WINTERGREEN VS. ALMOND IN ODOR PENETRATION TEST — Different chemicals produce different odors because vibrations within the molecules are different. This is the theory of Dr. R.H. Wright of the British Columbia Research Council  in Vancouver, Canada. He compared nitrobenzene, which has an almond smell, and methyl salicylate, which smells like wintergreen. Both these substances are much alike so far as vibrations are concerned, except that wintergreen has two additional frequencies that are missing in nitrobenzene.… In experiments with 12 volunteer sniffers, Dr. Wright showed that t... (p. 4)

LONG-RANGE SYSTEM FOR SPOTTING SUBMARINES — A sonar system for detecting and tracking enemy sub­marines long before they reach United States shores is being developed by the U.S. Navy.… The sound transmitter, or transducer, which is five stories high and weighs hundreds of tons, will be carried on a former Navy tanker, the USNS Mission Capistrano. The ship is equipped to raise and lower the transmitter into the water and also provide power for its operation. The U.S. Navy has already built a relay tower, called Argus Island, on top of an extinct underwater volcano off the Bermuda ... (p. 4)

ATOMIC ENERGY SEEN BEST FOR ROCKET POWER — Atomic energy is the most feasible source for powering rockets into the far reaches of outer space. A refined model of a nuclear power system now being developed could be used to propel space probes to Mars and Venus, [said] Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.... Already it is feasible to put an “atomic generator” in a satellite whirling around the earth to supply electric power. This generator, weighing four pounds, could produce electricity, equivalent to thousands of pounds of batteries, over a five-year p... (p. 4)

U.S. SPACEMAN A-OKAY — The United States broke the space barrier May 5 when Alan B. Shepard, Jr., 37-year-old astronaut, rode the Mercury capsule 302 miles down-range from Cape Canaveral, Fla. At 9:34 a.m. EST the Redstone rocket carrying the Mercury capsule lifted off the launching pad and took the astronaut for a 15-minute trip that made him exclaim, “Man, what a ride!” … Shepard had some difficulty breathing and seeing as he went into space and back, but no more than he was prepared for. The stress on his body, including a “grayout” of his eyes, was less than he had exper... (p. 4)

PATENTS OF THE WEEK — “Inventions for the home of tomorrow” were the theme of several inventions just patented. Two improved methods for rocking the cradle electrically have been invented. The main advantage of the “motor driven cradle” … is that it can be made inexpensively. It also has a timer and an adjustment that lets the cradle rock through a wide arc or a small one.… The latest thing for the bathroom is a bar of soap with brush bristles embedded. The scrubbing bar, invented by Guy M. Beatty of Bakersfield, Calif., and awarded patent No. 7,979,748 contains bristle... (p. 4)

RUSSIAN FIRST MAN IN SPACE — The Russians put the first man in orbit and returned him safely. A Soviet Air Force major, father of two, has circled the earth in 89.1 minutes, and come back, the official Russian news agency Tass reported. The height of the orbit varied from 110 to 188 miles. Maj. Yuri Gagarin, 27, landed at 2:55 EST, April 12, without suffering any harm.… The Soviet success in orbiting and recovering a man from space means that they can get a man on the moon in four or five years, and probably will. The best the United States can hope to do is get an American to the m... (p. 4)

REMAKE VENUS ‘WEATHER’ — Man can land on the mystery planet Venus after making its air suitable for humans. This job could be done by dropping primitive plants into the planet’s atmosphere, then waiting for results. The primitive algae would remove the carbon dioxide believed to poison the air on Venus for humans. The result would be carbon and oxygen. Dr. Carl Sagan of the University of California, Berkeley, believes the best algae to drop on Venus are the blue-green algae (primarily of the Nostocaceae family). He said many experiments on developing algae in a simulated atmosp... (p. 4)

CUT-OFF LIVER KEPT ALIVE — Three surgeons have completely isolated the liver from dogs, and with heart-lung machines have kept the animals and their livers alive for as long as eight hours. They were able to replant the livers in place, rejoin the numerous blood vessel connections and restore the animals to health.… The purpose of the experiments was to determine whether it might be feasible to perform a much simpler operation — perfusion of the liver without removing it — on human beings. Without physically removing the liver, the organ might be cut off from the rest of the body and b... (p. 4)

CHICKS LIKE BRIGHT COLORS—Chickens tend to like bright colors and dislike dull or drab colors and black, a poultry scientist said. However, chickens, like people, are individuals and also show individual preferences for different colors, Dr. George D. Quigley of the University of Maryland, College Park, Md., told Science Service. For in-stance, yellow is generally “disliked” by the chickens Dr. Quigley is testing for color recognition and preference. Nevertheless, some of the chickens apparently “think” it is prettier than all other colors by the preference they show for yel... (p. 4)

TRAFFIC CONGESTION SEEN AS FUTURE SPACE PROBLEM— Traffic congestion may be one of the most serious problems man may have to face when he starts commuting regularly from earth to outer space. This new frontier gradually is becoming cluttered with earth-launched orbiting vehicles and other debris.… [A]stronomical observatories, weather, TV and other communication satellites as well as the larger economy-sized USSR spacecraft to be boosted upward in the future also promise to diminish the wide open look that has up to now characterized outer space. Control over the amount of traffic pl... (p. 4)