The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-31
MALES NOT NEEDED FOR LIFE.
Chicago Professor Utters Startling
Theory i'm New York.

~NASNSC FFotesSOf ttters STARTLING
Theory i'm New York.
From the New York Press.
Both sexes are not necessary; arti-
fcial processes can produce life.
This astonishing statement was made
yesterday by Prof. Jacques Loeb of
Chicago University in lecture before
the Biological Department of Columbia
University. Prof. Loeb already is
known as the promulgator of the the
DRY that it is possible to control the
action of the heart, the muscles and
the nerves. But he went a great step
further yesterday in his probing into
the mystery of life.
He said that females are partheno-
genetic. like bees and butterflies and
all plant life. The chemical which
may be used for all animals to produce
offspring has not yet been found he
said. Still one thing has been found
to work on this animal, 1another on
that, and so on.
The endeavor of all biologists and
histoligists from now on" said Prof
Loeb, will be to find out the common
element in all these different chemi-
calls. This is not so hard We have
the real discovery completed. The
process of finding the common element
is one of chemical analysis. 1t is like
having several compounds. Nos. l. 2,
3, and 5, all producing the same re-
suit, with the work now of finding
what the element in each compound is
that produced the effect.
Professor Cites the Bees.
"spermatozoa was thought to be
| necessary for the fertilization and de-
velopment of the eggs of animals, be-
cause of some volatile substance con-
tanned in it. But this has been found
TO be absolutely false. The eggs OF
bees, for instance. can develop with
or without it. An embryo can be
formed without it. Sulphur salts in
fused will produce the result.
'The trouble with all biologists up
to the present time has been that they
took natural phenomena too much to
deep into analyses of these phenomena.
Whereas, II they had attempted to Gre
ate their own phenomena, or even to
| initiate the natural phenomena,
they could have had substances in
their hands they knew and could con-
| troll.
I'm specific terms, they should not
ask What does spermatozoa do to
make an egg Develop? but How can
we cause an unfertilized egg to de-
i velop by means we know?'
'Endeavors to answer this last
question have been successful In the
case of sea urchins sea water, con-
| centrated and mixed with plain salt,
has caused development. Any trace
| of calcium will cause development.
! With star fish, a recent experiment
has been made by which slight me-
| chanical agitation at the right critical
period produced the desired result in
a much quicker time. Often tempera-
ture will effect the course of develop
ment.
Use of Hydrocyanic Acid.
I'm some animals the processes Of
| development are so slow, however, that
| they die before being developed fully
! Experiments in this line have shown
| that hydrocyanic acid and cyanide of
| potassium two of the deadliest poisons
| known, will act as catalytics. that is
| increasers of the rapidity of the chem
| ical action, and will prevent death and
develop the embryo fully. The reason
for this peculiar action of these dead
| ly poisons is that. upon entering the
| egg, they are decomposed Immediately
and are reacted upon, preventing the
destructive process going on and Bring
ing about the correct life-giving pro-
| cesses."
| Prof. Loeb's experiments have beer
made only on the lower animals
whereas his. conclusions on the con-
| troll of the heart were based on ex-
| periments made on human beings. I'm
| til this latter course can be taken
| with the new theory even Loeb's firm
! adherents admit that it will remain a
| theory.