The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-12-29

the latter b,aling the same relation 70
fro. 'l otehin as a 'adp0le does to a
Professor Loeb's announcement Of
his experiments ANA the belief IL
which he is forced, practically ostabIi h
new theory of The reproduction of
species. According Up this. the union
Of two elements is not necessary for
reproduction, but any cell nay dfyi q
ana reproduce.
This throws at once what may he q
most important light on the subject Of
caheers and of dermotl cysts.
with regard to cancer, | can saw
nothing" says Prof Loeb. 20 hers.
my colleagues. are working on that
But the rest. the development of The
unfertilized egg, that is an ass,s-ad
es.SGt believe an immaculate concap
ton may be from natural causes. The
less a scientist says about that nov
the better. 1T Is a wonderful subJec.
ana IN many ways an awful one
That the human species may be
mao artilicialiy to reproduce itself by
the thtrawal Of chemical restraint
BY ether han natural means is a mat
=-t-"--T'v- 1o not IKE to contemplate.
But We hav. drawn a great step
neaTr to the chemi al theory OF 'ife
an may already see ahead of us the
day when a scientist, experimenting.
with chemicals in a test tube. may see
them unite and form substance which
shall live and move and reproduce it.
self.
1t will be the first protoplasmic cell,
the origin of all life, which was pro-
duced in the test tube of nature ages
ago by the union in the course of the
worlds evolution of the same chemil al
substances with which he will have
worried"
II the discoveries are verified by
further experimentation, the possibility
Is that science may explain the miracle
or immaculate conception, over which
long and bitter contests have been
Waged. Centuries ago scientists and
theolcgians took up the quarrel, and
they have continued it to the present
day. Biologists studying the phenom-
ena of life declared that it was chem
ically created in the first place. but
that man was the result of an age long
evolution which had brought about the
impossioiiity of reproduction without
the union OF the male and the opposite
element. 1t was impossible from their
standpoint for a woman to become A
mother from any power in herself
Theolosians, on the olher hand, have
held that, whatever might be the usual
manner in the case Of Mary there was
no other fatherhood than that of the
Almighty. They have remained true
to belief in this, even when abandon
ing belief in the miracles perform d
by the Saviour
his discovery that a solution of nag
nesiuin salt caused the development of
sea urchin eggs into normal plutel led
the scientists al Woods Holl to a long.
series of experiments TO find what eff
feet the solution had on other cells A
jellyfish. or sea anemone was taken
as an illustration. This is a trans
parent jellylike mass that moves
through the sea, pulsating regularly,
waving with each motion a set OF
streanlers which drive food toward its
stomach.
Norman already had shown that
whenf'his ring of fibres was cut away
pr-satiCn stopped, and It was there
fore dubbed the nerve ring" and was
believed to be the centre of motive
power in the animal This has now
Deen proven wrong. for when the re-
naming portion of the jellyfich was put
In water containing no calcium and
large percentage of magnesium, it i'm
mediately began pulsating rhythmical-
ly, as it had in sea water with its rings
attached. Bit by bit the outer por-
tons We're cut away, and at last the
merest centre Of the mass was pu. in
magnesium solud wh n it p lsated
as had The saeE
1t has been found that an apparatus
for killing animals with chloroform in
England would not work in India. be-
cause the high temperature prevented
the concentration of the chloroforn
vapor. That this was the cause was
proved by the fact that by placing Toe
In the box the animals were readily
killed.
Artist-My next picture at the Acad-
tmy will be entitled Driven to Drink"