320 IV. THE PRINCIPLES OF LIFE PHENOMENA 



generation of a new structure would be brought about by an environ- 

 mental change or a stimulus just as the generation of a new virus. 

 The change of the structure might occur repeatedly, and whenever a 

 stronger structure was produced it would spread and multiply. Thus 

 the structure would become stronger and stronger, thereby the primi- 

 tive organisms would evolve higher and higher with the enhancement 

 of the assimilase action. 



Some of the masses of the assimilase or the primeval organism 

 might be carried to the shore by a tidal current, and in the active 

 motion of the wave they might be able to come to contact with other 

 masses generated in other regions. If they could then combine with 

 each other, the individual with stronger structure would overcome 

 the other and thus the stronger one would assimilize and devour up 

 the weaker. Through such a struggle for existence, the structure 

 would be more and more strengthened and the masses of assimilase 

 would approach nearer and nearer the domain of the undoubted or- 

 ganisms. 



When two different protein molecules can combine with one another, 

 they would mutually exert influences arising from the different struc- 

 tures. On such a combination, if one of them is stronger in its 

 structure than the other, only the structure of the weaker is disturbed, 

 and if by this disturbance are lost the polar groups through which the 

 weaker can combine with the stronger, this latter can be freed from 

 the weaker and combine with another weaker molecule. In such a 

 case the stronger protein is called an enzyme in a narrow sense. If 

 the structure of the one is overwhelmingly stronger than the other, 

 the structure of the latter would be changed to become identical to 

 that of the former, that is, the latter would be assimilized by the 

 former. In such a case the stronger one is called assimilase. The 

 polymerization of numerous protein molecules is considered to result 

 in the development of the strong structural effect and hence the assimi- 

 lase is usually the polymerization product of protein molecules. Thus 

 all the protein molecules may be enzymes in a wide sense, and the 

 enzymatic nature may therefore be one of the characteristics of the 

 proteins. 



The protein molecules produced in the primitive oceans would be 

 polymerized orderly owing to the weakly acid reaction of the water, 

 with the appearance of assimilase action. However, even before they 

 could polymerize thus orderly and act as a fair assimilase, protein 



