Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-03-12
.ECCS MATCHED III. ]
BY CHEMISTRY
How Germs Ars Fertilixsd Discovered
BY Physicians = They Experiment.
With See Urehins and Produced ny.
brid Marine Lifs-Puneturs Fross'
Esss In Unique Tests.

With Sea Urehins and Produced n.y..
brid Marine Lns-Puneturs Feoss'
Eass In Unique Tests.
Professor Jacques Loeb Of the Rookie
Teller institute. speaking before the
Manhattan Medical society In New
York recently described some Of his
recent experiments In artificial repro
duction by fertilization Of specimens
Of animal life that developed to matur-
ity. Professor Loeb excited great In
terest by relating that a female frog.
produced from an artiflcially fertflized
egg, was found on dissection after &C.
cidental death to be equipped for par.
enthood. This frog had reached adult
life.
The physicians followed closely DIR.
Loeb's description Of his experiments.
Professor Garry N. Calkins Of Colum.
bia university led the discussion which
followed. Professor Loeb asserted that
as result OF his experiments be had
not only learned how to initiate the ef-
feet OF the spermatozoon in nature. but
to learn the nature Of the spermatozoon
itself and its method Of action. He
said:
1.-THE egg in nature is only able to
develop after the spermatozoon has en-
tered into it. The spermatozoon calls
the egg not into life-for it had life
already-but into a new being. The
question before biology has been.
Howl
previously biologists answered this
question in the same way that few
years ago was answered questions con-
corning contagious diseases. by by
potheses. by ghesses. Biologists COM
pared the egg to clock and said the
spermatozoon wound 1t. Liebeg put
his metaphor into terms Of chemistry
and called the spermatozoon a ferment
which set up vibrations in the egg.
Initiating tho spermataxoon.
1.-THE problem Of artificial fertiliza-
ton was to do what the spermatazoon
does by simple physio-chemical means.
Observation of the natural process
showed visible changes in the egg
after the entrance Of the spermata-
coon. The entrance was followed by q
halo forming about the egg, called the
fertilization membrane. We found
that this was the important thing In
/ the process, not any change IN the
nucleus, as we had supposed.
Experimentation led to the discov-
cry that this same halo, or fertiliza-
ton membrane, followed the applica-
ton Of monobasic fatty acids, such as
acetic acid or buteric acid. We start
ed with the sea urchin egg. because
TINT is constant, and we wanted to be
able to repeat our experiments.
1--WE found when we added mono
basic fatty acid to sea water, In which
to immense the egg. that in some cases
at low temperatures the egg developed
into larvae and persisted. At room
temperatures the eggs divided. 1t waf
plain that the acid alone did not pro
duce sufficient effect
ITO prevent the disintegration we
hit upon a second treatment We took
the egg from the acid sea water and
put it into hypertonic sea water-wa'
ter to which sugar or salt had been
added. This had the effect Of draw
ing some of the water from the egg,
| about which the fertilization mem
brane had formed. and great many
of the eggs developed normally. From
this we drew the conclusion that the
eggs needed double treatment and
that the spermatazoon contained this
double treatment in exactly the right
proportions. All eggs did not form
the fertilization membrane when SUD
| 1ected to the first treatment, cir
cumstance often embarrassing to the
experimenter. We then discovered
that all eggs could be made equally
sensitive by treating them first with
barium chloride or stronsium chloride
Marine Lie Hybrid.
"Our next experiment was the at
tempt to fertilize the sea urchin ege
| with tho aperm of q remote species