The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-13

celled organism-the sea urchin is a
good example. 1t was with this form
that DIR. Loeb carried on most of his
important experiments at Woods Holl,
Mass, aad in the Marine Observatory
in Naples, Italy. Experiments of this
sort were fundamentally important for
all life is simply protoplasm in some
form or other. If DR.. Loeb could de-
termine what caused the movements
of the little mass of protoplasm which
comooses the sea urchin, he could then
determine with certainty the causes of
the functions Of life in many complex
cells of living matter.
Few have probably stepped to think
what this theory means in its relation
to our former beliefs in life, it's spiritual
creation, it's origin and it's end. DR..
puzzling the scientists for a century
past--he has linked the inanimate
world with the animate.
viii it not be more difficult" I
asked, to harmonic this conception
of life with our present religious be-
1iefs than it was for Darwin's theory
of evolution to be finally accepted by
the>Christian world?"
Il don't want to discuss that" re-
piled DIR. Loeb. "All 1 can say is that
for a long time / puzzled over the
forces which rule in the realm OF the
animate and then l came to the con-
clusion that these forces were the same
as those which ruled the inanimate"
After the theory came the expert
ments. The biologist reduced conscious
life to a material basis by creating con-
scious life. To be sure, this creation
has yet been done very crudely, but
the Significance of the result is no less
important. Now that he has accom-
plished the prolonging of the life of the
simple celled sea urchin, and more than
that, the creation of life in these forms,
he has brought the scientists and the
churchmen face to face with the eter-
nal why. The door of the mystery house
of creation will probably remain closed
to them.
The greatest difficulty of the biolo-
gists is to explain the chemical charac-
ter of life. Much of the phenomena of
life can be reproduced in the chemists
laboratory, but, thus far, only at such
a high temperature that actual life is
impossible. No one could explain why
the functions of the body could be car
ried on at the low temperature at
which they now operate.
For example," says DR.. Loeb, "oxi-
dation, fundamental principle of life,
takes place at a low, temperature in the
body The air is inhaled by the lungs
in a very simple manner, but If the
chemist attempts to reproduce this, he
requires a tremendous heat"
Heretofore, the scientists have been
in the habit of attributing this differ
ence in temperatures at which the same
chemical changes are brought about in
the body and without it, to some mys-
FERROUS principle or element of life.
They called this element the engine, a
y l. Ill
our present ignorance.
1t has been DR.. Loeb's chief labor to |
discover way to control the engines,
and in this study he produced many of |
Natures processes. He made platinum
in solution or in very finely powered !
form digest fat the same way as it is
digested by the stomach and glands. |
the action of batterian in put |
refaction was reproduced by the pow
dered platinum, and many other living |
functions were accomplished. Indeed, |
DR.. Loeb did what his predecessors !
had failed to do--he initiated much of !
the most secret life phenomena at the |
same temperature as that of the body. |
This is the heart of the wonderful sue |
cess he has had.
''Our living matter has at least one |
common quality with solutions of |
platinum" says DR.. Loeb, namely. |
that they are colloidal solutions, that |
is, liquid substances. should say that |
perhaps one Of the most important fea-
lures of the physical contraction of |
Lying matter is this, that half of our
living matter must be in liquid state, |
and this liquid state is of the character +
of colloid solution with the same forces
as are in the platinum colloids. What |
are these forces?
Experiments have been made show
ing the effect of an electrical current |
In water in which were living cells.