148 K. BAHADUR 



radiations. However, these radiations cease after a certain time, following a 

 retardation. This is also accompanied by a movement of the carbon chain of the 

 molecule. When such chains keep on moving for some time their movability is 

 choked. To understand this clearly, we can compare the carbon chain to a 

 heavy metaUic chain which is twisted and twisted till further twisting is not 

 possible. At this stage the chain is not free to move much, and comes to a stand- 

 still. If this is hung freely it will slowly untvvist itself to attain its original long 

 form at which it can again be twisted. Similarly irradiation initiates a mito- 

 genetic radiation which after a certain lapse of time slowly becomes feebler and 

 feebler and finally comes to an end. The radiation falling on the molecule twists 

 the carbon chain and the twisting continues till the movement of the various 

 chains of the molecule is nil. At this stage, the mitogenetic radiations cease. If 

 the source of radiation is removed, the twisting also stops and the molecule 

 recoils and reaches its original state and again becomes fit for the emission of 

 secondary radiations on irradiations. Such results were obtained in the case of 

 some compounds whose mitogenetic radiations were studied [34]. 



However, such an arrangement of the molecule chain is possible where the 

 chain may not get twisted, but may merely oscillate during the display of fluc- 

 tuating electrostatic charges in the molecule. In such cases, no decrease in the 

 mitogenetic radiations will be observed for a long time. In the case of certain 

 mitogenetic-radiation-emitting materials, no retardation or cessation has been 

 observed even when they are exposed to radiations for a long time [34, 39]. 



The mitogenetic radiation is found to increase if the irradiation is intermittent. 

 Gurwitsch observed in 1932 that when there is a regular interval between the 

 irradiation period and the dark period when there is no irradiation, then the 

 increase is greater than when the interval is irregular [37]. This is probably 

 because the regularity in the exposure period provides a better chance for the 

 molecule recoil. 



So we can imagine the effect of the surroundings on the macromolecular 

 aggregate in the prebiological era. Itself capable of forming a number of proteins, 

 the slight initiating stroke of light set up a series of fluctuating electrostatic 

 charges in its unstable structure giving rise to mitogenetic radiations which were 

 best aided by the intermittent light falling on the molecule. The radiations 

 initiated the formation of a number of proteins, stable and unstable. Under the 

 prevailing conditions, the stable ones remained and the unstable ones broke up 

 and formed newer compounds, which sometimes, combining with the macro- 

 molecule itself, gave still newer compounds. The structure of the macromolecule 

 is such that an unlimited number of reactions could have continued to take place. 

 The stable compounds remained and the unstable compounds broke up and 

 continued in their attempt to produce a stable structure, combining, breaking 

 up, and recombining, and thus giving birth to protein molecules, which in due 

 course started reacting. 



It has been observed that when protein molecules are irradiated, they emit 

 secondary radiations which arc similar to those emitted when the same protein 

 is acted on by some proteolytic enzyme [31, 40]. Hence of the various proteins 

 synthesized, if a protein A proteolyses a protein B, it gives rise to certain mito- 



