Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-11-14
MAY CONQUER DEATH.
New Developments in Relation to Dr.
Loeb's Discovery of Elixir of Life.

Loeb's Discovery of Elixir of Life.
Chicago, Nov. IA new discovery
in relation to the prolonging of human
life has just been announced by Pro-
fessor Jacques Loeb, of the University
of Chicago.
While the instructor is preparing to
take a position at the University of
California, Professor Loeb and his
corps of scientists have shed a new
Light light on the problem which has
occupied the biologist for years. Salt
and water the elixir of life," discov-
cred by DR.. Loeb two years ago to be
efficient in making turtles hearts beat
again with rhythmic throbs, has been
found to be powerful restorative for
dying mammals and the scientist is a
step nearer toward the goal of pro-
longing human life Indefinitely.
The experiments of which DR.. Loeb
told his class We're made by Assistant
Professor Edward p. Lyons in the
laboratories at the university. While
DR.. Lyons experiments were carried on
with the idea of ascertaining the prop
critics of solutions of sodium and call
cium as a life restorer, the announce
ments made by Russion specialist
some time ago regarding experiments
made with the heart of dead child are
said to have been the immediate mo-
tive.
IF heart can be taken from a baby
after death and the regular beat tenn
porarily restored by immersing it in a
solution of Salts argued DR.. Lyons,
why can not the heart of warm
blooded animals be restored by an in
lection of salts into the veins if done
when the animal is at the point of
deatl?"
DR.. Lyons began his experiments
with the lowest forms of mammal life,
mice, then dogs and cats. Taking the
animals kept in the University of Chi
cago laboratories for experiment, he
gave them such treatment as would
bring them to a condition where life
was practically extinct. Then by in
jections of sodium and calcium solu-
tons into the veins of the failing mann
mails, he was able to restore for vary
ing periods of time the heartbeat in it's
normal rhythm and strength.
The experiments were completed sew
eral weeks ago, but not until DR.. Loeb
spoke of the matter in illustrating a
point to his class in physiology yester-
day had it been given to the public.
Il am giving this to you for the first
time" said the professor. 1T is new
discovery and has not been an
nounced before"
DR.. Loeb. in accordance with his GUS
tom. refused to be interviewed on the
subject. In telling his class yesterday
he gave all the credit to DR.. Lyons,
who. he said. had originated and car
ried out his own experiment.
This latest discovery is considered a
long step in advance of DR.. Loeb's an
nouncement in the American Journal of
Physiology nearly two years ago that
experiment had shown the possibility
of restoring the rhythmic beat of tur-
ties hearts after death or cause the
muscles of a frogs leg to twitch by i'm
mersing the one or the other in solu-
tons of sodium or calcium salts. AT
that time it was only cold-blooded ami
mails that We're used in experiments.
Then followed the announcement by
DR. Loeb and DR.. Matthews last winter
that the human body was like a COM
plicated battery with currents having
toxic--or poiSonouS--and anti-toxic eff
fects. Now it has been discovered that
not only can salt solutions be applied
to sections of the ventricle muscles of a
turtles heart but that the entire heart
of a warm blooded animal while still
in the body and while still beating, tho
family as death approaches, may be
restored by one of the simplest articles
in the materia medica-salt
What the next step will be the scien-
lists refuse to say. They will, they say,
proceed with their experiments and be-
lieve that human life may be prolonged
only when they have proved it.