10 



of which the glass is composed. This proves that magnet- 

 ism can act upon matter in other ways than that with 

 which we are all familiar. A magnetic field being noth- 

 ing but a whirlwind in the ether, it is reasonable to as- 

 sume that any twisted chemical structure will produce a 

 miniature whirlwind of this sort. The mere existence of 

 an ether whirlwind of molecular dimensions is not suffi- 

 cient, however, to constitute life. The chemical structure 

 which maintains this whirlwind must be so constituted 

 that it will combine chemically with additional structural 

 units along the axis of the whirlwind, and still keep the 

 same twisted configuration at the free end. Furthermore, 

 in order to produce the complex hereditary patterns of 

 the higher plants and animals, or to produce any kind of 

 structure large enough to be visible under the micro- 

 scope, it is also necessary that these twisted chemical 

 structures be capable of connection to one another later- 

 ally along at least three different sides. The polypeptide 

 spiral (and also the sulphur-peptide spiral as we shall 

 see later) will satisfy all of these conditions. 



The fact that living matter does not respond to a mag- 

 netic field in the same manner as a piece of iron is no 

 disproof of this magnetic theory of life, because in a 

 magnetized piece of iron the north and south poles are at 

 an appreciable distance apart, and the force exerted upon 

 it by a magnetic field depends on this distance. In a 

 polypeptide spiral, however, the distance between oppo- 

 site ends is extremely small, so that a magnetic field could 

 not act upon it with any appreciable force. 



A magnetic whirlwind around the axis of a polypeptide 

 spiral should exert a coordinating effect upon any amino 

 acid residues in its immediate vicinity, and if two such 

 residues are simultaneously present, they will arrange 

 themselves around the axis of the whirlwind in the form 

 of a diketopiperazine ring. With the ring held in this 

 position, it can be readily joined to the end of the spiral 



