50 Years Ago

At the International Geological Congress in Copenhagen in 1960, and at the Russian Trade Exhibition in London last year, one of the outstanding scientific exhibits was a hand-coloured tectonic map of Europe compiled by Russian draughtsmen from copy submitted by the various national geological surveys. The map, on a scale of 1:2,500,000, has been sponsored by the Sub-Commission on the Tectonic Map of the World of the International Geological Congress ... Western geologists who wish to make sure of receiving a copy should place an order, in advance of publication, with their national agents for Russian books.

From Nature 20 January 1962

100 Years Ago

The possibility of the discovery of a remedy for cancer has been advanced a stage by the preparation by Prof. Wassermann, of Berlin, of a substance which possesses a curative action experimentally on cancer of mice. Prof. Wassermann reasoned that since the cancer-cells are growing rapidly, their oxygen requirements would be different from, and greater than, those of the cells of the body generally. He sought for some substance which might interfere with the oxygen supply to the cancer-cells, and finally adopted selenium as a means to do this. The next problem was to convey selenium to the cancer-cells by means of the blood stream, and ... a compound of selenium with an anilin dye eosin was found to fulfil this condition ... After two or three injections of the substance into a mouse the subject of cancerous tumours, the tumours are found to have softened, and after six to eight doses they become cystic, diminish in size, and finally disappear, and no recurrence takes place. The eosin–selenium compound is, however, poisonous, and a certain number of mice succumb under the treatment.

From Nature 18 January 1912