50 Years ago

A recent report from British Glues and Chemicals, Ltd., reflects the increasing interest in leaf protein; the Chayen impulse process, introduced a few years ago by this firm for the disintegration and extraction of bones and animal fats, has now been applied to a variety of other materials, including oilseeds, such as groundnuts, and grasses. The principle of this method lies in the use of shock waves of sufficient intensity and frequency to burst the tissues and cells of biological materials; it is illustrated by the depth-charge technique used in anti-submarine warfare ... The report states that 100 tons of fresh grass ... treated by the Chayen method yields about 2¼ tons of edible protein.

From Nature 26 March 1960.

100 Years ago

Music: its Laws and Evolution. By Prof. Jules Combarieu — This important work could only have been written by a musician who was acquainted with the history of music, and also had a considerable knowledge of sciences connected with music, such as mathematics, physics in relation to acoustics, physiology, psychology, and aesthetics ... The fundamental thesis of the book is that music is the art of thinking in sounds ... Great as are the works of Bach, Handel, Verdi, and Wagner, each reflecting in a subtle way their individual genius, moulded by the circumstances in which they lived and the influences that conspired to make them great musicians, there may yet be in store for the human race even greater works, which, in their turn, will reflect the more complex conditions of civilisation, in even higher planes of non-conceptual thought, and in deeper knowledge and feeling. One may also suppose that in this further evolution the organs of music, the ear and the brain, will become more complicated. The evolutionary process has not ended.

From Nature 24 March 1910.