90 life's beginning on the earth 



early as 1871. He, like others after him, (Preyer, Richter, 

 for example) assumed the existence of an "eternal" principle 

 which was handed on from organism to organism — if neces- 

 sary through the empty space of the universe from one 

 solar system to another. Without this principle, life was 

 assumed to be impossible. 



As Oparin very appropriately points out this idea is 

 strictly vitalistic in its character. It attempts to erect an 

 impassable barrier between the living and the non-living 

 world, and in this respect does not differ from the pre- 

 Pasteurian views of life's creation by means of some super- 

 natural force. 



As we discussed before, Arrhenius had attempted to find 

 evidence for the physical possibility of the scattering of life 

 germs throughout the universe. He had also tried to mini- 

 mize the numerous dangers to which these wayfaring germs 

 must of necessity be subjected in the interstellar space with 

 temperatures near the absolute zero (— 273°C.) and with its 

 ultraviolet radiation of unchecked violence. As Oparin 

 emphasizes this radiation should kill off any viable germ 

 almost instantly since much feebler radiations generated by 

 artificial means are used as powerful disinfectants. Ar- 

 rhenius had found excuses for all these objections; thus, for 

 example, he maintained that in the alleged absence of water 

 vapor in the interstellar space, the ultraviolet rays would fail 

 to act. However, recent investigations have demonstrated 

 the existence of a shorter and more powerful interstellar 

 radiation. These rays have wave lengths shorter even than 

 the X-rays. They bring about not only chemical changes 

 but also attack and decompose the atoms which remain un- 

 changed in ordinary chemical reactions. This radiation vio- 

 lently attacks all particles of matter as, for example, meteor- 

 ites which are not surrounded by a protecting atmosphere like 

 our earth. Profound changes take place: by the breaking 

 up of atoms, new elements are formed: iron is changed to 



