NEWSCRIPTS
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NEWSCRIPTS * Φ # « * by K. M. Reese » » » · » · * ι * ? ? 1-800 FOAM FREE DOW CORNING Two think mystery man was Thomas Beddoes The mention of "a chap named Bed- does, not otherwise identified" (C&EN, Feb. 8, page 76) drew responses from Michael Powell of Houston, and O. W. Edwards of Florence, Ala. Both think it likely that the chap was Thomas Bed- does (1760-1808), an English chemist, physician, and writer. Edwards sent a biography of the man from the Ency- clopaedia Britannica, llth edition, dat- ed 1910. Among other endeavors, Beddoes published in 1793 the "History of Isaac Jenkins," a story said to have "power- fully exhibited the evils of drunken- ness and of which 40,000 copies are reported to have been sold." Soon after Lavoisier determined that oxygen played a role in respiration, Beddoes began to investigate its use for medical therapy. In 1794, according to Powell, Beddoes and James Watt (of steam en- gine fame) published "Considerations on the Use and Production of Factitious Airs." In 1798, with Watt, Beddoes estab- lished the Pneumatic Institution at Clif- ton for the purpose of treating disease by the inhalation of various gases. The insti- tution treated ailments including tuber- culosis, leprosy, and asthma in this man- ner, but with little success. The establish- ment gradually became an ordinary hospital, and Beddoes gave it up in 1807. The first superintendent of the Pneu- matic Institution was Humphry Davy. The young man was very interested in gases and particularly in nitrous oxide. He noted that it dulled pain, but went no further with it medically. With the decline of the institute, Davy went to London, and the rest is history. "It has been said," reports contributor Powell, "that Beddoes' greatest discov- ery was Humphry Davy and Davy's was Michael Faradav." Older men, women respond differently to exercise CIRCLE 6 ON READER SERVICE CARD 64 MARCH 8, 1993 C&EN The pumping capacity of older women's hearts does not improve like that of old- er men's after exercise training, say Rob- ert Spina and his colleagues at Wash- ington University, St. Louis {American journal of Cardiology, January 1993). The women do, however, improve their aer- obic exercise capacity. The work reveals a physiological difference in the way that older men and women respond to exercise training. The subjects of the current study were 10 sedentary but healthy women aged 60 to 70. After one year of 60-minute workouts four times a week, the women had improved their aerobic exercise capacity by 21%, about the same as achieved by men of the same age who exercised the same way. The women's heart function, or pumping capacity, did not improve, however, as it does in old- er men and in younger men and wom- en. "It came as a complete surprise to us when we didn't see the same response in the women," says Spina. Aerobic exercise capacity depends in part on the amount of blood and oxygen the heart supplies to muscles during ex- ercise. The more oxygen consumed, the higher the level of fitness. To improve exercise capacity, Spina explains, the heart must pump more blood and/or the muscles must extract more oxygen from the blood. In the older women, ex- ercise caused proliferation of small blood vessels surrounding the muscles. This proliferation permitted the muscles to extract more oxygen from the blood, leading to the observed increase in exer- cise capacity. The same thing happens in older men and younger men and wom- en, but they also experience an increase in the heart's pumping capacity. Spina doesn't know why the cardiac adaptation doesn't appear in older wom- en. He says it may be a sex hormone defi- ciency, because "We see cardiac adapta- tions in younger women that we don't see in the older women." Department of obscure information • Three species of vampire bats weigh from 15 to 50 g. • The cost of liquid helium in the U.S. in 1992 was $66 per 1000 cu ft. • Compact discs used 23,000 metric tons of polycarbonate worldwide in 1990. ΑΝΤΙ DEMI
Transcript of NEWSCRIPTS
NEWSCRIPTS
* Φ # « *
by K. M. Reese
» »
» · » · *
ι * ? ?
1-800 FOAM FREE
DOW CORNING
Two think mystery man was Thomas Beddoes
The mention of "a chap named Bed-does, not otherwise identified" (C&EN, Feb. 8, page 76) drew responses from Michael Powell of Houston, and O. W. Edwards of Florence, Ala. Both think it likely that the chap was Thomas Bed-does (1760-1808), an English chemist, physician, and writer. Edwards sent a biography of the man from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, llth edition, dated 1910.
Among other endeavors, Beddoes published in 1793 the "History of Isaac Jenkins," a story said to have "powerfully exhibited the evils of drunkenness and of which 40,000 copies are reported to have been sold." Soon after Lavoisier determined that oxygen played a role in respiration, Beddoes began to investigate its use for medical therapy. In 1794, according to Powell, Beddoes and James Watt (of steam engine fame) published "Considerations
on the Use and Production of Factitious Airs."
In 1798, with Watt, Beddoes established the Pneumatic Institution at Clifton for the purpose of treating disease by the inhalation of various gases. The institution treated ailments including tuberculosis, leprosy, and asthma in this manner, but with little success. The establishment gradually became an ordinary hospital, and Beddoes gave it up in 1807.
The first superintendent of the Pneumatic Institution was Humphry Davy. The young man was very interested in gases and particularly in nitrous oxide. He noted that it dulled pain, but went no further with it medically. With the decline of the institute, Davy went to London, and the rest is history.
"It has been said," reports contributor Powell, "that Beddoes' greatest discovery was Humphry Davy and Davy's was Michael Faradav."
Older men, women respond differently to exercise
CIRCLE 6 ON READER SERVICE CARD 64 MARCH 8, 1993 C&EN
The pumping capacity of older women's hearts does not improve like that of older men's after exercise training, say Robert Spina and his colleagues at Washington University, St. Louis {American journal of Cardiology, January 1993). The women do, however, improve their aerobic exercise capacity. The work reveals a physiological difference in the way that older men and women respond to exercise training.
The subjects of the current study were 10 sedentary but healthy women aged 60 to 70. After one year of 60-minute workouts four times a week, the women had improved their aerobic exercise capacity by 21%, about the same as achieved by men of the same age who exercised the same way. The women's heart function, or pumping capacity, did not improve, however, as it does in older men and in younger men and women. "It came as a complete surprise to us when we didn't see the same response in the women," says Spina.
Aerobic exercise capacity depends in part on the amount of blood and oxygen the heart supplies to muscles during exercise. The more oxygen consumed, the higher the level of fitness. To improve
exercise capacity, Spina explains, the heart must pump more blood and/or the muscles must extract more oxygen from the blood. In the older women, exercise caused proliferation of small blood vessels surrounding the muscles. This proliferation permitted the muscles to extract more oxygen from the blood, leading to the observed increase in exercise capacity. The same thing happens in older men and younger men and women, but they also experience an increase in the heart's pumping capacity.
Spina doesn't know why the cardiac adaptation doesn't appear in older women. He says it may be a sex hormone deficiency, because "We see cardiac adaptations in younger women that we don't see in the older women."
Department of obscure information
• Three species of vampire bats weigh from 15 to 50 g.
• The cost of liquid helium in the U.S. in 1992 was $66 per 1000 cu ft.
• Compact discs used 23,000 metric tons of polycarbonate worldwide in 1990.
ΑΝΤΙ DEMI
