British Association Discussions: Repercussions of Synthetic Organic Chemistry on Biology and Medicine

Abstract

THE recent discussion* on “Repercussions of A Synthetic Organic Chemistry on Biology and Medicine” held on August 23, under the auspices of Section B (Chemistry) of the British Association at the Cambridge meeting, directs attention to one of the most striking features of modern organic chemistry, namely, its increasing preoccupation with naturally occurring substances of biological importance. The reasons for this change of heart on the part of the chemist, long divorced from biology, are too varied to be dealt with here, but there can be little doubt that the development of microchemical technique has done much to render it possible. In a discussion such as that at Cambridge it was impossible to cover more than a fraction of the investigations in this field, but from the subjects actually chosen by the various speakers, it is possible to obtain a general view of the ways in which organic chemistry is affecting biology and medicine.