteris
a growth pattern in Czechoslovakia. tile pheromone alerts other aphids to tics of one organism evolve in response
Eventually it became evident that impending danger. An important in to specific properties of another or
the insects must have been exposed to gredient of the aphid's alarm phero ganism; the two interacting species ex
a juvenile hormone, which was inter mone is a compound called (E)-beta ert pressures that influence each oth
fering with normal development. A se farnesene. Richard Gibson and John er's genome. Some coevolutionary re
ries of tests revealed the critical factor A. Pickett of the Rothamstead Experi lations between plants and insects have
to be the paper placed in the petri mental Station in England have found become remarkably specialized. For
dishes that housed the bugs. The inves that Solanum berthaulthii, a wild, tuber example, certain flowers can be polli
tigators tested a variety of paper prod bearing potato, releases (E)-beta-far nated only by a single species of insect;
ucts and found that many American nesene from trichomes on its leaves. the insects in turn exhibit absolute fi
newspapers and journals caused the Thus the plant can repel a major pest delity to flowers of their host plant.
same anomalous effect, whereas simi by mimicking that pest's alarm signal. There is considerable interest in re
lar paper products from European and The insect cannot readily counter or constructing the extent to which higher
Japanese sources did not. (In Czech adapt to this type of defense, since it plants and their insect pests and preda
oslovakia, Slama had naturally lined cannot ignore the very chemical signal tors may have evolved together over
his dishes with European-made filter that is critical to its survival. evolutionary time. In the case of defen
paper.) Slama and Williams were able sive chemicals, perhaps higher plants
to isolate the active factor from paper ome insects have, however, been evolved toxic natural products as part
towels and to determine that it was S able to adapt to the chemical de of their defensive barrier against her
effective only against the Pyrrhocori fenses of plants. In many cases adap bivores. Certain herbivores may sim
dae family. A closely related group of tation has taken a remarkable turn: ply have avoided the plants, whereas
bugs, the Lygaeidae, was totally unaf sometimes the insect can store and others may have evolved an ability to
fected by the factor. make effective use of the chemical the detoxify the plants' defensive chemi
Finally the active factor was traced plant employs as a defense. cals. Perhaps plants counteradapted
to the wood pulp from which the paper One example of such an insect is by intensifying the efficacy of their al
had been made. Pulp derived from the the grasshopper Poekilocerus bujonius, lelochemicals, and perhaps certain in
balsam fir, a primary source of pulp which feeds solely on plants of the sects evolved to the point where the
for North American paper products, Asclepiadaceae, or milkweed, family. plants' allomones effectively became
was found to be particularly active. The milkweeds manufacture a num kairomones.
Several years later William S. Bow ber of complex compounds known as
ers, then working at the New York cardenolides, toxins that can severely Another example of an insect that ex
State Agricultural Experimental Sta disrupt normal cardiac function. .n. ploits a plant's defensive chemical
tion, isolated and characterized the ac When this grasshopper is attacked as a kairomone is the monarch butter
tive factor, which he named juvabi by a potential predator, it can defend fly. In 1967 Lincoln Pierson Brower,
one. It is quite similar in structure to itself by ejecting a spray from a poison now at the University of Florida, ob
insect juvenile hormones. gland. Analysis of this fluid reveals served that monarch butterflies grown
A few years afterward, Bowers that it contains two major cardeno from larvae that had fed on Asclepias
decided to determine whether other lides, calactin and calotropin, both of curassavica, a milkweed that stores a
plants protect themselves by blocking, which can also be extracted from the good deal of cardenolides, were un
rather than imitating, an insect's nor milkweeds on which the grasshopper acceptable as food for blue jays [see
mal juvenile hormone. A juvenile-hor feeds. When a grasshopper is main "Ecological Chemistry," by Lincoln
mone antagonist could kill insect lar tained on a diet that includes no milk Pierson Brower; SCIENTIFIC AMERI
vae by causing them to molt prema weeds, the cardenolide content of its CAN, February, 1969]. Jays that con
turely into the adult stage. Eventually protective spray is reduced tenfold. It sumed the butterflies, or even certain
he succeeded in isolating two such sub seems evident that the plant itself is the parts of one butterfly, became violent
stances from Ageratum houstonianum, a source of the defensive compounds in ly sick. Brower's finding was consistent
small plant that grows in temperate re the insect's defensive fluid. with observations made by other in
gions. He named the two compounds The existence of insects, such as the vestigators that butterflies of the sub
prococene I and prococene II because grasshopper, that are able to store and family Danainae, which includes the
of their ability to elicit precocious utilize a plant's defensive chemicals monarch, are rejected on sight by a
metamorphosis by preventing the se led Whittaker and Feeny to refine the large number of insectivorous birds.
cretion of juvenile hormone. Proco concept of an allelochemical by divid Brower analyzed the compounds in
cene II has a number of other effects as ing the allelochemicals into several adult and pupal monarchs and found
well: it terminates the production of groups. Two groups are of particular about 10 different cardenolides; the to
sex attractants by the American cock importance: allomones, which confer tal amount of toxin in the body of one
roach, causes several types of insects an adaptive advantage on the organ butterfly is several times higher than
to lay infertile eggs and forces the Col ism that produces them, and kairo the amount necessary to kill a cat or
orado potato beetle to enter a hiber- mones, which confer an advantage a small dog. The insects rarely store
97

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:53 UTC
all the cardenolides found in the host of the feeding activity of these insecti corporated into proteins and that can
plant, but all the cardenolides the in vores revealed that the two species of exhibit potent insecticidal properties.
sect does store have a counterpart in birds feed quite differently. The ori Daniel H. Janzen of the University
the plant. Butterflies grown from lar oles, which are sensitive to cardeno of Pennsylvania and I have found a
vae maintained on a cardenolide-free lides, pick the butterflies apart; they number of unique biochemical adap
diet had no harmful effect on blue jays. selectively remove the thoracic mus tations achieved by the beetle that en
The monalch butterfly is aposemat cles and abdominal contents without able it to thrive on the potentially tox
ic: it "advertises" its intrinsic toxicity eating the cardenolide-laden cuticle ic seed for its entire larval life [see "A
by the bright coloration and distinctive (the outer covering of the body) or Seed-eating Beetle's Adaptations to a
markings of its wings. The presence of wings. Grosbeaks, on the other hand, Poisonous Seed," by Gerald A. Rosen
such aposematic insects as the mon are much less sensitive to the toxins, thal; SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, November,
arch butterfly has spawned an array of and they feed randomly, voraciously 1983]. The insect has developed the
mimics. These mimetic insects, such as eating the intact abdomen. No defense necessary enzymes for converting can
the viceroy butterfly, do not store car is inviolate, and, like the milkweeds, avanine into urea and then converting
denolides, but they resemble insects monarch butterflies are not complete urea into ammonia. It uses the nitro
that do. Thus they are placed under ly protected by their chemical defenses. gen of the ammonia, which had origi
the cardenolide umbrella of protection nally been part of the canavanine mol
without the need to produce, regulate, ne of the most striking examples of ecule, to support the production of
store or utilize the toxic chemicals. O an insect's adapting to the point virtually every amino acid it manufac
Another interesting dimension has where a plant's allomone has become tures. In this way a potentially highly
been added to investigators' knowl a kairomone comes from the study poisonous allomone of the plant has
edge of these interactions by Brower's of Caryedes brasiliensis, a beetle of the been manipulated so that it functions
field work in central Mexico, the win Bruchidae family. It is the sole preda as a kairomone, wholly supporting the
tering ground for a vast number of tor of the seeds of Dioclea m egacarpa, a dietary nitrogen needs of the develop
monarch butterflies. In this habitat, vinelike legume that grows in the de ing larvae.
assaults by black-backed orioles and ciduous forests of Costa Rica. About There is yet another way in which
black-headed grosbeaks account for 13 percent of the dry matter of the Dio insects can exploit a plant's chemical
more than 60 percent of the butter clea seed is made up of L-canavanine, defenses. Vincent G. Dethier of the
flies' mortality. Detailed observation an amino acid that normally is not in- University of Massachusetts at Am
herst and Louis Schoonhoven of the
University of Wageningen in the Neth
erlands, along with other investiga
tors, has found that many insects are
equipped with taste receptors sensitive
to the allelochemicals of plants on
which they feed. For example, larvae
that consume plants of the family Ro
saceae have receptors for sorbitol, a
sugar alcohol that is stored by such
plants. Other insects usually lack such
receptors. Insects equipped with these
receptors can rely on their olfacto
ry ability in finding and identifying
chemically defended plants to which
they are immune or resistant.
so far I have discussed mainly the

allelochemicals that are constitu
tive to a plant, that is, produced wheth
er or not the plant is under attack by a
predator. Many plants rely instead on
so-called ind ucible defenses: protec
tive compounds that are synthesized
only in response to an attack. An excel
lent example comes from the work of
Clarence A. Ryan and his colleagues
at Washington State University. They
have found that when some plants,
such as the tomato, are attacked by
chewing insects, they release a sub
stance that travels from the site of the
wound through the plant and initiates
the production of at least two kinds of
macromolecule called proteinase in
ABILITY TO PRODUCE FREE CYANIDE varies among individual bird's-foot trefoil
hibitors. Proteinase inhibitors impede
plants. A large percentage of plants in warmer regions manufacture both cyanogenic glyco
sides and the enzymes necessary to liberate cyanide from them. (The percentage of plants in
the insects' ability to break down pro
a region that are cyanogenic is indicated by the darkened part of the circle in that region.)
teins they have ingested from the leaf.
In areas with colder winters (contour lines are labeled with the January mean temperature The leaf thus makes itself a less ac
in degrees Celsius) far fewer plants are cyanogenic. Plants in cold regions, where winter ceptable source of food.
weather is an effective predator control, have less need to defend themselves chemically. The study of inducible defense was
98

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:53 UTC
recently taken a dramatic step further a
MONARCH LARVA
by the work of David F. Rhoades of
the University of Washington, as well
as that of Jack C. Schultz and Ian Bal
�:��
win, then at Dartmouth College. It has
been established that when the Sitka
willow, Salix sitchellsis, is attacked by
insects, its leaf quality (a measure of
its suitability as a food resource for MONARCH BUTTERFLY BLUE JAY
insects) deteriorates. Rhoades noted,
however, that the leaf quality of near
by willows-even willows that had not
been attacked-also seemed to dete
riorate. Perhaps, Rhoades suggested,
the attacked tree produces a signal,
analogous to an insect's alarm phero VICEROY BUTTERFLY
mone, that travels through the air to MILKWEED PLANT
induce defensive responses in neigh
boring, unattacked trees. b
Schultz and Balwin tested Rhoades's
hypothesis by planting seedlings of
the sugar maple, Acer saccharum, in
two separate growth chambers. They
found that plants that had been dam
aged intentionally, as well as plants in
the same growth chamber as the dam
aged ones, tended to produce great
er quantities of tannins and phenolics,
two defensive compounds, than plants
grown in a separate chamber. Al
though these studies have not defini
tively proved the existence of commu
nicative chemical defense by plants,
they have generated great interest in at
tempts to prove that pheromonal com
MILKWEED PLANT
munication between trees may actual
ly take place.
c
he chemical and biochemical study

T of the protective allelochemicals LARVAE
of higher plants can make important
contributions to future efforts to con
trol depredations on crops by insect
pests. A recent report by the National
Academy of Sciences emphasized the
rapidly growing number of insects that
have developed resistance to current
ly available chemical agents. Biologi
cal and chemical studies, the stuff of
chemical ecology, may lead to effec
tive pesticides that are less hazard-
0us to the environment and not as
easily circumvented. Natural products
DIOCLEA MEGACARPA SEED
possess the advantage of structures
that have amply proved effectiveness.
They also offer excellent opportuni
ties to develop experimental systems
INSECTS' RESPONSES to plants' chemical defenses often include exploiting for some
for probing the capacity of insects to useful purpose the very chemicals meant to ward them off or to kill them. Larvae of the
cope with toxic compounds and may monarch butterfly (a) feed on the milkweed Asclepias curassavica, a plant that manufactures
thereby make it possible to undermine toxins called cardenolides. The butterflies store the cardenolides and are therefore unac
that capacity. Natural products may ceptable as prey for blue jays; jays that eat them become violently sick and eventually will
also make it possible to develop novel, not accept monarch butterflies as food. The viceroy butterfly mimics the appearance of the
nonpesticide approaches to the con monarch and so, although the viceroy stores no toxins, jays avoid it too. The grasshopper
trol of herbivores. It should be possible Poekilocerus bufollius (b) incorporates the cardenolides it ingests when eating milkweeds
into the poisonous spray it uses to protect itself from predators. Larvae of the bruchid bee
to exploit natural compounds that de
tle Caryedes brasiliensis (c) feed on seeds of the leguminous vine Dioclea megacarpa. The
ter feeding or the deposition of eggs,
seeds contain large amounts of L-canavanine, an amino acid that is not incorporated into
or even to grow crops from which the proteins and that is often a potent insecticide. The beetle's larvae, which live inside the
natural substances that attract herbi seed and feed on nothing else throughout their larval life, are able to obtain ammonia from
vores or stimulate their feeding behav canavanine. They then incorporate the nitrogen of the ammonia (nitrogen that was origi
ior have been eliminated. nally part of the canavanine molecule) into amino acids to be incorporated into proteins.
99

