SESSION II. DISCUSSION 181 



of the organic substances contained in them. We have obtained very clear-cut results in 

 experiments using formations from the Upper Tertiary (Kolkhida) and Tertiary sedi- 

 ments from the Stavropol region to Maikop inclusive. 



The catalytic action of the formations (enzymic properties) is related to the granule- 

 metric and chemical composition of the deposit and is not the same in clays, aleurites and 

 sandstones. A remarkable case of the sharp differentiation of catalytic activities is provided 

 by thin layers of clay-aleurite deposits. Enzymic activity took place with the formation 

 of new, Ught bitumens during the course of the experiments which lasted one year. 



I therefore take the liberty to contradict categorically the conclusions of P. N. Kropot- 

 kin that primary inorganic synthesis provides the single correct explanation of the origin of 

 industrially important formations of petroleum, that life developed from petroleum and 

 under the same thermodynamic conditions as petroleum, and also that desulphatizing 

 bacteria were the 'pioneers' of life on the Earth. 



On the contrary, it must be held that these two processes occurred at separate times 

 and they must, undoubtedly, have occurred at separate places. Life developed at a 

 boundary between phases, both in respect of its material components and in respect of 

 energetic factors. The indispensable conditions for the development of life were maximal 

 heterogeneity of the surrounding medium and the possibiUty of using various sources of 

 energy whether from chemical sources, light or in other forms. This is because the 

 energy content of each quantum had to correspond exactly with that required for some 

 particular process going on with the Uving organism. The products of the vital activities 

 of organisms and, especially, the products of their autolysis might, when given off under 

 reducing circumstances, have served as a source of material for the formation of all 

 caustobiohtes including petroleums. 



It is very possible that what served as a source of carbon for the emergence of the first 

 'Uving' molecule was the small amount of hydrocarbons which were present at an early 

 stage of the development of the planet, or it may have been other compounds of carbon, 

 the existence of which at that time is so probable. However, Ufe did not develop from 

 accumulations of petroleum; the living material of the biosphere provided that 

 remarkable mechanism for the accumulation of energy in the lithosphère as a result of 

 which industrial collections of petroleum were formed. In ancient formations one must 

 look for 'traces of Ufe' not only in the shape of remains of highly organized forms (shells, 

 impressions, etc.), but also in the shape of remains of organic molecules, in particular such 

 as are capable of acting catalytically, that is, such as have the properties of enzymes. 



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1. A. V. KozHEVNiKOV, Voprosy Filosofii, no. 2, 1954. 



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