100 YEARS AGO

A circular letter has been sent out seeking an expression of opinion from experts as to the advisability of founding a journal for the statistical study of biological problems. . . Biometrika is the proposed title of the journal; thirty shillings the estimated cost of the first volume. Statistical work in biology, to be of service, must be far-reaching and extensive, and it cannot be dissociated from morphological enquiry of the better kind. Progress must necessarily be slow, and the accumulation of results worth publishing only be expected after protracted research; and in these circumstances we are doubtful if the desire to burden the already over-crowded literature of biology with a new serial is not somewhat premature. It might be borne in mind that existing periodicals and the organs of societies are available for purposes of publication; and we could well desire for some of these that much of the so-called “systematic” work and quibbling over priority in nomenclature, fast becoming intolerable, might be replaced in work of the statistical and experimental order.

From Nature 28 February 1901.

50 YEARS AGO

The successful use of antibiotic substances against human disease is one of the most fascinating developments of modern medical science. Seven such substances are now commercially available, and the one recent introduction — terramycin — formed the subject of a recent conference under the auspices of the New York Academy of Sciences. A considerable part of the report collects information on the action of terramycin against human diseases. . . Those diseases in which positive action is recorded include pneumococcic pneumonia, rickettsial diseases, brucellosis and some venereal diseases. Terramycin appears to be ineffective against infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus pruteus; and of virus diseases, mumps, measles, chicken-pox and smallpox do not respond to treatment. Terramycin is only a very recent discovery from the biochemical research laboratories of Chas. Pfizer and Co., Inc. It was found as a result of a carefully planned research programme involving the examination of micro-organisms in soil from various parts of the world. The present imposing report of available information reflects a very speedy reaction to its implications within the medical profession.

From Nature 3 March 1951.