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:50:53 UTC
Radiocarb on Dating
by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry
The radioactive carbon 14 is isolated from the other atoms in a
sample, making it possible to derive more accurate chronologies
from much smaller archaeological or anthropological specimens
by Robert E. M. Hedges andJohn A.]. Gowlett
diocarbon dating is the principal of modern man and was accompanied Fortunately the original percentage
R technique by which archaeolo

gists and physical anthropolo
gists construct their calendar of the
by much interesting climatic and fau
nal change.
of C-14 atoms among all the carbon
atoms in any organic substance is fair
ly well known. The reason is that the
A new way to do radiocarbon dating
past 50,000 years. The method relies has been developed that does not suf amount of C-14 in the biosphere has
on the fact that a radioactive carbon fer from these limitations. It employs been remarkably constant through the
isotope, carbon 14, is assimilated into a particle accelerator in conjunction ages. C-14 is continuously produced
the molecular structure of living or with a mass spectrometer. The method in the upper atmosphere by the inter
ganisms. Because a population of ra enables the investigator to count the action of cosmic rays with nitrogen
dioactive atoms decreases at a regular number of carbon-14 atoms directly atoms. The C-14 then combines with
rate,such atoms can serve as a clock instead of measuring their decay rate oxygen to form radioactive carbon
by which to measure how long ago a and therefore requires a far smaller dioxide, which diffuses to the lower
plant or animal died. Indeed, carbon sample than conventional radiocarbon atmosphere and enters the biosphere
dating is so widely applied that one dating. Although its operative range primarily through plant respiration.
seldom sees an archaeological report and precision is today comparable to From the plants the C-14 is passed
that lacks a reference to it. that of conventional dating, as much up through the food chain to higher
Yet for all its importance the tool, as a doubling of the range and a halv organisms, including man. The cou
as conventionally applied, has severe ing of the error margin could soon be pled effect of the radioactive loss
limitations. One is that a rather large achieved. and stratospheric production has es
amount of material is needed for reli tablished a constant, although minute,
able measurement, whereas many arti Uadiocarbon dating of any kind is equilibrium concentration of C-14 in
facts of great archaeological value can .R possible because about one out the biosphere. Every living organism
be found only as very small remnants of every trillion (1012) carbon atoms therefore has (and has had) the same
today. Other objects whose remnants in organic matter is a carbon-14 atom. ratio of C-14 to C-12 in its body.
are found in greater quantities may Although in most circumstances it is Once an organism dies it can no
have a complicated "carbon history": chemically indistinguishable from the longer ingest carbon compounds. Con
sources of various ages may have con other two stable carbon isotopes (car sequently the C-14 in its body is not
tributed to the total carbon content bon 12 and carbon 13), carbon 14 can replenished and the amount of C-14
of the object before it became bur be detected by the radioactivity it ex begins to fall as a result of radioactive
ied. Moreover, the object may have hibits as it decays to nitrogen 14. decay. As long as the organism's re
been contaminated, after its burial, by The rate at which a popUlation of mains are not contaminated by mod
"modern" carbon. Although sophisti radioactive atoms decays is expressed ern C-14 compounds (deposited by
cated laboratory processes can remove in terms of a half-life. The half-life for bacteria, for example), a measurement
unwanted contaminants, such purifica C-14 is about 5,700 years. This means of the present-day ratio of C-14 to C-
tion calls for even larger quantities of that a sample originally consisting of 12 in its remains is sufficient to deter
the raw archaeological material. 10,000 C-14 atoms would contain only mine when the organism ceased to live.
The conventional technique is also half this amount, or 5,000 atoms, after The chronologies established by ra
limited in its range of operation: reli 5,700 years (the other 5,000 having diocarbon dating of wood samples
able datings are possible only for arti turned into nitrogen 14). After another have been checked against chronolo
cles less than about 40,000 years old; 5,700 years only 2,500 C-14 atoms gies obtained by counting annual tree
the radioactive emanations from older would remain, and so on. If one knows rings in the samples. The results in
objects are difficult to separate from the original amount of C-14 in a sam dicate that the C-14/C-12 ratio has
background radiation. This limitation ple, one can easily calculate the age of not always been strictly constant. The
is frustrating for archaeologists and the sample by determining the number number of cosmic rays that impinge on
anthropologists because the period be of half-lives that must have elapsed in the atmosphere to produce C-14 is af
tween 25,000 and 75,000 years ago order to account for the sample's re fected by solar magnetic field distur
was a crucial phase in the emergence sidual level of C-14 radioactivity. bances and perhaps by fluctuations in
100

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:07 UTC
the earth's magnetic field as well. In rays that have traveled through the at sons of measurement precision. (The
any event, the C-14/C-12 ratio can mosphere). In fact, if the object is more precision of the calculated age is in
be adjusted to correct for these devi than 37,000 years old, the residual C- versely proportional to the square root
ations. A greater problem is present 14 radioactivity is generally too weak of the number of "counts" of radioac
ed by the relatively large amounts of to be discerned against the background tivity.) To detect about 10,000 radio
material needed to calculate the C-14 radiation level. Hence a large num active disintegrations of C-14 in a rea
fraction of a sample by means of the ber of C-14 atoms (or, conversely, a sonable amount of time (enough for a
conventional technique: measuring the long measuring time) is needed before dating within 80 years of the correct
radioactivity of the sample. the spontaneous radiation can be ade age) requires between one gram and
The weak radiation C-14 emits is quately gauged by even the most sensi five grams of pure carbon. Of course,
not easily distinguished from ambient tive of radioactivity detectors. Even to obtain this much carbon, one might
background radiation (mostly cosmic more C-14 atoms are needed for rea- require a sample of organic matter sev-
SAMPLE WHEEL for the radiocarbon accelerator in the authors' placed in the groove at the outer end of each tab. The wheel (shown
laboratory carries 20 metal tabs, arranged like petals, that hold car
104).
at about its actual size) is loaded into the accelerator's ion source,
bon samples from specimens to be dated (and samples of known age where each sample is ionized in turn (see illustration on page
or carbon-14 content for calibration). The carbon is deposited as a Carbon-14 atoms are sorted out from among the ions thus produced
thin layer of graphite on a short length of tantalum wire, which is and are counted; their number is a function of the specimen's age.
10 1

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:07 UTC
RELATIVE AMOUNTS OF BONE REQUIRED FOR DATING
OJ
PRESENT
OJ
5,000 10,000 20,000 30,000
AGE (YEARS)
100
f='
z
w
()
a:
w
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CJ
�
z 50
�
�
w
a:
z
w
CJ
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--'
--'
0
()
5 10 15 20 25 30
THOUSANDS OF YEARS
QUANTITY OF BONE needed for radiocarbon dating depends on bow deposited in tbe bone after it became buried), wbicb would re
tbe bone's actual age, its state of preservation and tbe dating metb sult in underestimation of ages, wbat is measured is tbe carbon-14
od employed. Tbe relative amount of mass required for dating by content of purified amino acids derived specifically from a single
accelerator mass spectrometry (colored cubes) is 1,000 times less component of bone: tbe protein collagen. Because collagen deterio
tban tbe mass needed for dating by conventional radiocarbon metb rates in tbe course of time (bottom), a larger sample is needed for
ods (larger cubes), regardless of tbe bone's age. To avoid measur older bones. Tbe curve's fuzziness reflects tbe fact tbat tbe percent
ing tbe carbon-14 content in "modern" carbon (carbon tbat is some- age of collagen can vary, depending on tbe condition of preservation.
100 �---
-,
-.-
--.-
--
NEUTRON + NITROGEN-14
t
CARBON-14 f='
z
w
()
t
CARBON DIOXIDE
a:
w
�
t CJ
z
z
------��r-------------------+-----------------�
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OL-____________ __-L________________-L________________ --'

o 6 12 18
THOUSANDS OF YEARS
CARBON 14, a radioactive isotope of carbon, is produced in trace balanced by tbe continuous loss tbrougb radioactive decay (right),
amounts wben cosmic-ray neutrons interact witb nitrogen atoms in establisbes a fairly constant C-14 concentration in all plants and
tbe atmospbere (left). Tbe C-14 tben combines witb oxygen to form animals. Wben an organism dies, bowever, tbe C-14 in its tissues
carbon dioxide. Like normal carbon dioxide (containing carbon 12), can no longer be replenisbed and tbe radioactive disintegration
tbe radioactive kind enters tbe biospbere tbrougb plant respiration, dominates. Because tbe C-14 concentration in living organisms is
and it undergoes tbe same carbon cbemistry. By working its way up known, tbe age of organic remnants can be derived by measuring
tbe food cbain C-14 is incorporated into tbe tissues of bigber organ tbe C-14 content in a sample of tbe remnants and calculating bow
isms as well. Tbe continuous infusion of C-14 into tbe biospbere, mucb time must bave elapsed to account for tbe observed decline.
102

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:07 UTC
eral times larger: from 25 grams to as course, the accelerated ions do not "average" age (about 12,000 years old)
much as a kilogram, depending on the have identical charge and velocity, and to be detected within a time period
carbon content of the material. so ions that vary in mass, charge and measured in hours. Although this may
velocity actually make it through the seem to be a small percentage and a lot
C learly, if one could separate C-12

and C-13 atoms from C-14 atoms
slit behind the magnet. Nevertheless,
interfering ions are reduced by a fac
of time, it would take 170 years before
2 percent of the C-14 atoms of a sam
in a carbon sample of known mass and tor of 10 billion by two such magnets ple manifests itself in the guise of ra
then count all the C-14 atoms (not just in our accelerator mass spectrometer: dioactivity, regardless of sample size.
the ones that disintegrate radioactive one acting on the ions before their ac To detect 10,000 atoms of C-14 in such
ly), much greater efficiencies would be celeration, one after. an average sample by accelerator mass
possible. Greater efficiency in measur The accelerated particles are further spectrometry, between half a milli
ing the C-14 content of a carbon sam culled by a velocity filter consisting of gram and five milligrams of pure car
ple could in turn be translated into uniform magnetic and electric fields bon is sufficient, a factor of 1,000 less
an expanded operative time range and perpendicular to each other as well as than is required for conventional ra
improved accuracy in dating. This is to the ion beam. This reduces the un dioactivity measurements of C-14.
what we have in part accomplished at wanted ions by another factor of about
our radiocarbon accelerator facility at
the University of Oxford.
1,000 before triply charged positive
ions of atomic mass 14 (namely C-14 B efore the carbon atoms in the mate
rial to be dated can be ionized and
First the carbon atoms of a sample ions) are finally "counted" by an ener accelerated in our machine, the mate
are ionized. Then they are accelerated gy detector. The detector can distin rial must be purified (modern carbon
to energies of about 10 million elec guish ions of like mass and velocity but removed) and converted into graphite,
tron volts. The "beam" of high-energy different nuclear charge by the rate at a form of solid carbon. By treating
ions thus created travels through a which they lose energy as they collide the specimen with chemicals that re
magnetic field that forces the beam to with molecules of gas. The detector, in act selectively with certain types of
curve. Lighter atoms tend to turn more fact, is so sensitive that it can identify carbon compounds, a source of carbon
sharply than heavier ones, and so they almost all C-14 ions even when they unique to a given archaeological arti
move to the inside of the diverging constitute less than 1 percent of the fact can be extracted for dating. For
beam. In this way the C-14 ions can be incoming ion beam, as would be the example, bones can pick up carbonates
isolated from the other atoms in the case for a very old sample (say 60,000 from groundwater, fall prey to fungal
sample and counted. (The amount of years old). or bacterial attack or absorb organic
C-12 and C-13 can then be derived At present accelerator mass spec compounds from the soil. All these
from the difference in mass between trometry allows up to 2 percent of all processes introduce extraneous carbon
the original carbon sample and the to the C-14 atoms in a carbon sample of into bone specimens that can give mis-
tal mass of the detected C-14.)
An electrostatic accelerator such as
the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator
makes use of the force between electric BACKGROUND RADIATION
charges to accelerate atoms. This is
why the atoms of a sample to be ana
lyzed must first be ionized. In the case
t t t t
SHIELDI NG
of the Oxford accelerator a positive
charge amounting to some 2.5 million
volts first "pulls" negative carbon ions
and then, after their electrons have
been stripped off, "pushes" them the
rest of the way as positive ions [see il
lustration on next page]. The stripper,
which removes four electrons from the
carbon ions to give them a triple posi
tive charge (as measured in units of . ' .
electron charge), also causes any stray ' "
: .. ..
. . .
molecular ions to break up into sepa . , .
rate atomic ions. This eliminates the .

