The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-12-28
ELIXIR OF life
SECRET IS FOUND IN COMMON salt.
This, Il Is Claimed, VIII Restore
Life That Is Extlnct...Life
prOlOnqlnq Principles.

Canton physicians are much interested
in an important discovery claimed 20
nave been made a few days ago by two
scientists at Chicago university. The
discovery In question is nothing less
than the elixir of life. the secret of pro-
longing human existence. which has
been sought for by the chemists in
fanciful combinations. byadventurersi in
mythical fountains, and by scientists
and scholars from time immemorial.
salt--common every day salt, or sodium
chloride, as the chemists call it-when
mixed in a proper solution, they assert,
will restore life that is extinct.
Profs. j. Loeb and ID. j. Lingle, Of
the university. have been experimenting
for months on auricuar and ventricular
muscles and say that they have found
that certain "ions' or electric currents,
in the salt solution are the life prolong-
ing principle which works on the heart
muscles through the blood.
WILL PUBLISH THEIR FINDINGS.
The result of their experiments ana
Investigations has not become generally
known yet. as they are now preparing
the story of their work for publication.
Both professors have adopted the pro-
cess of elimination in working out this
result from the various theories ad-
vanced by scientists for the past 10
years, and claim to have found by care
full experiments on hearts of various
animals that salt, one of the commonest
things in existence, is the quintessence
Of life which all chemists and philoso-
piers have sought for centuries.
Human fife will take on an entirely
new aspect If these scientists continue
to work out their experiments to practi-
cal results. Death will lose its sting and
heart that has ceased to beat from any
other cause than violence may have a
certain solution of salt Infected into its
branching arteries and veins and again
take UP this rhythniical beat People
who have dropped from heart failure
may have hypodermic Injection of salt
solution that will set them on their feet
again.
SOME EXPERIMENTS EXPLAINED.
The professors refuse to talk about
their Investigations. but a pamphlet
just prepared by Professor Lirgle eX-
plains several Of the, experiments and
Investigations leading to the results
claimed. Prof. Loeb has studied sep
arately and together the action on heart
tissue Of the three ,ions-sodium,lf fcal-
cium and potassium--and finds that
while the other ions may start heart ac-
lions the salt ion is the only one which
will maintain 1t. After testing. all these
ions on hearts of turtles. Prof. Lingle
has set forth his conclusions as fol-
lows: .g..y
The results of 79Dr. Loeb's expert
ments on rhythmic contractions In
striped muscle apply very closely TO the
ventricu1ar tissue of the turtle.
Sodium and not calcimus is the stim-
ulus for rhythmic contractions in the
heart.
A pure sodium chloride solution has
an Injurious effect on heart tissues.
Calcium. and possibly potassium
salts. improve the rhythm by neutraliz-
ing this injurious action.
Hearts will not beat rhythmically In
solutions of non-cOnductors."
The disclosures of the two professors
are expected by them to startle the
scientific world.