Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-01-17

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Ten years ago DR.. Alexis CArrel Of
the Rockefeller lnstttute isolated 4
fragnsnt OF tissue from the heart Of
an embryonic chicken. says the New
York Herald. The tissue kept on
growing; II has kept on growing ever
since. At first II was real heart tissue,
and for 104 days. - the cells multi
piled themselves. pulsations could be
detected under the microscope
beating OF heart. Then the connec-
tive tissue cells ovayran the others.
and since then it has been connective
tissue
So fast does It grow that It would
now be an enormous mass except for
the fact that every weight hours
1t u subdivided and part OF II dis
carded. Many generations OF chickens
have been Matched and haAr gone
where good fowls go. but the SUBJ
stance OF the chick that happened to
be selected for DIR. Carols experiment
on January II. 1925 Is perpetuating
itself ADJUST as lively a rate az ever.
II Il, so far AS those who are watch
inE and nourishinE II can see, I'M
mortal.
Since the indefinite survival OF the
embryonic tissue by means OF pro-
liberation. or reproduction OF living
cells. became an established tact. DIR.
Carrel and his assistant, Dn Albert
II. Ebeling. have. naturally wondered
what. II any, bearing their experiment
may have on human life.
| Persons in touch with them believe
lsometh!ng must surely come OF studies
which enable the scientist not only To
observe so mNutely growth OF body
tissue. but,to experiment also with the
breaking down OF that tissue---to find
out what makes it break down, what
causes "old age"
Neither DR.. Carrel nor DIR. Ebeline
has ever been willing to speculate
along this line. Heretofore they have
merely reported the progress and pro-
cedure of the experiment with the
strain Of connective tissue which ha,
been kept alive in the Rockefeller
laboratory. Now that the tenth yea,
is ended, another report ia in prepare.
ton. 1t will give whatever con.
illusions the investigators have beer
able to reach. What they are coult
not be learned yesterday. II is be,
leved DR.. Carrel and his assistant TAX,
the position that IL they have widen
ed the field Of biological study other,
are welcome to profit by 1t and I,
make whatever application the,
choose. They hesitate TO say anythin,
that might provoke the continuity O
human life.
4 The original culture has been sub
divided nearly 1000 times. The cell
increase so fast that on the averag,
the area OF the culture is trebled in q
hours. At the end OF that period i, 4
divided into two or three pieces. which
are transferred to bath OF Ringer
solution. After As seconds In thu
bath they are transferred to a fresl
|, mixture of the medium used for per
J petuating the strain composed @
! equal volumes OF chicken plasma an
chick embryo extract.
They are then placed In an incu
hator and kept in an average temper
atnnnAS LOB degrees Fahrenheit. Tn
best plasma is obtained from health
chickens not more than two years oil
: which have not been fed for "a hour!
The tissue extract employed is oh
tanned from chick emhryos seven I
eight days old. In his last repor
published three years ago. DR.. Ebelin
said the rate of growth seemed to hav
increased progressively during tn
first seven years of life outside tn
chicken heart from which the origins
tissue came, but that possibly thi
might be merely apparent and due I
! notifications of technique
During the first year the growt
: was slow and Irregular, because it Wa
not We, known that certain substance
contained in embryonic juices were es
sential to permanent life
The method of cultivating the chick
: en- tissue is similar to- that of, cult
waiting disease germs. The use OF cul
ture material within sealed receptacle
( is necessary. The receptacles bein
. of glass the living tissues may b
! studied constantly.