.
.
.
many molecules of mass 14 that might . ' .
otherwise be indistinguishable from MASS COUNTER

SEPARATOR
single C-14 atoms.
A mass spectrometer also takes ad ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCE between conventional radiocarbon-dating methods (left) and
vantage of magnetic forces. Magnets those making use of a mass spectrometer (right) is in the way the C-14 concentration is
are used to focus and direct the beam measured. Conventionally the number of C-14 atoms (colored dots) in a sample is estimated
of ions as well as to sort the ions by from the number of radioactive disintegrations detected within a certain amount of time.
mass. If ions of similar charge and ve Here the radiation (black arrow) from a C-14 atom causes a fluorescent dye molecule to
locity but different mass are subjected emit a flash of light (colored wave) that is recorded by a photomultiplier tube. Natural
background radiation can also cause the dye molecules to scintillate and can thereby distort
to a magnetic field perpendicular to
the results. Shielding attenuates this radiation to a level lower than that of the radioactivity
their direction of travel, only ions of
of samples of "average" age, so that it can normally be subtracted out. Old carbon samples
like mass would pass through a slit at a
are less radioactive, however; their level of radioactivity is close to that of the ambient
given radius of curvature downstream background radiation. For objects older than about 37,000 years the background radiation
from the magnet. In this way a magnet effectively obscures the radioactivity of the sample. In an accelerator mass spectrometer
could "filter out" all charged particles the C-14 atoms are separated from all other atoms and are directly "counted." For this
except those of atomic mass 14. Of method the limiting factor is the chemical contamination of the sample by modern carbon.
103

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:07 UTC
ION
DETECTOR
VELOCIT Y FILTER
MAGNETIC
LENS
ION SOURCE
HIGH
VOLTAGE
SOURCE
STRIPPER
CHARGED TO
+ 2.5 MILLION VOLTS
LENS
---� ELECTROSTATIC
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COLLECTOR ELECTRIC x
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PLASTIC WINDOW
NITROGEN-14 it CARBON-14
CARBON IONS VACUUM
RADIOCARBON ACCELERATOR (top) accelerates carbon ions cesium ions to the carbon sample and the carbon ions away from it.
by applying a positive charge of 2.5 million volts to the stripper. The C-14 ions are finally distinguished from the remaining contami
The imparted charge first "pulls" the negatively charged ions to the nating ions by a detector (bottom right). After passing through a
stripper and, after the stripper converts them into positive ions, plastic window the accelerated ions travel through a gas-filled
then "pushes" them the rest of the way. Most of the contaminating chamber, where they produce plumes of secondary ions. Because
ions are filtered out by two beam-bending magnets. These magnets the velocity and atomic charge of the incoming ions are similar, the
separate the ions by mass: lighter ions tend to turn more sharply rate of interaction between the ions and the gas molecules depends
(col
which have a nuclear charge of +6, interact at a lower
than heavier ones. Ions of atomic mass 14 can therefore be singled primarily on the nuclear charge of the ion. Hence carbon ions
out by placing a slit at the proper radius of curvature downstream ored dots),
from the magnet. In the ion source (bottom left) carbon atoms of the rate than nitrogen ions (black dots), which have a nuclear charge of
sample to be tested (deposited as a thin layer on a tantalum wire) +7, and typically travel farther down the length of the chamber
are bombarded with positive cesium ions to produce negatively before ionizing the gas. An electric field causes the ion plumes to
charged carbon ions. The electric charges applied to the metal plate drift over to collector plates, where their average lengths are then
and cylinder (shown here ill cross sectioll) in the device direct the measured. From these measurements the C-14 ions are identified.
104

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:07 UTC
leading C-14 readings, particularly if 2or--.r-
-,
--�.-
-�.-
-.-
--
the specimen is very old. Bone's chief
organic material, however, is the pro
tein collagen. One of the amino acids
that make up collagen, hydroxypro
line, can for all practical purposes be
found only in bone. Hence if a hy
droxyproline sample is prepared from
a bone specimen, it is almost certain
that the carbon contained in the sam
ples was originally incorporated into
the bone during its formation and not
afterward.
Once the compound of interest has
been isolated, it must be converted into
a sample of pure graphitic carbon. We
do this by burning the compound to 4
produce carbon dioxide gas; the gas is
then converted into acetylene (C2H2),
which deposits a pure layer of carbon
O
on a heated tantalum wire. �� 1�O�1�1�1�
2�1�374�
1 1 5
� 5�26
16�17�18�1�9 � 2�O�2�1�2�2�2�3°2�4 °2�
Negatively charged carbon ions can ATOMIC MASS UNITS
then be produced from the carbon lay
er by bombarding it with positive cesi SELECTION OF TRIPLY CHARGED C-14 IONS is possible through the application of
um ions. (Such an ion source is called a three devices: a beam-bending magnet, a velocity filter and an energy detector. The radius
sputter source.) By starting with nega of the curve traced by an ion subjected to a magnetic field is a function of the ion's mass,
tively charged carbon ions, we remove charge and velocity or, equivalently, its kinetic energy. The ions that actually pass through
most of the problematic nitrogen-14 a slit downstream of the magnet (dots) therefore exhibit a distribution of masses, charges
contamination (N-14 has a mass al

and energies. When they are plotted, they describe a family of hyperbola (gray curves), one
for each possible ionic charge. The kinetic energy of the ions that pass through a velocity
most identical with that of C-14) be
filter is a linear function of atomic mass (band of pale color). Hence when the filter is
cause nitrogen does not exist as a nega operated in conjunction with the beam-bending magnet, it selects one ion from each of the
tively charged ion. Although the sput possible energy-v.-mass hyperbolas. The final selection is made by the energy detector (gray
ter source does provide a stable beam band). It is set to detect only ions with a kinetic energy of eight million electron volts, and
of ions that can subsequently be accel so a triply charged ion of atomic mass 14-namely a carbon-14 ion (red dot}--is singled out.
erated, only about 10 percent of the
carbon deposit is converted into ions.
(We are developing a carbon dioxide curacies by means of the accelera papyrus would be ideal materials for
ion source that would not only be more tor technique does exist, at present the testing in this manner.
efficient but also greatly simplify the method is valued primarily because it At many archaeological sites mate
chemistry involved in preparing the can derive dates from samples 1,000 rials for dating are too small to serve as
sample for ionization.) times smaller than those required by individual samples. They are therefore
Because an accelerator mass spec traditional techniques. Accelerator ra often combined to accumulate a sam
trometer allows the detection of al diocarbon dating is therefore most ef ple that is large enough to date. The
most any isotope down to abundance fective where sampling must be mini problem with this approach, of course,
levels of one part in 1,000 trillion mized to limit destruction of the arti is that components from altogether
(1015), it might be thought that this fact; where only tiny samples exist to different time periods can be mixed
apparatus could extend radiocarbon begin with, and where stringent strati together and sampled collectively. In
dating to objects at least 80,000 years graphic or chemical selectivity of sam many instances accelerator mass spec
old. A very real limitation at present, ples is demanded. trometry provides an alternative by
however, is the introduction of minute Many ancient manuscripts, for ex enabling workers to date the individu
amounts of modern carbon contami ample, are considered too valuable to al samples rather than their aggregate.
nation during the sample processing. sacrifice to the "ravages" of conven This is particularly the case for the
This limits the dating to within 40,000 tional radiocarbon dating. Accelera fragments of bone or the antler tools
years or so, comparable to the limit tor dating can minimize the amount made during Paleolithic times, more
for conventional radiocarbon dating. of material that would have to be sac than 10,000 years ago. A decorated
In the case of accelerator mass spec rificed. A piece of an early medieval horse mandible uncovered in northern
trometry the limit is not fundamental; mappa mundi (world map) belonging Wales a century ago could have been
better laboratory procedures will im to the Duchy of Cornwall and pre as old as 25,000 years or as "young" as
prove the sensitivity. served through its reuse as a book 5,000 years, based on current knowl
binding has already been dated from a edge of ancient art. By means of accel
C urrently the cost of radiocarbon

dating by means of accelerator
small scrap. It was shown to be almost
certainly older than the only other ex
erator dating the artifact was found
to be about 10,000 years old, and it
mass spectrometry is between 1.5 and tant example in Britain, in Worcester is therefore an important addition to
2.5 times greater than the cost of con Cathedral. Applied in this way, the ra the catalogue of late Paleolithic art
ventional radiocarbon dating. For ma diocarbon accelerator method can ver work. This dating also helps to doc
terials older than about 10,000 years ify much paleographic dating (dating. ument the persistence of the Pleisto
the accuracies of both dating meth based on the study of script styles) and cene horse into more modern times.
ods are comparable. Although the pos expose forgeries. Early manuscripts of Bone or antler harpoon heads of the
sibility of achieving better dating ac- the New Testament or fragments of late Ice Age are even more delicate ob-
105

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:07 UTC
jects, but they are generally well pre tant clues in reconstructing the north southwestern England and the remains
served, so that a date can be obtained ward spread of the human species in of an elk in Lancashire, both of which
from a single small drilling. Stone Europe during the late glacial peri were also dated by accelerator. The
tools, the most enduring technology of od; bits of reindeer bone and degrad elk skeleton in turn dated a pair of
the stone ages, can sometimes be dated ed charcoal that are found at ancient bone projectile points embedded in
from the hafting resin or binding string campsites can also yield such informa it, the earliest such points yet dated.
that connected the wood handle to the tion. Sites in the open are far more nu
worked stone. Bronze spearheads and
axheads from later times occasionally
merous than cave sites, but they are
less likely to offer fragments suitable I n the past a single plant grain or ani
mal bone could be dated only from
can be found with small pieces of their for conventional carbon dating. Accel the archaeological stratum in which
wood handles still attached. A spear erator dating, however, has made it it was found. Such dating by context
head from lackscar Cave in northern possible to derive a solid radiocarbon is important in setting the time frame
England has been dated by measur chronology from the bones found at for the domestication of plants and
ing the C-14 content in the traces of the key open sites of Pincevent, Eti animals. Yet soil cracks and rodent,
its wood handle. A stone axhammer olles and Marsangy. Pincevent is now worm, ant or human activity can dis
of the early Bronze Age was similarly considered to be a little more than perse these bits of organic material
dated; it came from a preserved forest 12,000 years old, and this accelerator throughout the soil, not necessarily
bed at Cleethorpes on the east coast of determined age agrees reasonably well in the chronological order of the sur
England. It is interesting to note that with some recent conventional datings. rounding geological deposits. Acceler
the age of an adjacent tree stump was The radiocarbon-accelerator measure ator dating is ideally suited to validate
found to be 1,000 years less than that ments also show that Pincevent is or invalidate this form of inferential
of the axhammer. In the past the tree about 1,000 years younger than Eti dating. For instance, measurements
stump could easily have been used to olles but older than Marsangy. Pin made in our laboratory and in a similar
date the axhammer by association. cevent is thereby seen to be approxi facility at the University of Arizona
The ages of bone projectile points mately contemporaneous with the ar showed that grain kernels and date
and harpoon tips are providing impor- chaeological finds in Gough's Cave in stones found on a 17,000-year-old site
SOIL CRACK
ANT OR TERMITE
ACTIVITY
FLECKS OF CHARCOAL
..;= i�!g!fZ{SF\ ..
SEED OR GRAIN
I \
LOOSE SAND ANIMAL TEETH
CHARCOAL IN /
BAKED CLAY
()�
�;:.,�
-I.", ;(, ,.-
l 4 r' . �
INSECT REMAINS
SHERD SEALED IN RUBBISH PIT IN LAKE MARL
STRATIGRAPHIC CONTEXT in which ancient organic remains, such as those shown, is likely to have dispersed the organic material.
such as bone, teeth, charcoal or seeds, are embedded must be care· Sound contexts (bottom) include those where the material to be car
fully examined before the results of their carbon dating can be con bon-dated has been sealed in an immobilizing matrix. Because the
fidently generalized to the strata in which they lie. Contexts of sealed material is likely to be of small size, accelerator mass spec
doubtful validity (top) include those where one or another agent, trometry is the technique best suited to date the strata by context.
106

