NEW HORIZONS FOR RESEARCH

Chronicle (Levin), 3 August 1946, Page 5

NEW HORIZONS FOR RESEARCH

Press Assn.-

By Telegraph

-Copyright

Ivcceivocl Friday, 7 p.m. NEW YORK, Aug. 2. Opou ing now liorizons oi' modical and biological research, the Manhattan Alornio ihoject has pvesentcd tiny units of radioactive oarboii known as C'iirbon 14, to various resoarch institutes lor special purposes. thereby making the first peacetime use of the Atomic Froject. Eacli unit of Oarlion 14 woighs only one ten-thousandth of an ounce, costs 400 dollars and is capable of emitting 37,000,000 atomic ray particles per smmd for the liext.lOjOQOritq 2.5,000 yeays, . Carbon 14 will lirstly be used ,fqr cancer, diabetes, teeth, Itohes, liveiv l^looci, •f'atp.iij-the body and tlie niechanism'bl' ph 0 1 osy nf h esis/Vm 6a'n i ng >tb e pli (A 0 menon Avherelty jdants tak'e energy from siinlight and store it as chcmical energy. Photesynthesis is responsible for most of the stored energy used by man, sueh as eoal, oil, wood and food. I11 addition to radioactive carbon, atomic energy facilities can produce radioactive l'orms of rare elemeuts including radioactive sulphur, pbosphorus and iodine. The grcatest benelit from tlie use of radioactive materials is likely to come from tracer rather tlian tlievopeutic techuique, in investigaling Ihe causes of discase and life process gcnerally. Manhattau engbieers said eaeh tiny unit of Carbon 14- represents 100 to 1000 times as much of isotope hitherto available for resoarch in any single cyclotron produced.