142 life's beginning on the earth 



although not equivalent to real living cells; observe Fig- 

 ure 52. 



By a different technique, we can obtain freely floating 

 artificial cells. (See Figure 53, a microscopic picture of 

 these cells, reproduced here with the courtesy of their orig- 

 inator, Dr. A. L. Herrera of Mexico.) 



0% § & 





& o 





^ 9 o * 



Fig. 53. Artificial Cells with Nucleus Produced in Sea Water 



These artificial cells are made by forcing a solution which precipitates 

 lime salts into the sea water through the narrow pores of a porous cup. 



The precipitation occurs in the form of microscopic globules which have 

 a droplet of water in their center. Herrera believes that this droplet re- 

 motely resembles the "nucleus" of living cells, but it may also he compared 

 to a so-called "vacuole." 



It seems interesting that cells can be produced in sea water in which, 

 according to our assumption, the first cells actually were formed. How- 

 ever, since these seaborn artificial cells consist entirely of inorganic ma- 

 terial, their similarity to living cells may perhaps be accidental. 



Moreover, their mode of origin is highly artificial. It is difficult to see, 

 even by the farthest stretch of the imagination, how living cells could 

 possibly have originated in a similar manner. It is important, however, 

 to know that even entirely artificial methods yield cells with such a striking 

 resemblance to certain living cells. 