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:07 UTC
in Egypt were in fact only a few hun ly small sample sizes, which conven
dred years old. On the other hand, tional radiocarbon dating is poorly
TOTAL SYSTEM FOR
grain from other sites in the Middle equipped to handle. Moreover, con
CARDIOVASCULAR
East has been dated as being many ventional radiocarbon dating would FITNESS.
Simulates cross-country skiing,·
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celerator dating offers is in the sample ple chemistry can lead to sharper and tone.
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needed for a measurement, one can af ample, accelerator dating of purified
ford to be much more'discriminating amino acids from bones more than
in choosing the carbon compound to 25,000 years old showed that their age
be tested. Parchment, like the collagen had previously been consistently un
of bone, can be made to yield an un derestimated by 1,000 or more years.
contaminated sample of carbon from The earlier, conventional measure
its amino acid constituents. A piece of ments had been based on whole colla
ivory can be similarly dated by meas gen, which cannot be guaranteed to be
uring the C-14 content of the amino free of modern carbon.
acids extracted from its dentine. In One controversy of long standing on
this way the extinction date of the which the new dating technique has al
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:07 UTC
Kin Recognition in Tadpoles
Tadpoles of the Cascades frog prefer to assoCiate with siblings,
which they distinguish from nonsiblings. The ability to recognize
kin is not based on familiarity; it may have a genetic component
by Andrew R. Blaustein and Richard K. O'Hara
T
he members of many animal individuals (the workers) labor in be er in social circumstances, recognition
species form social groups. half of a single fertile individual (the can come about through the mecha
There are flocks of birds, schools queen) that is their genetic sister. Why, nism of social learning, or familiarity.
of fish, troops of apes. The question however, should animals favor their That is, individuals of the same fami
arises: May some of these groups be kin, considering that such behavior ly group learn to recognize one anoth
based on family ties? In other words, may often be costly to the individual? er early in life. A second mechanism,
are some animals able to recognize Much of the current understanding phenotype matching, occurs if an indi
kin? Do they capitalize on this ability of the evolution of altruism derives vidual learns and remembers a specif
in order to associate with kin rather from the work of W. D. Hamilton of ic characteristic of itself or of its rela
than with unrelated individuals and the University of Oxford. His theories tives. Such a characteristic might be an
also to avoid mating with close rela to explain altruistic behavior predict odor, a plumage color or a particular
tives? Kin recognition has recent that individuals will aid or cooperate marking. The individual can then iden
ly been the focus of a number of stud with close relatives rather than with tify others as kin or nonkin by noting
ies by animal behaviorists. The studies distant relatives or unrelated individu similarities and differences between
lead eventually to consideration of an als because to do so gives them an evo the characteristic it remembers and
evolutionary approach to understand lutionary advantage. The more closely that of an unfamiliar individual. Phe
ing cooperation and altruism among related individuals are to one another, notype matching is fundamentally dif
animals. Before these theoretical im the more genes they have in common. ferent from recognition based on fa
plications can be considered, however, An altruist will aid relatives, even if miliarity because itenables an individ
one needs to know whether members such behavior may be risky for the ual to recognize unfamiliar animals.
of a particular species do indeed recog individual, because by doing so the The third mechanism, which de
nize their kin. If they can recognize kin, altruist is increasing the probability pends on specific "recognition genes,"
how do they do it? that genes identical with its own will also enables an individual to recognize
For the past several years we have be passed on to future generations. unfamiliar animals. This hypothetical
been investigating kin-recognition be Hamilton's term for the reproduc mechanism of kin recognition is, how
havior in tadpoles of several anuran tive success an organism shares when ever, a purely genetic one; no learn
(frog and toad) species that abound a genetic relative survives and repro ing is involved. Recognition genes (or,
in the lakes and ponds of the Pacific duces is "inclusive fitness." If relatives more specifically, recognition alleles,
Northwest. We find that these tadpoles live nearby (perhaps because dispersal which are alternative forms of genes)
do recognize their siblings, and that from birthplaces or hatching sites is are expressed as a phenotypic charac
in one species in particular the ability low), specific recognition of kin may ter such as odor. Individuals carry
to distinguish between kin and nonkin not be necessary for what is in effect ing copies of such an allele recognize,
is extremely sensitive. Tadpoles of the kin-directed behavior to operate. If in and so tend to favor, other individuals
Cascades frog, Rana cascadae. are able teractions with nonkin are also likely, carrying the same allele. It is impor
to recognize their siblings even if they however, the ability to recognize kin tant to remember that any of these
have never seen them before. They could prevent the misdirection of help mechanisms of kin recognition may
prefer to associate with their siblings ing behavior or ensure that the cooper operate alone or in conjunction with
rather than with nonsiblings, and this ative effort is exerted in behalf of the one another.
preference persists through their meta proper individual, namely a close rela
W ognition behavior in our labora

morphosis into frogs. tive. In general individuals that misdi e undertook the study of kin-rec
rect their altruistic acts would leave
K acteristic. It is intricately bound

in recognition is not a trivial char fewer copies of their genes to future tory at Oregon State University sever
generations than animals capable of al years ago largely because we had
to the cooperative and "altruistic" be directing their altruistic actions to rela a likely subject: observations of Rana
havior many social animals preferen tives would. Natural selection should cascadae tadpoles had suggested they
tially direct toward their relatives. The therefore favor the evolution of kin would be ideal for such an investiga
classic example of this behavior is that recognition along with altruism. tion. Two aspects of the natural histo
of social insects such as bees that live There appear to be three basic be ry of the species particularly struck us.
in an ordered, highly specialized socie havioral mechanisms that enable an The first one was that Cascades frog
ty characterized by cooperation and individual to recognize its kin. First, if tadpoles are unusually social. Where
altruism. In such communities sterile relatives are predictably found togeth- as most frog tadpoles are not known
108

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:20 UTC
to form aggregations or schools, Cas between kin and nonkin that were ei ent rearing regimes before testing the
cades frog tadpoles form cohesive ag ther familiar or unfamiliar to them. tadpoles for ability to identify kin.
gregations of fewer than 100 individ We had in mind three basic questions
I
uals. Moreover, because one of us animal behaviorists often ask when ap n the first regime individuals were
(O'Hara) had studied the natural histo proaching any behavioral study for the reared in aquariums with members
ry of these frogs, we knew that Cas first time: How does this behavior de of their own clutch only, so that they
cades frog tadpoles do not disperse velop? What is the sensory basis of this were exposed only to their siblings. In
very far from their hatching site. This behavior? What is its adaptive value? the second regime we reared an equal
suggested there must be ample oppor We began by collecting clutches, or number of tadpoles from each of two
tunity for kin to interact with one an egg masses, of Cascades frog eggs laid different clutches on opposite sides
other; it was possible that the aggrega by different females and fertilized of an aquarium partitioned by a
tions we saw were composed mostly of by different males and brought them central mesh screen. Water could flow
kin. We speculated that kin recogni into the laboratory. (A Cascades frog freely between the two groups, allow
tion might give Cascades frog tadpoles clutch contains between 400 and 800 ing members of both groups to ex
the ability to form and maintain such eggs; all tadpoles hatched from a single change chemical as well as visual cues.
cohesive groups. clutch are siblings.) We also collected We call this a mixed-rearing regime
For an inquiry into the nature and mating pairs of frogs and allowed egg because members of two different kin
the mechanism of kin recognition we laying and fertilization to take place in groups are essentially reared together.
needed to design an experimental pro the laboratory. We then subjected de In the third regime we removed new
tocol that would let tadpoles choose veloping embryos to one of four differ- ly fertilized eggs from a clutch and
TADPOLES of the frog species Raila cascadae form small, co they choose to associate with siblings. This preference, which re
hesive schools in a pond in the Cascade Range of Oregon. Appar mains with an individual through metamorphosis into a frog, means
ently these tadpoles can distinguish siblings from nonsiblings, and it is likely that the schools of these tadpoles consist mostly of kin.
© 1985 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC 109

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:20 UTC
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THE SECOND LAW
YOUR PREMIER VOLUME

THE SECOND LAW
P.WAtkins
"]be interested person can do
I
n his famous essay on the two cultures, C. P Snow made the
no better than to perose this fas Second Law of thermodynamics the litmus test of scientific liter
cinating new volume by Peter acy: Not to know the Second Law is the same as not haVing read a
Atkins .. .. Even those who feel work of Shakespeare.
they already know all about the This is the law, of course, that explains why hot objects grow cool
Second Law can hardly fail to whereas cool objects do not spontaneously become hot; why a
find new angles and fresh in bouncing ball must come to rest and a resting ball cannot, of its
sights into what is going on in own, begin to bounce. To some people, the Second Law conjures up
the world around them. I hope visions of clanking steam engines, intricate mathematics and in
that this remarkable book will comprehensible physical theory It is better known to many in its
he widely read by scientists as restatement as Murphy's second law: "Things, if left alone, will grad
well as by the non-scientists for ually go from bad to worse!"
whom it is primarily intended." That restatement captures, in its way, the universality and power of
NEW SCIENTIST the law that inspired Arthur Eddington to call it "the arrow of time:'
In The Second Law P W Atkins, of Oxford University, breaks
'1\ lovely hook, beautifully illus through the mathematical barriers to understanding of the law. By
trated and presented, and vivid example he shows it at work in heat engines, refrigerators, and
clearly commensurate with its heat pumps; the cosmos, in the ecosphere and in the living cell; in
companion volumes in the Sci the physical, chemical, and life processes that drive the changing
entific American Library. It world in all its richness and variety
should engender affection as a A special appendix equips readers who have computers with a kit
sophisticated latterday Hogben, of tools to put the Second Law to work.
complete with social allusions 230 pages, 104 illustrations
implicit in the call to conserve,
P.WATKINS is a lecturer in physical chemistry at the University of Oxford and
not energy, but entropy, and to a fellow of Lincoln College. He is the author of numerous distinguished
use the vir tuous entropy works in his field, including Physical Chemistry, Second Edition, The Crea
conserving heat pump rather tion, and Molecular Quantum Mechanics, Second Edition.
than crude and p r ofligate
combustion. ..."
NATURE
The Mark 1I universe model of a para

magnetic material at some arhitrary
temperature. In the absence of a mag
netic field, the opportunity for elec
trons to he UP (yellow) or DOWN
(green) is an addiiional contribution
to the entropy of the sample. Atoms may
still be ON (red) and OFF (white), but
the spins they carr)' may be UP or
DOWN at random.· The iwo illustra
tions show the same distributions of
ON and OFF, but different distrihutions
of UP and DOWN.

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:20 UTC
we recorded the time each test individ
ual spent in the part of the tank near a
particular stimulus group. That time
could be compared with what would
be expected if movement Were totally
I/' random (50 percent of the total test
, ,
time). The number of tadpoles that
spent more of their time near one end
of the test tank than they did near the
other was also recorded as an addition
al measure of preference. Appropriate
control tests revealed no biases in our
procedures or apparatus.
Our first series of experiments estab
b MESH
lished the basic fact that Cascades frog
�f �
\ tadpoles can distinguish between sib
, 11 � lings and nonsiblings. Some 80 per
\ !
", J
cent of the tadpoles reared only with
\
full siblings spent more time-a statis
tically significant amount more-near
� "-
"... familiar siblings than they did near
'-
---....
� unfamiliar nonsiblings. Tadpoles test
ed both early (from 1 1 to 19 days af
,
)
"- ter hatching) and late (from 34 to 40
\1- \....
�'-' �h
days after hatching) in development
displayed this preference.
,y-
T the
he next step was to try to determine
d MESH CYLINDER influence of familiarity with
other tadpoles on kin-recognition be
havior. This might yield insights into
the development of such behavior in
the species and perhaps give us a
handle on the mechanism controlling
the behavior. What we did was to test
three groups of tadpoles: those from
mixed-rearing regimes, those reared
with nonsiblings only and those reared
in total isolation. After being reared in
FOUR REARING REGIMES expose developing tadpoles to different environments before one of these regimes for an average of
they are tested for the ability to recognize kin. In one case embryos taken from a single egg
four weeks, test tadpoles were given a
mass are raised together in an aquarium, so that the tadpoles are exposed only to siblings
choice of associating with either an un
(a). In a "mixed rearing" regime (b) embryos from two different egg masses are raised on
each side of a mesh screen. Members of the two groups can exchange visual and chemical
familiar full-sibling group or an unfa
cues and thus are exposed to both siblings and nonsiblings. In a third regime a fertilized egg
miliar nonsibling group.
is put in an opaque dish (c), so that the tadpole is raised in isolation. In the fourth regime The results from these experiments
a single fertilized egg is placed inside a mesh cylinder (d ), with 12 embryos from a dif showed us that, like tadpoles reared
ferent egg mass outside the cylinder: the enclosed tadpole is exposed only to nonsiblings. with full siblings only, tadpoles reared
in a mixed-rearing regime also spent
most of their time near their siblings
enclosed each egg in an individual ing regimes had on tadpole kin recog rather than near nonsiblings. What was
opaque container so that the tadpole nition we tested the four sets of tad particularly significant in this series
would be reared in total isolation from poles by allowing them to choose to of experiments was that test tadpoles
other tadpoles. In the fourth rearing associate with one or the other of two could distinguish between unfamiliar
regime we enclosed a single newly fer groups of stimulus tadpoles. The stim siblings and unfamiliar nonsiblings.
tilized egg in a mesh cylinder posi ulus animals varied in their relatedness Tests of tadpoles reared with only non
tioned at the center of a rearing aquari to and familiarity with the test individ siblings gave the same result: they pre
um. We then placed developing em uals. Our standard tests were carried ferred to associate with unfamiliar sib
bryos from another clutch in the water out in a rectangular tank divided into lings rather than with unfamiliar non
surrounding the test embryo. Individ two basins by a central watertight, siblings. It appears, then, that exposure
uals reared in this regime were thus opaque barrier. We could test two tad to unrelated tadpoles during develop
chemically and visually exposed only poles simultaneously but independent ment does not alter the preference for
to unrelated tadpoles prior to being ly on opposite sides of the barrier. The association with siblings. Moreover,
tested. In summary, the four regimes ends of the tank were partitioned with early familiarity with siblings is not a
allowed us to work with four different plastic mesh to create small chambers prerequisite for identifying them later
sets of tadpoles: those reared with sib in which stimulus tadpoles (usually 25 in life.
lings only, those reared with both sib of them) swam. The test tadpoles could Finally, there were the tadpoles
lings and nonsiblings, those reared in see the stimulus animals; exchange of reared in total isolation, which had
total isolation and those reared with chemical cues was possible, but there never associated with, or even seen,
nonsiblings only. could be no tactile contact. other free-swimming tadpoles before
To see what effects the various rear- In a series of repeated experiments we tested them. We found they too
1 12

