The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1905-06-03
THE SEARCH FOR LIFE.
Chemistry on Food to Discovery 0,
How Living Beings Originate.

How Living Beings Originate.
A very ineres sting discussion ha.
been going on Of late in some Of th'
scientific journals on that problem o
problems, hat is life
few years ago there was cOnSid
cradle popular excitement over the
discoveries and experiments Of Pro
fessor Loeb, Of the Chicago Cniver
sity, and many people got the impress
sion that he mad really found out how
to set the wheels OF life running by
artificial stimulus Accordingly.
when he came to New York to Civ,
a course Of lectures before Columbia
University, his lecture room was
crowded with men and women who
! were Immensely disappointed because
| they could not understand what he
was talking about, and because he
. they supposed he had discovered.
After that. popular interest in the
subject rapidly evaporated. but the
experiments that gave rise to it have
been continued ever since, and those
who are on the inside know that pro
gress is being made, although the fun
damental secret still escapes the
grasp Of science.
In a recent address Professor Loeb
declared that 1T is now proved be-
yond all doubt that the variables in
the chemical processes in living CT
ganisms are Identical with those
with which the chemist has 10 deal
in the laboratory" This may not ,
mean much to popular apprehension, |
but biologists are aware that it signi !
fies that they are getting upon solid |
ground from which a wonderful ad- /
vance may at any moment be made. !
In the meantime most interesting |
Speculations, and suggestions Of new
lines Of research are rife. DR.. F. J.
Allen, of Cambridge, England, points
out that there is now reason to hope
for the successful imitation in the
laboratory of some Of natures sim
pier combinations from which living
cells are produced. He believes that
one OF the functions giving rise to life
is the deoxidation of compounds con.
aiming nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and
erate heat, or slight electrical disturb
lnce and he THINKS that we ought TO
)e able to discover the conditions on
which this deoxidation depends, and ,
0 initiate it artificially. 1t may turn i
nut he says, to be nearly reversal i
i the process of vital oxidation.
The reason why life seems to 6
pring only from prior life and not 10
riginate in non-living subs aLces IS, +
e suggests. because although first
ttempts at life may be occurring
On nually around us, any synthetic
that is, lie-producng), substances ,
hich may result from the dsoxida- +,
on above described are sure to be
sized and assimilated by already de-
eloped organisms. and thus the new n
fe is nipped in the bud. The prob =
m then, is 70 prevent this assimila-
On by existing life, and thus give an
'portunity for new cells to form
One Of the conditions existing in :,
ture, and not attainahle in the lab :,
atory, is the lapse of vast periods
time, during which the long course
evolution between inorganic mat =,
:, and the living cell has had oppor-
nifty to unfold. But, notwithstand-
: this disadvantage, DIR. Allen thinks
possible tnat We could bring some -,
the individual functions Of life into
lion, at least in a primitive form, al wv
,ugh to produce the total functions, 70
which the higher forms Of life de- r,
nd. might prove beyond our power
,a.se Of our restricted field of ac-
different problem is that of the n,
gination OF varying forms of al
dy existing life. and to Professor III,
,b it seems probable that the dis tr,
'eries Of Mendel and Hugo de Vries wa
the sudden appearance of varia-
Is due to hereditary tendencies, in
ate the direction in which the arti-I
al production Of new species is to NJ
sought. provided that such produc- .
is possible at all.-Success. .
A Freak Of Nature.
lot long ago, Colonel Cody. bette, COG
wn as Buffalo Bill" was relating
! professor of ethnology some of
many and varied experiences
ng the Indians during his early al
;. The Philadelphia Public Led ass
tells Of the little joke which the sic.
It played on the professor.
BY the way" asked Colonel Cody, ~,
Iptly, did you ever see a red In
led Indian?" -
lever did, and never heard of such Art
eak. colonel,' was the reply. an
saw one, Cherokee, down on
Fort Scott TRAIL" quietly answered
Y. Then he stopped, waiting for
ise." mar
came. Rather an unusual sight
wasn't it," thin
ather; but you see, this Indian men
bald" ava
old cheap reprints or poor pic. pie
- anv ,or+ way
ingt