90 THE ORIGIN OF LIFE 



While in the second series of this year, in which 

 pure colloidal silica was used, living organisms 

 were taken from every one of the twenty tubes, 

 which had been heated as follows: Six to 125 

 for five minutes; six to 130 for five minutes; two 

 to 132 for two minutes; and six to 135 C. for 

 five minutes. 



Thus, in the three series of experiments there 

 have been twenty-one with positive results in which 

 the tubes had been heated to 135 C. for five min- 

 utes; five in which the tubes had been heated to 

 141 C. for five minutes; and five in which 

 thev had been heated to 145 C. for a similar 



V 



period. 



The fact, therefore, that living organisms can 

 be obtained, almost at will, from solutions which 

 have been heated in hermetically-sealed vessels to 

 temperatures very much higher than that which is 

 known to be their thermal death-point leaves no 

 further room for doubt upon the much-contested 

 point whether or not living matter is still capable 

 of coming into existence. It now seems clear that 

 what I have termed " Archebiosis ' is a process 

 likely to be constantly taking place in suitable 

 situations over the whole surface of the earth, 