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:20 UTC

preferred to spend most of their time discovery by predators and to detect in Cascades frog tadpoles is to pro
swimming near their siblings. Appar and escape from an approaching pr ed mote the cohesion of related individu
ently no experience with any other in ator. Recent evidence from our labora als, possibly in order to facilitate feed
dividual is necessary for kin-recogni tory shows, for example, that tadpoles ing but more probably to avoid preda
tion behavior to develop. Because tad under attack from their insect preda tors. To be sure, individuals could gain
poles could identify siblings they had tors release chemicals that induce oth the group benefits described by being
not been in contact with since they ers within the group to flee. We think in a group with nonkin. By helping or
were in the egg mass together as em the prime function of kin recognition warning kin, however, they help those
bryos, we conclude that familiarity
cannot be the prime mechanism of kin
recognition in this species. Phenotype
matching, recognition genes or both
must be implicated.
The degree of sensitivity a kin-rec
ognition system displays may help to
show what mechanism is operating. A
highly sensitive system may well sug
gest a genetic component. How sensi
tive is the R. cascadae kin-recognition
system? To answer the question we
decided to see whether tadpoles could
distinguish their full siblings from half
siblings and half siblings from nonsib
lings. We produced paternal half sib
lings by fertilizing the eggs of two MESH BARRIER OPAQUE DIVIDER
females with sperm from one male,
maternal half siblings by fertilizing
one half of a female's clutch with
sperm from one male and the other
half with sperm from a second male.
In a series of experiments similar to
our standard ones, we found that indi
vidual tadpoles preferred to associate
with full siblings rather than with ei
ther maternal or paternal half siblings.
Maternal half siblings were preferred
over paternal half siblings or nonsib
lings and paternal half siblings were
preferred over nonsiblings. Apparent
ly maternal or paternal cues alone are
sufficient for kin recognition, and Cas
cades frog tadpoles can distinguish be
tween individuals of varying degrees
of kinship; this is indeed a remarkably
[]
sensitive kin-recognition system. The
LJ
fact that test tadpoles preferred mater
nal to paternal half siblings suggests
that maternal cues exert a stronger
..
influence on recognition. Perhaps the
, ..
reason is that the mother contributes
. ....
[ill
more to the developing embryo (cer .
� -::.-:
tain cytoplasmic factors in the eggs,
for example) than the father, whose
contribution is primarily genetic infor
mation. Still, the fact that paternal half
siblings are distinguished from nonsib
lings suggests that at least some part of
TADPOLE PREFERENCE TESTS are done in an aquarium 1.2 meters long. In the stan
kin recognition in this species is related dard test (top) the aquarium is divided by an opaque central barrier so that two tadpoles can
to a genetic factor. be tested simultaneously but independently. Plastic-mesh partitions create two end cham
bers, each of which is occupied by 25 "stimulus" tadpoles: either siblings or nonsiblings of a
W
hat can be the value for Cas test animal. The individual being tested can choose to swim near either of the two groups of
cades frog tadpoles of any kin stimulus tadpoles. The amount of time it spends near each group is recorded. Most of the
recognition system at all, let alone tadpoles from all four of the rearing regimes chose to spend more time swimming near their
such a sensitive one? The most obvious siblings than near nonsiblings. The sensory basis of kin recognition is determined by modi
fying the standard test tank in two ways. Watertight glass panes that replace the mesh end
possibility is that kin recognition is the
partitions (Illiddle) allow the test tadpoles to see the two stimulus groups but prevent the
basis of these tadpoles' ability to form
exchange of chemical cues. Under these conditions there is no preference for siblings. When
small, dense schools. Some advantages the stimulus groups are enclosed in boxes fitted with an opaque front facing the test ani
of living in schools rather than alone mals but with perforated side� and tops (bottolll), the test tadpoles cannot see the stimulus
are an enhanced ability to find and groups, but they can still sense chemical cues. Under these conditions test tadpoles showed
share a limited food supply, to avoid a preference for their siblings, indicating that kin recognition is mediated by chemical cues.
113

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:20 UTC
with whom they share genes, thereby standard tests we then sought to learn when they could only see them. On the
enhancing their inclusive fitness. whether the tadpoles communicate by other hand, kin recognition was effec
In the tests we have described so far means of visual cues or chemical cues. tive when only chemical cues could be
the tadpoles had the full range of their In one test we put stimulus animals sensed. Clearly chemoreception medi
senses. To identify the sensory basis of behind a watertight glass pane instead ates kin recognition in these tadpoles.
their kin-recognition behavior we un of a plastic mesh, so that they and the They produce some kind of chemical
dertook a new series of experiments. test animals could see one another but cue unique to their kin group, which
First we investigated the possibility of could not communicate chemically. In they smell, taste or sense in some other
sound communication. We listened to another test we put stimulus tadpoles way to distinguish kin from nonkin.
individual tadpoles with a hydrophone in chambers fitted with opaque fronts
W nition behavior is able to survive

and an oscilloscope, monitoring fre facing the test animals but with perfo e wondered whether kin-recog
quencies from 10 hertz (cycles per sec rated sides and tops. The chambers
ond), which is known to be at the lower were placed behind the plastic mesh of the drastic changes in anatomy, physi
limit of the range of hearing in ani the end compartments in the standard ology, ecology and behavior that ac
mals, to 100,000 hertz. The tadpoles tank. This design allowed chemicals to company metamorphosis, when the
did not emit any sounds at the tested flow between stimulus and test animals aquatic, primarily gill-breathing, om
frequencies. but prevented any visual contact. The nivorous tadpole changes into an am
By modifying the procedures of our test animals could not identify kin phibious, lung-breathing, carnivorous
700 60
600 - -
50
500 - - f---
(fJ
--'
(jJ
<l:
:::J
0
40 r----
0
6400 - - r----
'>
is
30 f---
() �
w
lJ..
�
w 300 - - r----
0
a:
:::; w
i= (])
:::; 20 r---- -
200 - - f--- :::J
Z
100 - - 10 r---- -
0
STANDARD CHEMICAL-CUE VISUAL-CUE STANDARD CHEMICAL-CUE VISUAL-CUE
TESTS TESTS TESTS TESTS TESTS TESTS
KIN-PREFERENCE BEHAVIOR of R. cascadae tadpoles was the standard and the chemical-cne tests the tadpoles spent an aver
studied by allowing tadpoles to choose to swim near siblings or near age of 660 seconds at the end of the tank close to kin, but when
nonsiblings. The average number of seconds tadpoles swam at the the tadpoles had to rely on visual cues, the time spent near siblings
end of the test tank nearest their siblings is shown (left) for the dropped to the random level. A total of 60 individuals were ob
standard test (in which the tadpoles have the full range of their served in each test; the number that spent more of their time near
senses) and for the chemical- and visual-cue tests. Testing was for a siblings than near nonsiblings is another measure of preference
total of 1,200 seconds (20 minutes), so that 600 seconds spent on (right). In the standard and the chemical-cue tests some 75 percent
each side of the tank would represent random behavior. In both of the individuals tested spent more of their time near their siblings.
DEVELOPMENT of tadpoles into frogs proceeds over a span of at which individual tadpoles reach a particular stage is extremely
from six weeks to more than eight weeks. Four representative stag variable.) R. cascadae displays kin-recognition behavior at each of
es (in a continuum of 26 stages) in this process are shown. (The age the four developmental stages, including the froglet stage (right).
PERFORATED PLATE
I
u��;�"�_
", _____________
MESH BARRIER
�
�
, c,,�
__ �__________________��m
t?"<.ll=ll
l _
TEST CHAMBER was designed to determine whether kin recogni mined by the amount of time the test frog spends near the end of
tion persists after metamorphosis. The chamber at one end of the the tube housing its siblings compared with the amount of time it
clear plastic tube holds siblings of the test frog in the tube; the spends near its nonsiblings. The test showed that R. cascadae con
chamber at the other end holds nonsiblings. Kin preference is deter- tinues to exhibit kin-preference behavior even after metamorphosis.
1J4

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:20 UTC
frog. To address this q uestion we under
took the formidable task of caring for
hundreds of newly metamorphosed
frogs. Then we tested froglets from
four to 12 days after metamorphosis
and again from 39 to 47 days after
metamorphosis for their ability to
identify kin.
We did this in a way comparable to
our standard preference tests for tad
(J)
poles but in an apparatus that would z
accommodate frogs. We placed indi o
vidual froglets in a moist, transpar ti
(9
ent plastic tube that was partitioned w
a:
by screens near both ends to create (9
two stimulus compartments and a test �
u..
compartment. One stimulus compart o
ment held siblings of the test frog I
Z
let and the opposite one held nonsib W
o
lings. We recorded the amount of time a:
w
froglets spent in the part of the tube 0..
near their siblings compared with the
amount of time spent near nonsiblings.
The results suggested that the frog
lets had apparently retained the abil
ity to identify kin in spite of the
drastic changes they had undergone
in anatomy and physiology.
What advantage is there in kin rec 50 PERCENT
100 100
ognition for Cascades frogs after met PERCENT <E<:----- RED --------)� PERCENT
amorphosis, considering that they are BLUE'
50 PERCENT RED
BLUE
not known to form aggregations as
adults? Perhaps an ability to recognize SCHOOLING PREFERENCES of R. cascadae tadpoles in a natural setting rather than in
kin confers no selective advantage on the laboratory were studied by marking the animals with a blue or a red dye, releasing them
adult frogs and is retained after meta in ponds and determining the color composition of the aggregations they formed. As a
morphosis simply because there is no control, half of the members of single clutches were dyed blue and the other half were dyed
particular selective pressure against red. The siblings were released in ponds and the number of tadpoles of each color in the
retaining it. It is also possible that the resulting schools was counted. When the results of a series of control runs were plotted,
they yielded a bell-shaped curve (top): most of the schools were roughly half blue and half
adults depend on kin-recognition abil
red, indicating that color in itself does not influence aggregation. For the actual tests,
ity either in reprod uctive behavior
members of one clutch were dyed blue and those of a different clutch were dyed red. When
(to avoid breeding with close relatives) the results of a number of tests were plotted, the color composition of the schools these
or in social organization, perhaps to tadpoles formed was seen to approach a "bimodal" distribution: whether the siblings had
find their home pond after having been been reared apart (middle) or together (bottom), most of the schools were predominantly
displaced. blue or predominantly red. In other words, most of these aggregations consisted of kin.
Laboratory experiments can only ap
proximate and simplify the complex
social and ecological conditions ani It was not an easy task to approach active kin-recognition system. Having
mals encounter in nature. For this and collect aggregations of tadpoles. If shown that to be true, we looked at
reason during three consecutive sum they detected us moving toward them, other anuran species displaying differ
mers we did experiments in natural they would disperse rapidly. Eventual ent behavioral characteristics.
ponds and lakes inhabited by Cascades ly, however, we did determine that red Red-legged frogs (Rana aurora) are
frog tadpoles. We got tadpoles for field and blue tadpoles from the same kin closely related to the Cascades frog.
experiments by collecting egg masses group aggregated randomly in control When we put them through a series of
from natural breeding ponds and rear ponds: dye color had no effect in 103 standard preference tests, however, the
ing the individuals in the laboratory aggregations we sampled. In contrast, results were very different. The red
either with siblings only or in mixed the distribution of red and blue tad legged tadpoles can identify kin only
rearing regimes. We marked tadpoles poles from different kin groups was early in the free-swimming stage, and
from two kin groups with different col not at all random: the 353 aggregations then only if they have been reared with
ors by immersing them in a harmless we sampled in the experimental ponds f ull siblings; they lose their ability to
red or blue dye. Then we intermingled were dominated by one of the two col recognize kin as they develop. Western
members of the two groups and re ors. The results of these field experi toad (Bulo boreas) tadpoles can rec
leased them in natural ponds in the ments lead us to believe that Cascades ognize kin through the tadpole stage,
Cascade Range. We considered the frog tadpoles can identify their kin, but only if they have not been ex
possibility that tadpoles might form and prefer to associate with them, in posed to nonkin. If they have been
groups based on their new color rather nature as they do in the laboratory. exposed to nonkin, they rapidly lose
than on kinship. As a control we there their ability to identify kin.
W certain
fore divided some single kin groups, e had originally speculated that Our results with Western toads are
dyed half of the members of each aspects of the behav similar to those reported by Bruce
group red and the other half blue and ior we had noted in Cascades frog Waldman of Cornell University, who
released the groups in control ponds. tadpoles might be connected with an investigated tadpoles of the closely re-
1 15

