Perspectives in Medicine

This book is a collection of the thirteenth series of the Laity Lectures of the New York Academy of Medicine. Delivered for the benefit of those interested in the medical and teaching professions and also in the related fields of social service and public health, the essays have a common theme which emphasizes the interrelationship of medical research with the public and its elected representatives in the government. The lectures deal mainly with contemplated research, such as the potentialities of radioactive isotopes in medical investigations which are discussed by Lewis L. Strauss of the Atomic Energy Commission. However, they include such diverse topics as "Food and Civilization," psychiatric problems in ageing, and cancer research. This little book contributes to the background knowledge of workers in the biological and physical sciences. The discussion of the "Inter-Relation of Pure and Applied Science in the Field of Medicine" by James B. Conant, President of Harvard, is of fundamental importance to all research workers. It presents to the laity with force and clarity the justification for the public and private financial support of all fields of medical research, extending from the basic sciences through the applied research laboratories to the clinical research workers in the hospitals and public health clinics. It is recommended to anyone who is concerned with scientific progress.