But does this mean that so much labour on the part of geologists, miners, and chemists is spent in vain?

   You needn't worry: uranium has other, "non­nuclear" professions, and quite a number of them, too. Non-specialists just know very little about them, which is too bad.

   Uranium has caught the interest of biologists. It has been found that No. 92 is indispensible to normal plant growth. For example, it perceptibly increases the sugar content in carrots and beets, as well as in some fruits. Uranium helps valuable soil microorganisms to develop.

   Animals also need uranium. In a very interesting experiment rats were fed small amounts of uranium salts for a year. The content of the element in their organisms remained practically unchanged, and no harmful consequences were observed, but the animals almost doubled their weight. Researchers believe that uranium aids greatly in the assimilation of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, the most important vital elements.

   Uranium in medicine? This is one of the oldest practical applications of the element. There have been attempts to use its salts for treating various diseases, such as diabetes, skin diseases, and even tumours. Nor have they been entirely unsuccessful. "Uranium therapy" is now again in the order of the day.

   Uranium finds a curious use in metallurgy. Its alloy with iron (ferrouranium) is added to steel to remove oxygen and nitrogen. Steels made with ferrouranium can operate at very low temperatures. Uranium-nickel steels are very resistant even to the most aggressive chemical reagents, such as "aqua regia" (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids).

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