extracted from certain red seaweeds-Chondrus crispus, or Irish moss-appears to be effective in the treatment of stomach ulcer. Utilization of these, and discovery of other medically important substances is possible, but only if research is carried out to reveal more knowledge about them and the circumstances under which they are produced. Some marine animals harbor no enteric bacteria. Whether this is due to production of antibiotic or lysing agents by the digestive tissues is not at present known, but if it could be determined, the information might have implications for treatment of bacterially caused digestive ailments in man. The CHAIRMAN. Are there not a lot of folk medicines, like sea weed and things of that kind, for stomach disorders? I know there are in Japan. Dr. RAY. There is. And in the South Pacific islands, where people are closely associated with the sea. That information has been picked up and passed from generation to generation, as well as information about this second point, the harmful substances. 2. Many marine forms produce substances of astonishing virulence and toxicity to man. Examples of this are: the toxin of the notorious red-tide organism Gonyaulax which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning and is several times more toxic than the most poisonous nerve gases now known; the snail Conus whose sting can kill a man; the poisonous sea cucumbers and sea urchins, found mainly in tropical waters, that are lethal to fishes and are capable of causing severe disturbances in man; the sting ray and stone fish; the edible fishes whose flesh contains a virulent toxin, but only at some times and only in some geographical area. There are at least three only partly related reasons for interest in exotic toxins. The first is of course to find effective antidotes and to learn how to use toxins as pesticides in a controlled fashion. The second is the experimental study of toxins and their actions for the information this may reveal about basic physiolgical mechanisms. For example, study of the plant poison, curare, which has a specific action in blocking the passage of stimuli from nerves to muscle, has revealed much about the way nerve impulses are transmitted across this important juncture. Knowledge of the action of curare has also made it possible to use this potent poison safely in some surgical procedures. Sea cucumbers produce a somewhat similar substance, called Holothurin, that has the same general action, but is many times more powerful. There are studies going on now trying to determine the chemical identity of this substance and to see whether it can be modified in various ways to control the specific action and make it also a useful substance. We know, at the present time, next to nothing about the possibility of its use. Study of the wide variety of toxins produced by marine animals promises to add enormously to medical knowledge; only very recently has medical research recognized the potentiality of marine invertebrate pharmacology. That the same species of fish may be edible in one geographical locality and lethally poisonous in another has now been established with certainty. To a lesser degree the same is true for many species of shellfish. At the present, neither the time nor the reason for the toxicity can be predicted; so for economic as well as for health reasons these phenomena should be studied. 3. Many diseases are caused by parasites. This holds both for man and for the animals that he uses for food. Much progress has been made in recognizing the symptoms of parasitism, but very little in understanding the underlying reasons for it. Among marine animals there are whole series of closely related forms, each showing different degrees of dependency or susceptibility to parasitism. There are also whole phyla in which parasitism is unknown; others in which it is the rule. Study of these animals, especially those where parasitism exists in its simplst or most primitive expression, will teach us much about the basic causes of the parasitic mode of life. Bacterial diseases similar to or identical to tuberculosis and leprosy infect important food fishes such as salmon, yet other fishes and other marine animals in the same water environment are apparently immune to these diseases. Why this is so, no one knows. More knowledge of how the salmon are infected, whether the disease can be transmitted, and why other marine animals are immune, is badly needed. For some disease-causing bacteria sea water has apparently a sterilizing effect; conversely certain types wounds-e.g., scratches from corals, barnacles, sea urchin spines-are very apt to become infected. Reasons for this also are unknown. 