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:20 UTC
o RANA CASCADAE
700 miliar individ uals that smell like the
o RANA AURORA
nestmates. Richard H. Porter of Van
derbilt University has demonstrated
o BUFO BOREAS
that spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) that
680 ,--
are artificially "odorized" prefer to
associate with unfamiliar individuals
that have been given the same odor.
660 - - Clear cases of a recognition-gene
mechanism are harder to establish, but
(jJ recent studies of mating preferences in
0
Z - the house mouse (Mus musculus) have
0
() 640 yielded strong evidence that is consis
w
� tent with a genetic recognition system
w [see "The Chemosensory Recognition
::0;;
i= of Genetic Individuality," by Gary K.
620 , r== Beauchamp, Kunio Yamazaki and Ed
ward A. Boyse; SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN,
July, 1985]. The results showed that
,-- mice can choose between potential
600 mates that differ at a single genetic site
in the Major Histocompatibility Com
plex (H-2), which specifies the antigens
580
responsible for distinguishing between
REARED WITH SIBLINGS REARED WITH SIBLINGS self and nonself. Male mice prefer to
AND NONSIBLINGS
mate with females whose H-2 type is
different from their own. The prefer
SPECIES DIFFERENCES in kin-recognition behavior are revealed when tadpoles of two
frog species and a toad species are given the standard kin-recognition tests. All three spe
ence is based on the genetically deter
cies prefer to associate with kin if they have been raised with siblings only; that is, they mined scent associated with particular
spend more than the random amonnt of 600 seconds at the end of the tank nearest siblings. H-2 alleles.
(This is true for early and late developmental stages of R. cascadae and the toad Bujo The sensitive kin-recognition system
boreas bnt is true only for the early larval stages of Raila aurora.) For tadpoles reared with of Cascades frog tadpoles may also be
both siblings and nonsiblings the amount of time spent with siblings drops to the random a genetic recognition system. One can
level in R. aurora and B. boreas; the preference for kin remains significant in R. cascadae. not, however, r ule o ut the possibility
that a Cascades frog tadpole, even one
reared in total isolation, may learn its
lated American toad, Bu/o americanus. izations. Olfactory cues are the basis of own genetically determined odor by
In laboratory experiments he found identifying kin in most species of in experiencing itself. It could then match
that American toad tadpoles general sects and mammals. It is now clear that the odors of two unfamiliar groups
ly cannot distinguish between kin and the commonest of the three mecha and compare them with its own odor;
nonkin if they are reared in mixed nisms for identifying kin is familiarity, the group having the more familiar
rearing regimes. It is likely that in which is efficient when there is a high odor would be taken to be more close
both toad species, and possibly in the probability that the individuals a par ly related. It may be impossible to de
red-legged frog, familiarity influences ticular animal interacts with are rela termine experimentally whether phe
kin identification. tives. Kin recognition is influenced by notype matching or an innate genetic
It was not surprising to learn that familiarity in the Western toads we ex recognition system is operating in Cas
red-legged frog and Western toad tad amined; familiarity has at least some cades tadpoles; it is conceivable that
poles do not have a well-developed role in the recognition abilities of most both are operating simultaneously. In
ability to recognize kin. The tadpoles of the birds and small mammals that fact, one proposition holds that the dif
of both species disperse rapidly from have been studied. Familiarity is prob ferences between the two mechanisms
their hatching sites. Moreover, red ably an important means of avoiding are trivial. Both mechanisms enable
legged frog tadpoles are not known to inbreeding in many species. an animal to identify an unfamiliar
aggregate, and Western toad tadpoles Although we are sure familiarity is relative, and so the evolutionary con
are usually found in huge schools (up not an essential part of the kin-recog seq uences are the same.
to a million tadpoles) composed of in nition mechanism in Cascades frog In addition to the theoretical impli
dividuals from hundreds of different tadpoles, we cannot be s ure whether cations bearing on familial altruism,
clutches. Probably tadpoles of these the mechanism is learned phenotype kin recognition may yield important
species have not had enough oppor matching or derives from innate recog practical benefits. Knowledge of how
tunity for interaction with kin during nition genes. It is often difficult to dis members of a particular species recog
development to have evolved a sensi tinguish between the two, although nize one another is critical in animal
tive kin-recognition system that allows there are some fairly clear-cut cases husbandry and in the propagation of
them to form cohesive groups. of phenotype matching. For example, certain endangered species, particular
Gregory R. Buckle and Les Greenberg ly where "familiarity" with potential
W studies in various animal species

hen the results of kin-recognition of the University of Kansas showed mates influences mating behavior. The
that sweat bees (Lasioglossum zephy newly demonstrated connection be
are surveyed, certain patterns emerge. rum) guarding nest entrances distin tween a kin-recognition system and
For example, aquatic forms such as guish among unfamiliar bees on the histocompatibility genes suggests a
fish and tadpoles depend on water basis of phenotypic similarity to indi very different kind of benefit: the
borne chemical cues. Birds depend on vid uals with which they were .reared. studies of kin-recognition behavior
fixed genetic cues such as plumage col The guards learn what their nestmates may shed some light on the workings
oration or variable cues such as vocal- smell like and admit only those unfa- of the immune system.
1 16

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:20 UTC
"Cameron has never heard
the love in his parents'voices:'
�'AW�"'"
He's deaf.
Cameron Garberoglio is one of 16 million funded by more than 2,000 doctors, allied profes
hearing-impaired Americans that needs your sionals, and medical societies. So 100% of your
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T he Foundation is unique-its overhead is tion. Because there's so much to hear.
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186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:20 UTC
THE AMATEUR
endpoint. You study the optical activi
ty of solutions by measuring the angle
through which the analyzer must be
SCIENTIST
turned to block the light.
The direction of rotation of the
light's polarization is specified from
the perspective of the observer. The
An inexpensive homemade polarimeter

solution is said to be dextrorotatory if
the rotation is clockwise and levoro
can analyze optically active compounds

tatory if it is counterclockwise. The
extent of the rotation is determined
by how many of the optically active
molecules the light passes on its way
through the cell. Longer cells and high
by] earl Walker

er concentrations of molecules in
crease the rotation of the polarization.
The rotation also varies with the wave
length of the light.
In order to describe how much a
S
olutions containing optically active inary line (the polarization axis) paral certain compound rotates the polari
compounds such as sugar rotate lel to the polarization of the light rep zation of light, one speaks of "specific
the polarization of light passing resents the effect of the filter. rotation." In Epstein's work this meas
through them. The rotation reveals If a second polarizing filter is placed ure is the angle through which the po
asymmetries in the construction of the in the path of the beam, the intensity of larization rotates when the light passes
compounds. This phenomenon also the light that passes through it depends through one decimeter (.1 meter) of a
has practical applications, such as con on the filter's orientation. If its polari solution in which the concentration is
trolling the concentration of sugar in zation axis is parallel to the oscilla 100 grams per 100 cubic centimeters.
food products and sugar refining. Sam tions of the incident light, the light (Some references define specific rota
Epstein of Los Angeles has designed an is fully transmitted. If the axis is per tion in terms of other units.) The wave
inexpensive polarimeter that measures pendicular to the oscillations, the light length of the light is usually taken to
optical activity. is fully blocked. Intermediate orienta be 589 nanometers, that of the yellow
A classical model of light describes tions of the filter pass intermediate in emission line of sodium. The temper
it as a moving wave of oscillating elec tensities of light. ature of the solution is usually 20 de
tric fields. Often the light is depicted as The filter closest to the light source grees Celsius.
a ray in order to indicate its direction is called the polarizer; the other filter is Epstein's polarimeter operates on
of travel. Superposed on the ray are the analyzer. What you see in using the light from a 60-watt bulb. The light
vectors representing the direction and instrument is the light emerging from passes through a color filter and a col
strength of the associated electric field. the analyzer as it is rotated about the limating lens and then into a hous
The vectors are always perpendicular original ray. When the axes of the two ing, where it is reflected upward from
to the ray, and they vary in direction filters are parallel, you see the brightest a mirror. In the housing it travels
and strength in such a way that the light. After a 90-degree rotation of the through a polarizer and a cell holding
composite resembles a wave. The elec analyzer you see no light. This position the solution of interest. Thereafter the
tric field appears to oscillate as the of the analyzer is called the endpoint. light proceeds through a condensing
light moves past a given point. Solutions of optically active com lens and an analyzer, finally reaching
When the light is not polarized, the pounds such as lactic acid, tartaric an eyepiece through which the end
field can oscillate in any direction per acid, nicotine, turpentine, amino acids point is determined.
pendicular to the ray. If the light passes and vitamins rotate the polarization of The bulb and its socket are mount
through a polarizing filter, the oscilla light passing through them. They are ed on a wood support and covered
tions are restricted in such a way as to distinguished from other compounds with an inverted fruit can. The can is
be parallel to a single axis perpendic by their three-dimensional structure. mounted about an inch above the sup
ular to the ray. The light is said to be An optically active compound has one port so that air can flow into the can.
polarized. Its polarization is represent or more carbon atoms, each of which Holes in the top of the can allow air
ed by a double-arrow vector. An imag- is attached to one of four different heated by the bulb to escape. Extend
types of atoms or groups of atoms. As ing from a hole punched in one side of
light passes a carbon atom and its at the can is a length of polyvinyl chlo
Polarization
tachments, the electric field of the light ride (PVC) pipe of one-inch internal
interacts with the atoms in a way that diameter. The outer end of the PVC
rotates the polarization of the light tube is covered with a thin plate of
about the ray. ground glass.
Polarization Suppose a cell that contains a solu Since most data on specific rotation
of the. light tion of an optically active compound for optically active compounds are
is placed between the filters. When the listed for the yellow emission line of
t? polarized light passes through the so

lution, its polarization is rotated about
sodium, Epstein filters the white light
emitted by the bulb. He avoided the
filtEr.}
the ray. Hence when it reaches the ana cost of a professional color filter by
lyzer, it has an orientation different making a filter. His rig is made with
Polariz'lng Ray from the one it had before the cell two microscope slides that serve as
was introduced. To block the light windows in a rectangular cell. The top
A filter's polarizing action the analyzer must be rotated to a new of the cell is made of plastic fitted
120

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:42 UTC
snugly into place to reduce evapora ratus is made from quarter-inch ply inch in diameter cut into the partition.
tion. The rest of the cell is glued to wood or Masonite to form a rigid sup The polarizer is glued to the bottom
gether with epoxy. The cell contains port. The interior is painted flat black of the partition.
a water solution of potassium dichro to eliminate stray light. A door on one Epstein made the polarizer by sand
mate at a 10 percent concentration (10 side of the housing provides access to wiching a one-inch square of polar
grams per 100 milliliters of solution). the sample cell. izing filter between two microscope
The cell is placed in a protective cover The distance between the color filter slides. The position of the square is
ing made of sheet metal or quarter and the collimator lens is equal to the maintained by two sections of file-card
inch Masonite, and the assembly is focal length of the lens, so that the light stock. The edges of the two micro
mounted on a wood pillar so that the from the filter passes through the rest scope slides are covered with trans
windows are at the proper height to of the apparatus approximately as a parent tape that extends one-eighth of
intercept the light. beam. The lens is mounted in a sec an inch inward to keep the polarizing
The potassium dichromate solution tion of PVC pipe that shades the lens filter from sliding out of position. A
acts as a filter because it transmits from extraneous light. The light shines spot of epoxy is put on both sides of
a narrow range of wavelengths close on a front-surface mirror glued with each piece of file-card stock to glue
to the yellow emission line of sodi epoxy to a wood support. The mirror the sandwich together.
um. Therefore Epstein's combination is mounted at an angle of 45 degrees A microscope slide is glued across
of a white-light source and a color with respect to the horizontal. Epstein the hole in the partition to protect
filter yields approximately the same cautions that proper alignment of the the polarizer sandwich and the mirror
light as a professional's sodium emis optical path is essential. against leaks of the solution being test
sion lamp. (The color filter can also Just above the mirror is a parti ed. On top of the slide is a one-by-two
be made from a square of orange No. tion made from quarter-inch plywood inch Masonite pad. A hole in the pad
22 Kodak Wratten gelatin filter.) or from Masonite. The mirror directs matches the hole in the partition. The
The housing for the rest of the appa- light through a holt five-eighths of an sample cell containing the test solution
(
Q) <i:)
Inverted
can over Vent holes
light bulb glass
filter
Ql
<9
111C polarillleter designed by Salll Epstein
121

