Some Relationships Between Coacervates and Enzymes 469 



but also a medium in which were emulsified and suspended particles of diverse 

 organic substances which are insoluble in water. Furthermore, there must have 

 been suspended in the primaeval waters many mineral substances similar to 

 the detritus suspended in the water of the present day. Thus, the primary 

 formation of coacervates could have taken place, not only in a macrohomogeneous 

 solution, but also in macroheterogeneous medivun, i.e. under conditions which 

 would make possible the incorporation in the coacervate drops of solid and liquid 

 particles of various sorts. In this case, however, the incorporated particles could 

 either preclude the further evolution of the coacervates or hasten the formation 

 of the internal structures to which A. I. Oparin attaches such great importance 

 in the process of the genesis of life. 



The evidence presented in this paper about the relationship between coacer- 

 vates and enzymes is too meagre and is only of a preHminary nature. Some of 

 the considerations discussed in connection with the problem of the origin of life 

 are of the same nature. They lead, however, to the conclusion that work in this 

 field may provide interesting results, not only for scientific, but also for practical 

 purposes. 



REFERENCES 



1. A. I. Oparin, The Origin of Life on the Earth, p. 321. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, 



1957- 



2. A. I. Oparin, Dokl. Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R., 104, 581, 1955. 



3. T. N. EvREiNOVA, T. A. Shubert & M. N. Nestyuk, Dokl. Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R., 



105, 137, 1955- 



4. A. I. Oparin, p. 428. 



5. A. I. Oparin, N. S. Gel'man & I. G. Zhukova, Dokl. Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R., 105, 



1036, 1955- 



6. E. M. Macovschi & V. Gheorghe, Commiicdrile Academiei R.P.R. [Comun. Acad. 



R.P.R.], I, 477, 1951- 



7. E. Macovschi & V. Gheorghe, Buletin Stiintific al Sectici de Stiinte biologice a 



Academiei R.P.R. [Bui. Stiint. Sect. Stiint. biol. Acad. R.P.R.], 4, 473, 1952. 



8. E. Macovschi, Comun. Acad. R.P.R., 2, 29, 1952. 



9. V. Gheorghe, Comun. Acad. R.P.R., 2, 35, 1952. 



10. E. Macovschi, & C. Pretorian, Comun. Acad. R.P.R., 1, 1063, 1951. 



11. S. Vasu, Commun. Acad. R.P.R., 5, 529, 1955. 



12. E. Macovschi & C. Iordache, Comun. Acad. R.P.R., i, 409, 195 1. 



13. C. Iordache, Studii si Cercetdri de chimie ale Academiei R.P.R., i, 51, 1953. 



14. E. Macovschi, Bui. Stiint. Sect. Stiint biol. Acad. R.P.R., 3, 229, 1951. 



15. E. Macovschi, Comun. Acad. R.P.R., 2, 137, 1952. 



16. E. Macovschi, S. Vasu & M. Cârsteanu, Revue de Chimie (Roumania) 2, 279, 1957. 



17. D. N. Nasonov, Membrannaya kontseptsiya v uchenii o pronitsaemosti. In Sbornik: 



Problema pronitsaemosti. Trudy konferentsii Moskovskogo obshchestva fiziologov, 

 biokhimikov i farmakologov, 13-17. v.36. Medgiz, Moscow & Leningrad, 1939. 



18. G. A. Deborin, p. 470. 



19. H. G. Bungenberg de Jong, Protoplasma, 15, no, 156, 160, 1932. 



20. A. S. Troshin, Problema kletochnoi pronitsaemosti, Izd. Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R., pp. 



52, 72. Moscow & Leningrad, 1956. 



21. A. I. Oparin, The Origin of Life on the Earth, p. 301. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, 



1957- 



22. E. Macovschi, L. Arnet & B. Rozenzweig, Revue de Chimie {Roumania) 2, 287, 1957. 



23. L. Arnet, Studii si cercetari de Biochimie {Roumania), i, 363, 1958. 