4. Progress in medical science depends in large part upon progress in the knowledge of normal physiological functions. Unless the normal living animal is understood, the variations that we call ill-health or disease are meaningless perplexities. Obviously man can seldom experiment upon himself, but most physiological processes are basically similar throughout the animal kingdom and the study of other animals contributes importantly to knowledge that in turn contributes to human health and welfare. Because they represent the greatest diversity from simple to complex, and because they show myriad variations both anatomically and functionally, marine animals provide essential information in many physiological studies. We have already mentioned how understanding neurological phenomena have been clarified by the squid and other mollusks; at present there are experiments on the brain of octopus that are helping to elucidate the nature of learning and of mental disorders; from crabs and shrimps come substances that inhibit nerve impulses; in heart research lobsters, clams, and worms are adding their bit to the store of knowledge, for their cardiac responses are different from those of vertebrates. One of the most active fields of medical research today involves studies of tissue compatability and the nature of immunity. Here animals we call sponges are especially useful experimental material for their tissues can be separated into the constituent cells that then are capable of reaggregating to form the typical animal once more. The eggs and embryos of marine invertebrates also contribute to this field. Their study is even more important in learning about the factors that stimulate cell division and control its rate-information that is basic to unravelling some of the perplexities surrounding the growth of cancer and neoplasms. The CHAIRMAN. Dr. Ray, as long as you have suggested it, we have a statement for the record from Dr. Ross Nigrelli, director of the Laboratory of Marine Biochemistry and Ecology, New York Aquarium, who makes this statement, and this doesn't involve research but involves effects of things you are talking about on human consumption: Some years ago I indictaed to fisheries biologists that the possibility existed that our beautiful rainbow trout may be susceptible to liver cancer under the artificial conditions that are presently employed in our hatcheries. In the early part of 1960, liver tumors were noticed in rainbow trout in California and Washington, and this condition has since been found to be widespread in all hatcheries in this country. I am reporting this item to point out one of the problems that illustrates the importance of including the Public Health Service in your proposed program of marine science. Cancer is found among all fishes, and the growths are no different from those that occur in man and animals generally. Is that a correct statement? Dr. RAY. That certainly is. I would like to add one bit to it, and that is a point I think I mentioned last year, too, which is a very curious one and so far still quite uninvestigated: that these growths-the hematomas, for example, in the rainbow trout-do affect fishes and, as Dr. Nigrelli said, man and animals generally. That is true if by "animal" we mean vertebrate animals. But it is a very interesting sidelight that among marine invertebrate animals-like clams, worms, star fish, and so on-there has never yet been a single case of cancer found. This may be because nobody has looked hard enough. But many of these animals have been looked at very carefully and studied anatomically; it is still unreported, a single case of cancerous growth in invertebrate marine animals. And if this should turn out to be true, I think this is a very important thing to turn our attention to, whether this type of growth is something that is rather unique for vertebrate animals and does not affect the invertebrates. The CHAIRMAN. Of course, the immediate thing is to obtain as much information as we can get. I have heard that this may come out of hatcheries-I think Dr. Donaldson and I talked about this once-it could be due to the type of food they give them. But if it is found in all fishes it must be the normal, natural food in the sea, probably. I point this up to show that this is a very important immediate thing that needs doing. The American people are consuming more and more fish, and that is good, because it is a great food and with the technological handling of fish, with refrigeration, it will become even greater. This is a very important thing for the American people, or other people throughout the world who eat fish. Dr. RAY. The important thing is the need to do the research on it now before the problem becomes serious. There are other questions, too, questions such as why whales and porpoises can dive to and return from great depths without suffering from the bends. The CHAIRMAN. The Navy is working on that? Dr. RAY. Yes, indeed. The CHAIRMAN. They have some porpoises they are experimenting with. Dr. RAY. And porpoises turn out to be very interesting animals. The CHAIRMAN. I know they are working with pet porpoises on the Polaris program. Dr. RAY. Not only for the way in which these animals move through the water, but for the implications of all deep-diving submersibles, information about the behavior of these animals is useful. Another thing, such as why some species of marine organisms accumulate certain substances, including the radioisotopes, to an excessive degree over the concentration in sea water; what are the tolerances of marine life to the pollutants and insecticides that enter the sea in ever-increasing amounts. These are questions whose answers are or should be sought, and all have medical significance. The medical implications of oceanography are