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:42 UTC
rests on the pad and is held in the path tom to avoid distorting the light beam. Because the tubes cost about $8
of the light by a six-inch length of PVC Epstein uses 50-milliliter color-com each, Epstein suggests that you build
pipe, sawed so that the cross section of parison tubes (Type EXAX, low form) your own cell from a transparent plas
the top five inches is a half circle. The that are available from most laborato tic tube that is one inch in diameter and
pipe is attached to the housing of the ry-supply houses. The tubes slide into has a wall 1116 inch thick. Cut off a
apparatus with two 10-32 brass bolts. the PVC holder and rest on the Ma six-inch length of the tube and grind
A sample cell must have a fiat bot- sonite pad. one end fiat. Glue a 1'/2-inch length of
microscope slide to the fiat end. The
�
slide should be centered on the tube.
The glue should be epoxy and must
provide a watertight seal.
This design has two drawbacks. You
Eyepiece hOlder '
will need to modify the PVC holder
_
so that the cell fits into place. A more
serious problem is that the cell may
be ruined if you do experiments with
some types of organic solvents.
I "
Above the sample-cell holder is a
condensing lens that directs light from
the cell through the analyzer and the
eyepiece. The analyzer is a sandwich
made in the same way as the polarizer
is made with one important difference:
the filters are skewed. Begin with a
Condensing 1'/4-inch square of polarizing filter.
lens Cut a five-degree triangular segment
out of the center. Slide the remaining
Partition parts of the filter together. Trim them
so that they form a one-inch square.
Sandwich this arrangement between
the microscope slides.
The skewed arrangement of filters in
the analyzer makes the determination
of the endpoint easier. Otherwise you
Sample cell must guess what position of the ana
lyzer best eliminates the light passed
by the test solution. With the skewed
filters you merely compare the relative
brightness of the light passing through
each part of the filter arrangement.
Door for The endpoint is achieved when the
acce.ss to
sample cell
two parts are equally bright. If you
Sample-cell
holder
Microscope.
slides, 1" x 3" ---",L.---.----:=-
�ht 50lution �
Potassium
dichromate
from
color filte.r
Details of the apparatus holding the sample cell Epstein's color ji Iter
122

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:42 UTC
Top
slide.mi(1"xcro5cope..
3") Cello
'c
hone. tope C"1V4"
-l
�quQre of po\or"ILing filter
5'---
degrees ---fL...
re.move.. .----'-.... :III ----- -------:III
I
I
IIII III
I II
How the polarizer is assembled

Cut �u�-:�.-::r:�
Skewed parts of the analyzer
rotate the analyzer in either direction Place the cell in the polarimeter with the solution until it reaches 67 degrees.
from the endpoint, one part brightens the mark on its side aligned with the Keep it in the bath for five more min
and the other part darkens. Hence the mark on the cell holder. Rotate the utes. (Do not let the temperature of the
skewed arrangement of filters enables eyepiece to find the endpoint. Note solution exceed 69.5 degrees.)
you to fine-tune the determination of where the pointer lies on the circular Transfer the flask to another water
the endpoint. scale of degrees. bath at 20 degrees C. Remove the flask
The analyzer sandwich is glued to Exchange the water for 50 milliliters from the bath when the temperature of
the bottom of a holder for the eye of sugar solution at a concentration the solution falls to 35 degrees. When
piece. The holder passes through a of 20 grams per 100 milliliters. Again the temperature of the solution reach
hole in the housing. It is held in place check for the endpoint. Epstein finds es 20 degrees, rinse the thermometer
with two flanges but is still free to that it is rotated clockwise by about 17 with about 25 milliliters of water, let
turn in the hole. The eyepiece can be a degrees from its position on the scale ting the water run into the flask. Add
single lens or a low-power compound when only water is examined. enough water to bring the volume in
lens system. A scale marked in degrees The rotation can also be ascertained the flask to 100 milliliters. Again mix
surrounds the holder. by a calculation. The specific rotation the contents.
To set a pointer on the scale switch for sugar is 66.5 degrees clockwise. In Place the flask in the 20-degree bath
on the light bulb and turn the eyepiece Epstein's experiment the length of the for another 15 minutes. If necessary,
holder (and thus the analyzer), moni light path is 1.3 decimeters. To com again add enough water to the flask
toring the brightness of the light as you pute the expected rotation multiply to bring the volume to 100 milliliters.
look through the eyepiece. Find the the specific rotation, the concentration Mix the contents and pour 50 millili
position where the two parts of the an (grams per milliliter) and the length ters of it into a sample cell. Position the
alyzer are equally bright. Then attach (decimeters). The expected rotation cell in the polarimeter and measure
a pointer to the eyepiece holder so that is clockwise by about 17 degrees. You how much the solution rotates the po
it points to zero on the rotation scale. might like to determine how the rota larization of the light. Epstein meas
The bottom of a sample cell often tion depends on the sugar concentra ures a rotation of about 2.8 degrees
has optical imperfections that alter the tion. Begin with the strongest solution counterclockwise.
polarization of light. To eliminate this and gradually dilute it as you measure The breakdown of sucrose is cata
possibility fill each cell with 50 milli the rotation. lyzed by the hydrochloric acid, pro
liters of water and mount it in the ap Epstein also investigated a well ducing 10.5 grams each of dextrose
paratus. Rotate the cell in its holder, known reaction in which sucrose is and levulose. The specific rotation of
monitoring the light through the eye broken down into two simpler sugars, dextrose is 5 2. 5 degrees clockwise, the
piece, until you get the best overall im dextrose and levulose. (The process is specific rotation of levulose 93 degrees
age and endpoint. Permanently mark called inversion.) Dissolve 20 grams counterclockwise. Calculate the rota
the side of the cell holder. Make a cor of sucrose in 50 milliliters of water in tions created by the two products in
responding mark on the cell. Whenev a 100-milliliter flask. Mix it well. Pre the sample cell. The dextrose should
er you use that cell, place it in the hold pare 10 milliliters of a mixture of hy rotate the polarization of light by
er with the marks aligned. Repeat this drochloric acid in the ratio of one part about 7.16 degrees clockwise and the
procedure for each cell. acid to three parts water. Add the mix levulose should rotate it by about 12.7
Epstein suggests testing the optical ture to the flask and again mix the solu degrees counterclockwise. Since the
activity of a solution of sucrose (or tion. Put a thermometer into the flask rotations are in opposite directions,
dinary sugar). Begin with a sample and place the flask in a water bath at 70 the calculation of the average rotation
cell containing 50 milliliters of water. degrees C. Monitor the temperature of amounts to subtracting the two num-
123

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:42 UTC
bers and dividing by two. The result is Epstein suggests that you take read the far end of the kaleidoscope and see
about 2.8 degrees counterclockwise, ings on the polarization rotation about additional images reflected from the
just as Epstein measured. every 15 minutes until the variations mirrors. In a two-mirror system the
You might also enjoy studying the disappear. images lie in pie-shaped sectors clus
optical activity of such substances as With a similar procedure you might tered around the vertex at the intersec
corn syrup, maple syrup and pancake also study the optical activity of dif tion of the mirrors. In a three-mirror
syrup. Add 25 milliliters of the syr ferent types of honey. The procedure system the entire field of view is filled
up to a 100-milliliter volumetric flask, for sugar inversion can also be em with images. In both types the images
along with about 25 milliliters of rinse ployed to study the optical activity of appear to lie in a flat plane called the
water to ensure the complete transfer gelatin, soft drinks and other liquids image field that extends through the
of the syrup. Add two drops of concen containing sugar. If the gelatin is fla direct view.
trated ammonium hydroxide to serve vored, make sure it is the orange varie Most arrangements of three mirrors
as a catalyst. Mix the contents well, ty in order to obtain a color close to create image fields that are ambiguous
add enough water to bring the volume that of the sodium yellow light. You in the sense that the content in any area
to 100 milliliters and mix again. Pour might also compare the polarization of the field depends on your angle of
50 milliliters into a sample cell and rotations of both pure and sweetened view into the kaleidoscope. Suppose
measure the rotation of polarization. fruit juices. you see a red bead at a certain place in
The molecules of the sugars in the syr the field. If you change your perspec
up rearrange themselves in a process Tast month I examined the optics of tive, something else may replace the
called mutarotation until an equilibri L kaleidoscopes consisting of either bead. The image fields in a kaleido
um is reached. Before equilibrium the two or three mirrors. In each type one scope whose mirrors form an equilat
optical activity of the solution varies. can have a direct view of the objects at eral triangle or a rectangle are unam-
Region empty
Rotation about
virtual mirror
Rotation about
real mirror ;t
Ambiguity in a hexagonal-mirror system
Eightfold �ymmetry Direct \Jiew �;; Fourfold

S"lmmetry
!J 1�
{) ��
Q
Twe..\ve. fold 5ixfold
5ymmetry I!) � symmetry
Ijj;J CE
Fourtold symmetry
A kaleidoscope with two types of symmetry A kaleidoscope with three types of symmetry
124

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:42 UTC
biguous in the sense that their content
Cosmic-
is independent of your angle of view.
What other mirror systems yield
unambiguous image fields? Initially I
thought the only requirement was that
an optical system should fill the im
Consequences
age field with nonoverlapping copies
�/�======�=
of the direct view, much as one might
fill a floor with identical tiles. I discov
ered that I was wrong by considering
Vertex
the hexagonal arrangement of mirrors
shown in the upper illustration on the Bvolution of
Mattet and Enezty
Vi:tual�Y
opposite page. The direct view and two
reflected hexagons appear in each part
of the illustration. An easy way to de
rive the reflected hexagons is to rotate mirrors �
the direct view about an edge until it
lies again in the image plane. Then ro
tate the reflected hexagon about one
of its edges to form a second reflect
ed hexagon.
The first part of the illustration indi
. fills a uniquely useful ecological
cates that I began with the direct view niche because of its marvelous connec
and proceeded clockwise to find the tions betweell aile subject and allother.
Determining the sectors of a cluster
two reflected hexagons. I rotated the I predict a warm welcome alld wide
direct view about real mirror A to form readership." John Archibald Wheeler
Evolution of Matter and Energy

the reflected hexagon at the lower left.
Then I rotated that hexagon about its result are even divisors of 360 degrees.
on a Cosmic and Planetary Scale
top edge to form the hexagon at the If a mirror system is to yield un
M. Taube
upper left. ambiguous image fields, every vertex
An edge of a reflected hexagon is in the system must meet this require What can science tell us about the future
of mankind? Explore answers to man
called a virtual mirror because it ef ment. As I already knew, an equi
kind's destiny on earth and beyond with
fectively functions as a mirror even lateral triangle and a rectangle quali
this stimulating and unifying description
though it is only an image of one. fy. Surprisingly, there are only two
of nature and man's relationship to it.
Hence the second reflected hexagon more polygons, both right triangles, Marshals a wealth of facts, numerical
arises from an edge serving as a virtual that meet the requirement. One of data, and 136 illustrations from the spec
mirror. My procedure results in two them has angles of 45 degrees and the trum of modem science.
reflected hexagons that would be seen other has angles of 60 and 30 degrees.
by an observer looking into mirror A I do not know whether these systems
toward the position of the hexagons have already been discovered.
In Search of Reality
in the image field. The four polygons generating unam
B. d'Espagnat
The second part of the illustration biguous image fields differ in the types
shows how again I began with the di of symmetry that appear in the fields. What is quantum mechanics' message
about the nature of reality? Share the
rect view but proceeded counterclock An equilateral triangle gives rise to
author's profound reflections on the
wise to find the reflected hexagons that clusters that have only sixfold symme
'theory of veiled reality' which encom
would be seen by an observer looking try. Each cluster consists of six images pass physics, philosophy, mathematics,
into mirror B. Note that the two sets that are either exact or reflected cop logic, psychology, and more.
of reflected hexagons differ in content. ies of the direct view. The image field .. .. a veritable guide for the perplexed.
The image field is ambiguous. from a rectangle of mirrors consists of The book is of great value to laymen,
After playing with hexagons and clusters that have only fourfold sym physicists, alld philosophers."
American Journal of Physics (9/85)
it
other polygons I finally understood metry. The right-triangle systems offer
'O�
what arrangements of mirrors yield clusters displaying more types of sym
unambiguous image fields. For any ar metry. In one of them the right-angle SPRINGER·VERLAG NEW YORK. INC.. Ann: K. Quinn
�
rangement the key is to examine each vertex produces a fourfold symmetry 175 Fifth Avenue. New York, NY 10010
vertex at which two mirrors meet. and the 45-degree angle produces an Please send me the booklsl checked below.
I enclose a D check 0 money order or credit card
Looking into the system, you see a eightfold symmetry. number 0 MC 0 VISA 0 AmEx for the total of
sector of the direct view; around the The system with 60- and 30-degree $ (please include $1.50 for postage and
vertex are reflections of that sector. angles represents the most beautiful handlingl
To determine the reflections imagine o EVOLUTION OF MADER AND ENERGy'

kaleidoscope design because it offers
Taube. 113399·21 $24.00
rotating the sector of the direct view three types of symmetry, the maxi
o IN SEARCH OF REALITY. d'Espagnat, 111399·1) $18.00
about one of its sides until it is again in mum in any unambiguous image field.
the image field. Then you rotate the The right angle creates a fourfold sym Name ____________
new sector about its side. Continue the metry, the 60-degree angle a sixfold
Address ___________
rotations both clockwise and counter symmetry and the 30-degree angle a
clockwise until the sectors begin to twelvefold symmetry. A kaleidoscope City ______ State __ Zip_
overlap. If their contents overlap pre of this type is easy to construct because
cisely, the image field around the ver the mirrors form a right triangle with Card No._____ Exp. _
tex is necessarily unambiguous. The a hypotenuse twice the length of the

Signature ___________
only vertex angles that yield such a shorter leg. NY and NJ residents. please add sales tax.
125

