The Forrest City times., 1902-01-03
MO- 15.
THE SECRET OF LONGEVITY. Wonderful Discovery by Prof. Jacques Loeb Mysteries of Death
 Unrayeled.

Chicago. Dec. 3l.-Experiments which it is claimed are a beginning of the unraveling of the mysteries of death were made public by Prof. Jacques Loeb at the fourteenth an- nual meeting of the American Physio- logical society at the University of Chicago last night. During the last summer the noted scientist has been continuing his series of experiments with the eggs of the lower marine animals, especially those of the sea urchin, and last night in paper en- titled "On the Prolongation of Life of Unfertilized Eggs of the Sea Urchin by Potassium Cyanide" he told group of the foremost physi- | ologists in America that by means of observation of the effects of cer- tain chemicals upon these minute bits of protopiasm, he was ready to make a tentative definition of the heretofore unknown nature of death. Death, Prof. Loeb affirmed, was not negative process, a simple breaking down of the tissues, as it has been regarded up to this time, but an active agent born with the birth of the egg, and destined, if not checked, to gain the upper hand of the life instinct and bring about extinction. But, greater even than the apparent discovery of this death agent in all life substance, was Prof. Loeb's an nouncement that he has been able to check it in the eggs of the sea urchin at least, by means of chem ical agents. This, it is claimed, means nothing less than that on q minute scale the secret of eternal | life is in the power of mankind. The experiments, Prof. Loeb says, were simple. Unfertilized eggs of the sea urchin were placed in weak so- | lution of potassium cyanide and abandoned for several days. In or | dinary conditions an unfertilized egg dies in a few hours, destroyed by the | death agents born with it. At the | end of several days the eggs were again examined and were found to be still capable of fertilization and of producing healthy animals.
 In explaining the results Prof. Loeb said that the "mortiferous processes
 were due to the action of certain ferments of an unknown nature, whose destructive tendency was counteractcd by the potassium salts.
 Several other papers of importance were read during the meeting. Prof. D. J. Lingle, of the University of Chi cago, gave the results of his research into the effect of common salt upon l the heart beat. He affirmed with l great emphasis that. contrary to the statements of Prof W. M Howells, of Harvard, salt is the sole agent re- | sponsible for the rhythmic action of 1 the heart.
 Prof. F. s. Lee, of Columbia uni versity, made esAnteresting re- ports upon the action of alcohol upon muscles. By experiments upon the | frog he demonstrated that small amount of alcohol increased the working power of muscle, enabled lt to make more rapid contractions in given space of time and delayed l fatigue; that, in short. it made the muscle a much better machine In larger quantities, however, alcohol was detrimental in all respects. Among the well-known scientists who read papers were Professors G
 T. Kemp, of the University of Illinois; A. R. Cushney. of the University of Michigan; G. Lusk. of the University of New York, and L. E. Mendel, of Yale