﻿150 
  THE 
  UNIQUENESS 
  OF 
  LIFE 
  

  

  gering, 
  namely, 
  cell-division. 
  After 
  extraordinarily 
  intricate 
  

   and 
  uniform 
  internal 
  movements 
  of 
  particles 
  a 
  cell 
  divides 
  

   with 
  meticulous 
  accuracy 
  into 
  two 
  precisely 
  similar 
  halves, 
  

   sometimes, 
  strange 
  to 
  say, 
  into 
  .two 
  quite 
  dissimilar 
  halves. 
  

   As 
  we 
  have 
  already 
  remarked, 
  it 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  wonders 
  of 
  

   the 
  world. 
  Like 
  not 
  a 
  few 
  others, 
  Professor 
  Hartog 
  has 
  been 
  

   studying 
  the 
  dividing 
  cell 
  for 
  many 
  years, 
  and 
  he 
  believes 
  

   that 
  he 
  has 
  discovered 
  a 
  new 
  force 
  operative 
  in 
  the 
  process. 
  

   He 
  is 
  quite 
  clear 
  that 
  well-known 
  physical 
  forces 
  are 
  at 
  play 
  

   in 
  the 
  dividing 
  cell, 
  such 
  as 
  mechanical 
  tensions, 
  surface 
  

   tensions, 
  and 
  osmotic 
  actions; 
  he 
  is 
  also 
  clear 
  that 
  agencies 
  

   are 
  at 
  work 
  which 
  occur 
  elsewhere 
  in 
  living 
  organisms, 
  but 
  

   whose 
  physical 
  interpretation 
  is 
  uncertain, 
  such 
  as 
  protoplas- 
  

   mic 
  streaming; 
  yet 
  when 
  he 
  has 
  made 
  allowance 
  for 
  all 
  

   these 
  he 
  finds 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  working 
  of 
  a 
  new 
  force 
  which 
  

   he 
  calls 
  " 
  mitokinetism 
  ". 
  He 
  does 
  not 
  know 
  the 
  proximate 
  

   cause 
  of 
  this 
  force 
  or 
  its 
  relation 
  to 
  other 
  forces, 
  he 
  knows 
  

   it 
  by 
  its 
  works, 
  and 
  he 
  cannot 
  identify 
  it 
  with 
  any 
  other 
  

   force, 
  electrostatic 
  for 
  instance. 
  Nor 
  does 
  he 
  base 
  his 
  own 
  

   vitalistic 
  belief 
  on 
  his 
  " 
  mitokinetism 
  ". 
  We 
  have 
  here 
  the 
  

   basis 
  of 
  a 
  theory 
  that 
  organisms 
  have 
  a 
  monopoly 
  of 
  some 
  

   peculiar 
  energy 
  or 
  energies, 
  and 
  are 
  therefore 
  apart 
  both 
  

   from 
  machines 
  and 
  from 
  not-living 
  things 
  in 
  general. 
  

  

  A 
  clear 
  statement 
  of 
  this 
  position 
  was 
  given 
  by 
  the 
  late 
  

   Prof. 
  Eichard 
  Assheton, 
  who 
  suggested 
  that 
  instead 
  of 
  being 
  

   satisfied 
  with 
  the 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  mystical 
  Entelechy 
  we 
  should 
  

   look 
  out 
  for 
  some 
  form 
  of 
  energy 
  peculiar 
  to 
  living 
  matter. 
  

   In 
  1894, 
  Koux 
  observed 
  that 
  if 
  the 
  cleavage-cells 
  of 
  the 
  ovum 
  

   of 
  the 
  frog 
  (Rana 
  fusca) 
  towards 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  segmentation 
  

   be 
  isolated 
  and 
  floated 
  in 
  a 
  suitable 
  medium, 
  they 
  show 
  

   mutual 
  attraction. 
  The 
  sides 
  of 
  one 
  cell 
  become 
  drawn 
  out 
  

   towards 
  a 
  neighbouring 
  cell 
  ; 
  the 
  cells 
  move 
  towards 
  one 
  

  

  