Show Link Up Cancer And Cosmic Ray Experiments With Mice Lead to Discovery of oi Effect on Malignancy NEW YORK Discovery of a link between cancer and cosmic rays indicating that the rays speed up the onset of the malignancy is la re reo re- reported ported In Science official journal of American scientists The cosmic cancer experiments were done on mice st at t University of Maryland medical school by Frank H J FIgge These animals had been injected with a cancer ing chemical which causes the disease virtually per cent The cancers normally appear 8 to toto 10 to weeks after injection a period that is fairly long in the lifetime of ofa ofa a mouse Figge divided more than Infected mice in three different kinds of ot cages One type of ot cage received the normal amount of cosmic rays an an- an another another other considerably more of ot the rays and the third still greater amounts Came Store More Quickly The mice with the most cosmic rays developed their ir cancers more quickly than any of ot the others and the mice with the second-highest second dosage of ot cosmic rays came in next with cancers The dosages of ot cos coso cos- cosmic mic rays were increased by putting lead plates above the cages Cosmic rays are very small par par- particles the size alze of atoms or less that come from some unknown place In space and drive straight I down through the air and about feet into the earth Whenever one of these rays hits an atom the lat lat- latter I ter emits the same Sol me rays ray s as radium The cosmic rays make many such hits In lead so that tha t under the metal there Is la an increase in the cancer cancer- making power The experiments indicate that cosmic rays even without the aid aidI 1 I of lead have some cancer general 1 ing big effects For the hits nude II ade in lead also occur In the human body I i with the same radium like rays About 10 cosmic rays ray a i second pene pene- penetrate human beings beines all aU their lives Buildings are little or no protection and In some circumstances circumstance circum stancIl build build- building lags ings ing would Increase the cosmic radiation Not Primary r Cause Calise This la is i the first time that lbs t cosmic rays have been shown to have any possible practical connection with cancer It Is s certain that the rays are aro not the primary cause But the fact that cosmic rays can Influence the onset of mouse cancer means that scientists will have to examine also the other effects such as their probable speeding up of evolution by causing genetic muta- muta mutations the same as radium It Is ii likely too that the cosmic ray discovery will focus attention a on whether the radioactive particles floating in the air after atter atomic bombs might help cause cancer The rays of these particles are the same kind that tha tare are produced by bj the hits SIG of cosmic rays ray s The atomic bomb particles can can- making powers would be very ver I weak but CoL Cot Stafford Warren foremost atomic bomb medical man has predicted that the par par- I parI tid tides m may hang ho around for decides decades m I |