50 YEARS AGO

“Physiological control of population growth” — As Dr. Gregory Pincus, of the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, pointed out, there is no doubt that progesterone can inhibit ovulation in rabbits and apparently, also, in rats. According to his own studies, the indications are that progesterone, when taken by mouth, will also inhibit ovulation in women, as determined by various indirect indices. This view was not, however, shared by Dr. Massomi Ishikawa ... nor by Dr. A. Stone ... [as was clear from all the physiological papers] the practical goal of these urgently needed researches — the discovery of a ‘pill’ which can be taken by mouth, and the only physiological effect of which would be that of inhibiting the development of the fertilized ovum, or of suppressing ovulation or gametogenesis at will — is so remote from realization that at this stage no one can say how, when or even whether success will ever be achieved.

Sir Solly Zuckerman

From Nature 14 January 1956.

100 YEARS AGO

“The training of the body and mind” — In the afternoon Sir Lauder Brunton took the chair, and discussed education in connection with the threefold character of man. At first, he said, moral training was provided, and churches and cathedrals were built long before the people could read or write; then mental culture was considered, and became very general; and, lastly, it was being recognised that the condition of the body had considerable effect upon the morals and the mind, so that a physical training was also considered necessary. He gave some interesting instances to show how character and habits had been entirely altered by accidents to the brain, and said that while Newton was physically weak, Young, who was his superior, even in mental capacity, was a circus rider, and could perform almost any bodily feat.

From Nature 11 January 1906.