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:42 UTC
Who????? BIBLIOGRAPHY
ttfl
Readers interested in further explana CONTROL GROWTH AND DIFFEREN
tion of the subjects covered by the articles TIATION IN MYELOID LEUKEMIA: A
in this issue may find the following lists of MODEL FOR THE ORIGIN AND PRO
publications helpful. GRESSION OF MALIGNANCY. Leo Sachs
in Proceedings of the National Academy
COMPUTER RECREATIONS of Sciences of the United States of Amer
ica. Vol. 77, No. 10, pages 6152-
They were never rich.
AN APL2 GALLERY OF MATHEMATICAL 6156; October, 1980.
And most were always poor.
PHYSICS-A COURSE OUTLINE. Grego NORMAL DEVELOPMENTAL PRO-
But they managed to live, ry J. Chaitin. IBM Research, P.O. GRAMMES IN MYELOID LEUKEMIA:
through their own hard labor. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, N.Y. REGULATORY PROTEINS IN THE CON
The children worked, too, 10598; 1985. TROL OF GROWTH AND DIFFERENTI
DIRECT N-BODY CALCULATIONS. ATION. Leo Sachs in Cancer Surveys,
beginning a lifetime of hard
Sverre J. Aarseth in Dynamics of Star Vol. 1, No. 2, pages 321-342; 1982.
work early, proud to share the
Clusters. edited by Jeremy Goodman
responsibility of family sur
and Piet Hut. D. Reidel Publishing THE STRUCTURE
viVal. Sometimes they went Company, 1985. OF COMET TAILS
hungry, but they survived. A UNIFIED N-BODY AND STATISTICAL
TREATMENT OF STELLAR DYNAMICS. INTERPLANETARY GAS. XXIII. PLAS
Then the drought came. Alan P. Lightman and Stephen L. W. MA TAIL DISCONNECTION EVENTS IN
The worst in years. Suddenly McMillan in Dynamics of Star Clus COMETS: EVIDENCE FOR MAGNETIC
they were facing death. ters, edited by Jeremy Goodman and FIELD LINE RECONNECTION AT IN
Many fled to flnd new work, Piet Hut. D. Reidel Publishing Com TERPLANETARY SECTOR BOUNDA
pany, 1985. RIES? M. B. Niedner, Jr., and J. C.
to flnd food and water. And in
Brandt in The Astrophysical Journal,
many regions, war blocked
SPACE SCIENCE, Vol. 223, No. 2, pages 655-670; July
ald that might have come. 15, 1978.
SPACE TECHNOLOGY
and added other terrors and AND THE SPACE STATION STRUCTURES FAR FROM THE HEAD OF
miseries. This is the crisis COMET KOHOUTEK, II: A DISCUSSION
now spreading throughout MISSION TO EARTH: LANDSAT VIEWS OF THE SWAN CLOUD OF JANUARY 11
THE WORLD. Nicholas M. Short, Paul AND OF THE GENERAL MORPHOLOGY
Africa-the most serious
D. Lowman, Jr., Stanley C. Freden OF COMETARY PLASMA TAILS. Mal
situation there in many years.
and William A. Finch, Jr. NASA colm B. Niedner, Jr., and John C.
Oxfam America is working to SP-360, U.S. Government Printing Brandt in Icarus, Vol. 42, No.2, pages
send urgently needed sup Office, 1976. 257-270; May, 1980.
plies to the hardest hit areas, SPACE SCIENCE COMES OF AGE: PER THE COMET BOOK. Robert D. Chap
and to expand our long-range SPECTIVES IN THE HISTORY OF THE man and John C. Brandt. Jones and
programs to prevent more SPACE SCIENCES. Edited by Paul A. Bartlett Publishers, Inc., 1984.
Hanle and Von Del Chamberlain.
suffering in the future.
National Air and Space Museum, APPLICATIONS OF OPTICAL
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981. PHASE CONJUGATION
Help people survive and
SPACE RESEARCH IN THE ERA OF THE
bemme self-reliant again.
SPACE STATION. Kenneth J. Frost and NONLINEAR OPTICAL PHASE CONJUGA
Ask your church, school or Frank B. McDonald in Science, Vol. TION. Special issue of Optical Engi
group to join you in helping. 226, No. 4681, pages 1381-1385; De neering, Vol. 21, No. 2; Marchi April,
cember 21, 1984. 1982.
�i�
ASTROPHYSICS TODAY. Edited by A. G. OPTICAL PHASE CONJUGATION. Edit
W. Cameron. American Institute of ed by R. A. Fisher. Academic Press,
Physics, 1985. 1983.
NONLINEAR OPTICAL PHASE CONJUGA
Wrlre_ GROWTH, DIFFERENTIATION TION. David M. Pepper in The Laser
Handbook: Vol. 4, edited by M. L.
Oxfam �
AND THE REVERSAL
OF MALIGNANCY Stitch and M. Bass. North-Holland
AmencaW• ERYTHROLEUKEMIC DIFFERENTIATION.

Publishing Co., 1985.
PRINCIPLES OF PHASE CONJUGATION.
We spend your
money carefully �;
1
Paul A. Marks and Richard A. Rif
kind in Annual Review of Biochemistry,
B. Ya. Zel'dovich, N. F. Pilipetsky
and V. V. Shkunov. Springer-Ver
115
BoxM·l
Broadway
��
�!I
Vol. 47, pages 419-448; 1978.
CONTROL OF NORMAL CELL DIFFER
lag, 1985.
ENTIATION AND THE PHENOTYPIC MINERAL DEPOSITS

Boston MA 02116 •• REVERSION OF MALIGNANCY IN MYE FROM SEA-FLOOR HOT
LOID LEUKEMIA. Leo Sachs in Na
�;
SPRINGS
fJ
ture, Vol. 274, No. 5671, pages
535-539; August 10, 1978. HYDROTHERMAL PROCESSES AT SEA
CONSTITUTIVE UNCOUPLING OF PATH FLOOR SPREADING CENTERS. Edited
l WAYS OF GENE EXPRESSION THAT by Peter A. Rona, Kurt Bostrom, Lu-
126

186.53.247.158 on Sat, 04 Jun 2022 19:51:53 UTC
cien Laubier and Kenneth L. Smith,
Jr. NATO Conference Series, IV
Marine Sciences, Vol. 12. Plenum
Press, 1983. ... and after Halley's Comet?
HOT SPRINGS ON THE OCEAN FLOOR.
Weather permitting you may get a • • •
John M. Edmond and Karen Von
Damm in Scientific American, Vol. fine photograph of the comet with
A Questar admirer, Allan M. Eddy,
248, No. 4, pages 78-93; April, 1983. your Questar, although as we all know
writes us "Keep up the good work.
its position close to the horizon will
Never have you compromised your
present problems for northern
THE CHEMICAL DEFENSES quality or standards. That is a rare
observers. As we have been saying,
OF HIGHER PLANTS accomplishment of which you can be
for simply viewing the comet, a pair
justly proud. Thank you for pride of
of binoculars will do as well as a
HERBIVORES: THEIR INTERACTIONS workmanship and for products of
poor telescope.
WITH SECONDARY PLANT METABO unquestionable high value and
But after all, a comet is a sometime
LITES. Edited by Gerald A. Rosenthal excellence...
thing and we would like to call your
and Daniel H. Janzen. Academic
• • •
attention to the many other interesting
Press, 1979.
pursuits you can have with your
CHEMICAL ECOLOGY OF INSECTS. Edit Shown below is the Questar 3� and
superfine Questar - night in and
ed by William J. Bell and Ring R. Questar 7. Both are complete portable
night out, and for that matter, day in
Card6. Sinauer Associates, Inc., 1984. observatories, fully mounted for polar
and day out. We would suggest, for
INSECTS ON PLANTS. D. R. Strong, J. H. equatorial observing, velvet-smooth
example, a regular program of observing
Lawton and R. Southwood. Harvard slow motions in both declination and
the moon, if only for its sheer beauty,
University Press, 1984. right ascension, continuous 3600
as its waxing and waning reveals in
rotation for both manual control and
sharpest detail a new terminator
RADIOCARBON DATING synchronous drive, setting circles,
every night.
BY ACCELERATOR a built-in finder system, changeable
And as forthe daytime use of Questar,
MASS SPECTROMETRY high powers without changing eye
we think first of viewing the sun, with
pieces, a safe, distortionless solar
its marching sunspots in season,
WORKING WITH RADIOCARBON DATES. filter, complete flexibility of barrel
through Questar's totally safe solar
H. T. Waterbolk in Proceedings of the position with tilting eyepiece for neck
filter. But then our thoughts move on
Prehistoric Society, Vol. 37, Part 2, comfort in observing, access for
to the celebration of all natural
pages 15-33; December, 1971. camera attachment and handsome
phenomena viewed through this
RADIOISOTOPE CLOCKS IN ARCHAEOLO carrying case. The barrel of the
versatile instrument - the activity of
GY. R. E. M. Hedges in Nature, Vol. Questar 3� supports a revolving
distant birds, the minute detail of
281, No. 5725, pages 19-24; Septem star chart with monthly divisions;
plants growing in inaccessible places,
ber 6, 1979. beneath it, a map of the moon
the secret life of an insect on your
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ELEVENTH IN with its salient features for
lawn. Only a Questar can provide this
TERNATIONAL RADIOCARBON CON easy identification.
daytime entertainment with the same
FERENCE-SEATTLE. In Radiocarbon,
sharp resolution that will make your LET US SEND YOU OUR LITERATURE
Vol. 25, No. 2; 1983. DESCRIBING THE WORLD'S FINEST.
watch of the night skies meaningful.
MOST VERSATILE TELESCOPE. PLEASE SEND
We really hate to see you spend your $2 TO COVER MAILING COSTS ON THIS
KIN RECOGNITION money for an inferior spy glass just CONTINENT. BY AIR TO SOUTH AMERICA.
IN TADPOLES to look at a comet that cloudy weather $3.50: EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA. $4:
ELSEWHERE. $4.50. INQUIRE ABOUT OUR
might even render invisible, when you
GENETIC CONTROL FOR SIBLING REC EXTENDED PAYMENT PLAN.
could have a fine instrument to start
OGNITION? Andrew R. Blaustein and
you on a lifetime of great observing.
Richard K. O'Hara in Nature, Vol.
Enjoy Halley's with a Questar, if the
290, No. 5803, pages 246-248;
comet cooperates, but continue to
March 19, 1981.
enjoy a Questar for the rest of your life.
RANA CASCADAE TADPOLES AGGRE
QUESTAR
GATE WITH SIBLINGS: AN EXPERI
MENTAL FIELD STUDY. Richard K.
O'Hara and Andrew R. Blaustein in
Oeco!ogia, Vol. 67, No. 1, pages 44-
51; 1985.
KIN RECOGNITION IN ANIMALS. Edited
by David J. C. Fletcher and Charles
D. Michener. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 1986.
THE AMATEUR SCIENTIST
OPTICAL METHODS OF CHEMICAL

ANALYSIS. Thomas R. P. Gibb, Jr.
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.,
1942.
FUNDAMENTALS OF OPTICS. Francis
A. Jenkins and Harvey E. White.
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., © 1985. Quesrar Corporation
.,
1957.
127

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SCIENTIFIC

TIME-REVERSED LIGHT $ 2.50

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© 1985 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

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FORD'S NEW CONCEPT IN ENGINEERING ENGINEERING ...

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Buckle up -Together we can save lives.

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32 SPACE SCIENCE, SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND THE SPACE STATION, by James A.

40 . GROWTH, DIFFERENTIATION AND THE REVERSAL OF MALIGNANCY, by Leo

74 APPLICATIONS OF OPTICAL PHASE CONJUGATION, by David M. Pepper

84 MINERAL DEPOSITS FROM SEA·FLOOR HOT SPRINGS, by Peter A. Rona

94 THE CHEMICAL DEFENSES OF HIGHER PLANTS, by Gerald A. Rosenthal

100 RADIOCARBON DATING BY ACCELERATOR MASS SPECTROMETRY, by Robert E.

108 KIN RECOGNITION IN TADPOLES, by Andrew R. Blaustein and Richard K. O'Hara

13 50 AND 100 YEARS AGO

60 SCIENCE AND THE CITIZEN

120 THE AMATEUR SCIENTIST

PRESIDENT AND EDITOR Jonathan Piel

GENERAL MANAGER George S. Conn

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR C. John Kirby

CIRCULATION MANAGER William H. Yokel

CHAIRMAN Gerard Piel

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Editorial correspondence should be ad­ THE ILLUSTRATIONS

City 48 Joint Observatory for 101 Research Laboratory

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AMERICAN JANUARY, 1886: "The report of

"Highway construction has come in

"From an acreage of 5 0,000 in 1907

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THE AUTHORS Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg.

ROBERT E. M. HEDGES and

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traditional dress clothing, soft luggage,

keep your ears warm. All that done, Address _____________

we then give our Great Scot a price

$69.50 ($64.50 for children). State ______Zip ___________

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How close encounters with star clusters

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© 1985 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

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Editorial correspondence should be ad THE ILLUSTRATIONS

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able called delta. Specified at the be

B ecause the space program was pri

T here is another reason to doubt NA

T he inducers of growth and differen