The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1901-12-31
SCIENCE STAYS
HAND OF DEATH
Chicago Professor An
nounces Marvellous
Discovery.
Finds Means Of Preventing
Disintegration in Cells of
Sea Creatures.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

CHICAGO, Dec. S0-Another startling
scientific discovery in psychology, which
some investigators say. is a long step
toward revealing the secret of immortal
life and by which science has succeeded in
checking the death process in the living
cell, was announced by Professor Jacques
Loeb of the University of Chicago to-day
The announcement was made at the first
session of the annual conference of Amer
lean Psychologists, which is meeting at
the university, and was the cause of con-
siderable stir among the many scientists
present.
Professor Loeb's paper. the subject of
which was "Prolongation of life in I'M
fertilized eggs of the sea urchin by po-
periments conducted by himself and his
assistants at Woods Holl Mass, last
summer. He said:
''As the result of my experiments on
the eggs of the sea urchin and star fish
l am of the opinion that death is not due
to disintegration in the life cell. Death
is an active process, which starts with
the first appearance of life in the cell
and which, if not checked, leads to an
inhalation. My experiments show that in
an unfertilized egg two processes start
at once-one toward life and the other
toward death. My object was to find some
substance that would check the death
process and be preservatiVe of life in
the cell
THE egg naturally dies at once unless
1t becomes fortified. EnZymic action, or
sort of fermentation seems to be re-
sponsible for this mortiferous process.
Hoping to counterfeit this enZymic action
1 put some eggs into a solution of potas-
SUM cyanide and the result was impress
sive beyond our fondest dreams
mot only was the death process in the
eggs checked but the solution acted as
preservative of the life cell. That life
was thus sustained was proved when the
eggs were removed from the solution and
Matched. 1 succeeded in preserving life
in this way as long as seven days"
What the ultimate results of eXperi-
ments upon the budding cell life of higher
animals will be scientists would not vent
ure to predict
Professor Martin Fischer, one of Pro
feSSor Loeb's assistants, declared that
ability to check the death process in cells
from which the mature animal springs
means the solution of the problem of end
less life. Scientists are eager to see how
far up in the animal scale Professor Loeb
can control conditions of life and death.
Several other papers Of Importance were
read during the meeting. Professor D. j.
Lingle of the University of Chicago gave
the results of his research into the effect
of common salt upon the heart beat. He
affirmed with great emphasis that,
contrary to the statement of Professor
Howells Of Harvard, salt is the sole agent
responsible for the rhythmic action of the
heart.
Professor F. S. Lee of Columbia Uni
versity made some interesting reports up
on the action of alcohol upon muscles.
By experiments upon the frog he demon
strated that a small amount of alcohol
increased the working power of muscle
enabled 1t to make more rapid contrac-
lions in a given space of time and delayed
fatigue; that, in short, it made the muscle
much better machine In larger guam
titles, however, alcohol was detrimental
in all respects.