A. A. A. S.

The 78th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the representative organization of American scientists, with a membership of 11,704, opened in Cincinnati, Thursday, Dec. 27, and will close Wednesday, Jan. 2. These meetings, held annually during the Christmas holidays for the benefit of men of the academic world, who make up the majority of the members, have long been recognized as the most important of national scientific gatherings. At them papers and reports are presented embodying the major scientific researches of the twelvemonth, and many of the most important scientific discoveries and developments have been first announced there.

The Cincinnati meetings will be notable in several respects, this being the 75th anniversary of the Association's foundation. From 1,200 to 1,400 speakers are on the programs of the 16 sections and 27 affiliated learned societies which will meet with the Association. These men will be eligible for a $1,000 reward offered to the scientist who presents the most notable contribution to the advancement of science during the year. The prize is offered by an anonymous lay member of the Association, and the winner will be chosen by a special committee of judges.

Dr. Charles Doolittle Walcott, dean of American geologists and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, will preside, and Dr. J. Playfair McMurrich of the University of Toronto, the retiring President, will make a presidential address.

The sections of the A. A. A. S. are devoted to the following branches: mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, geography, zoology, botany, anthropology, psychology, social science, history and language, engineering, medicine, agriculture, education. A condensed account of the most important contributions at the meetings will be given in next week's issue of TIME.

In addition to the Cincinnati meetings, other important groups are meeting as follows: statisticians, economists, sociologists and political scientists in Washington; bacteriologists in New Haven; pharmacologists, biochemists and pathologists in St. Louis; and other specialists in Madison, Wis., Princeton, N. J., Baltimore, Providence.