314 IV. THE PRINCIPLES OF LIFE PHENOMENA 



which accordingly loses its normal appearance with the coagulation 

 of nuclear substances. 



Now, the centrioles and coagulated particles of nuclear substances, 

 i.e. chromosomes, may have the ■ same electrical charge since they 

 are composed of proteins of a similar nature. If the surface substance 

 of the cell is equally charged, the centrioles and chromosomes will be 

 situated as far as possible both from the cell surface and from each 

 other. It is known that beneath the surface of cells there is a thin 

 layer of gel called cortex, which may be the charged surface substance, 

 since both the centrioles and chromosomes are considered to be also 

 the gel of the same category. 



At any rate, the divided centrioles are thus provided with the same 

 charge, so that they have to be separated from each other when the 

 division is accomplished ; at the same time the chromosomes, /. e. the 

 coagulated nuclear substances are shifted to acquire the most stable 

 position in the field of the electrical force, and therefore finally chromo- 

 somes are distributed in a plane exactly between the two centrioles 

 and to right angle to a line connecting them. C 



Meanwhile, this process may activate the chromosomes to increase 

 in their mass until the division is unavoidable just as the centriole is 

 activated by some stimulus to undergo the division. Through this 

 division chromosomes are likewise disturbed in their structure with the 

 production of free polar groups, at least a certain point of each particle, 

 which can attract the protoplasm threads and thus each thread present 

 close to each divided particle of chromosomes is attracted and combined 

 with the particle and subsequently contraction occurs in the thread 

 as the active group of the chromosomes acts as a stimulus to produce 

 the contraction. Thus, each set of divided chromosme is pulled toward 

 each centriole as shown in E in Fig. 30. The separation of the divided 

 centrioles may be caused not only by their mutual expulsion but also 

 by the contraction of the protoplasm threads between the cortex and 

 the centriole. Now, between the pulled chromosmes a space is pro- 

 duced where no protoplasm substance is present, so that the cell is 

 divided by the "furrow" formation around the equator of the cell. 



Since all the changes above described are initiated by the temporary 

 liberation of active groups following the denaturation of the protein, 

 the normal state of the cells must be recovered with the disappearance 

 of the active groups, owing to the reversibility of protoplasm structure, 

 and accordingly two new cells with the quite normal structure are to 

 be produced. 



Mitosis, an apparently very complicated vital phenomenon, can be 

 in this way easily explained by the theory of the writer. However, 

 the assumption of existence of the specific particle termed centriole may 