vast. Some of the more important questions are being explored, but most are claiming attention of only a few investigators, and many are being ignored. That the present amount of medically-oriented work with marine organisms is so much less than might be expected from the intriguing questions that can be asked, is not due to the indolence of scientists but rather to the lack of opportunity for intelligently exploiting the possibilities of marine research. In addition, these organisms, and particularly the invertebrate organisms, are generally less well known and appreciated than forms that have, like us, a terrestrial life. We are accustomed to the problems of maintaining colonies of animals, cultures of organisms, and crops of terrestrial organisms and using these for experimental purposes, but few laboratories are equipped to satisfy the needs of longterm experiments that involve the maintaining, breeding, and rearing of marine animals and plants, and yet this is what is needed. To explore the medical aspects of oceanography means that there must be permanently established marine laboratories, located near the ocean shore, equipped with continuously operating sea water systems that deliver adequate supplies of fresh, unpolluted sea water available on a year-round basis. For medical investigations, the marine laboratory must also have modern research equipment. The number of such marine stations, compared with the total number of laboratories in which medical research with terrestrial ogranisms can be carried out, is small indeed. Great laboratories are built to investigate questions of health and disease, and these medical research centers are vitally important, but most of them are far from the sea and none have provision for exploiting the rich reservoir of experimental organisms that live in the marine environment. If we look to the open ocean where important medically oriented experiments could be carried out on shipboard, we find that only now are research vessels in the United States being planned to provide adequate research biological laboratories. Without these facilities, on shore and afloat, in which carefully controlled, modern research can be carried out, progress in the medical aspects of oceanography will be slow. We are still very far from achieving our goals, but the pros pects of contributing through marine biology to the store of knowledge that leads to greater human health and welfare cannot be dimmed. The CHAIRMAN. Off the record. 67624-61-10 (Discussion off the record.) The CHAIRMAN. Dr. McLaughlin, we will be glad to hear from you, sir. STATEMENT OF DR. JOHN J. A. MCLAUGHLIN, HASKINS LABORATORIES, NEW YORK, N.Y. Dr. MCLAUGHLIN. I am Dr. John McLaughlin from the Haskins Laboratories, New York. As we are a nonprofit institution, I am here representing my own opinion and not that of the institution. In light of what I heard in the testimony this morning I feel that my contribution this morning will be very small, sir. I am naive or a juvenile in this respect. I have never had the occasion to address a body like this before. I hope I learn from this experience. I took, sir, the bill and read it and reread it and went through it with the sense of seeing how it would appeal to me as regards my work. Consequently this statement is oriented along these lines. The use of some terminology in S. 901 appears to require clarification. It is my opinion that the terms "oceanography" and "marine science" are used interchangeably-and they should not be. Here and there the word "oceanography" is used to include all the marine sciences, whereas in other places the word "oceanography" is used to indicate that it is separate from marine science; and yet again it appears as one of the disciplines coming under the general category of marine science. This latter, by dictionary definition, appears correct. I have made a list of the places where this confusion in terminology exists and suggestions to eliminate this confusion. In order to save the committee's time, I would like now to submit for the record this list. The CHAIRMAN. All right. We will put that in the record in full. (The list referred to follows:) In the description of the bill "marine research" for "oceanographic research." Page 2, line 7, "marine" for "oceanographic" (oceanographic scientists); line 20, "marine" for "oceanographic" (United States not be excelled in oceanographic research). Page 3, line 5, "marine" for "oceanographic" (long-range program of oceanographic research). Page 4, line 6, "marine scientists" for "oceanographers" (recruitment of prospective oceanographers); line 10-says advance this in name sciences. Page 5, line 14, "marine" for "oceanographic"; line 19, "marine" for "oceanographic". Page 6, line 18, "marine" for "oceanographic". Page 10, lines 15 and 16, "marine scientists" for "physical, biological, chemical, and geological oceanographers". Page 19, line 14, delete "and oceanography". Page 37, line 16, "basic and applied marine research" for "applied oceanographic research". Page 47: Since the Coast Guard's role in marine science has traditionally been that of oceanography, the use of the specific term "oceanographic research" throughout the section on the Coast Guard is appropriate. |