﻿MYSTERY 
  OF 
  LIFE 
  DONNAN 
  319 
  

  

  has 
  a 
  serious 
  flaw 
  in 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  present 
  point 
  of 
  view, 
  since 
  the 
  bodies 
  

   of 
  these 
  bacteria 
  would 
  necessarily 
  contain 
  the 
  complicated 
  organic 
  

   proteins 
  of 
  the 
  protoplasm. 
  When 
  the 
  earth 
  cooled 
  down 
  to 
  a 
  tem- 
  

   perature 
  compatible 
  with 
  life, 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  ocean 
  contained 
  

   little, 
  if 
  any, 
  of 
  such 
  organic 
  substances 
  or 
  their 
  simpler 
  organic 
  

   components. 
  There 
  was 
  likewise 
  no 
  chlorophyll 
  present 
  to 
  achieve 
  

   the 
  photochemical 
  assimilation 
  of 
  carbon 
  dioxide. 
  Hence 
  the 
  neces- 
  

   sity 
  of 
  considering 
  how 
  organic 
  substances 
  could 
  have 
  arisen 
  by 
  

   degrees 
  in 
  a 
  primeval 
  ocean 
  originally 
  containing 
  only 
  inorganic 
  con- 
  

   stituents. 
  The 
  late 
  Prof. 
  Benjamin 
  Moore 
  took 
  up 
  this 
  question 
  and 
  

   endeavored 
  to 
  prove 
  that 
  colloidal 
  iron 
  oxide 
  in 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  light, 
  

   moisture, 
  and 
  carbon 
  dioxide, 
  could 
  produce 
  formaldehyde, 
  a 
  sub- 
  

   stance 
  from 
  which 
  sugar 
  can 
  be 
  derived. 
  This 
  work 
  of 
  Moore's 
  has 
  

   been 
  actively 
  taken 
  up 
  and 
  developed 
  by 
  Professor 
  Baly 
  in 
  recent 
  years. 
  

   He 
  has 
  conclusively 
  proved 
  that, 
  in 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  light, 
  moisture, 
  and 
  

   carbon 
  dioxide, 
  formaldehyde 
  and 
  sugar 
  can 
  be 
  produced 
  at 
  the 
  surface 
  

   of 
  certain 
  colored 
  inorganic 
  compounds, 
  such 
  as 
  nickel 
  carbonate. 
  We 
  

   may 
  therefore 
  conclude 
  that 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  the 
  necessary 
  organic 
  

   substances 
  in 
  the 
  primeval 
  ocean 
  offers 
  no 
  insuperable 
  obstacle 
  to 
  

   science. 
  But 
  there 
  is 
  still 
  a 
  very 
  great 
  difficulty 
  in 
  the 
  way, 
  a 
  diflBculty 
  

   that 
  was 
  pointed 
  out 
  by 
  Professor 
  Japp, 
  I 
  think, 
  at 
  a 
  former 
  meet- 
  

   ing 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  association 
  in 
  Dover. 
  The 
  protein 
  components 
  

   of 
  the 
  protoplasmic 
  system 
  are 
  optically 
  active 
  substances. 
  As 
  is 
  well 
  

   known, 
  such 
  optically 
  active 
  substances, 
  i. 
  e., 
  those 
  which 
  rotate 
  

   the 
  plane 
  of 
  polarization 
  of 
  polarized 
  light, 
  are 
  molecularly 
  asymmetric 
  

   and 
  always 
  exist 
  in 
  two 
  forms, 
  a 
  dextrorotatory 
  and 
  a 
  levorotatory 
  

   form. 
  Both 
  these 
  forms 
  possess 
  equal 
  energies, 
  and 
  so 
  their 
  forma- 
  

   tions 
  in 
  a 
  chemical 
  reaction 
  are 
  equally 
  probable. 
  As 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  

   fact, 
  chemical 
  reaction 
  always 
  produces 
  these 
  two 
  forms 
  in 
  equal 
  

   quantities, 
  and 
  so 
  the 
  resulting 
  mixture 
  is 
  optically 
  inactive. 
  How, 
  

   then, 
  did 
  the 
  optically 
  active 
  protein 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  protoplasm 
  arise? 
  

   In 
  spite 
  of 
  many 
  attempts 
  to 
  employ 
  plane 
  or 
  circularly 
  polarized 
  

   light 
  for 
  this 
  purpose, 
  chemists 
  have 
  not, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  know, 
  succeeded 
  

   in 
  producing 
  an 
  asymmetric 
  synthesis, 
  i. 
  e., 
  a 
  production 
  of 
  the 
  

   dextrorotatory 
  or 
  levorotatory 
  form, 
  starting 
  from 
  optically 
  inactive, 
  

   that 
  is 
  to 
  say, 
  symmetrical 
  substances. 
  The 
  nut 
  which 
  Professor 
  Japp 
  

   asked 
  us 
  to 
  crack 
  has 
  turned 
  out 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  very 
  hard 
  one, 
  though 
  there 
  

   is 
  little 
  reason 
  to 
  doubt 
  that 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  cracked 
  sooner 
  or 
  later. 
  Even 
  

   were 
  this 
  accomplished, 
  very 
  formidable 
  difficulties 
  still 
  remain, 
  for 
  

   we 
  have 
  to 
  imagine 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  the 
  dynamically 
  organized 
  and 
  

   regulated 
  structure 
  of 
  living 
  protoplasm. 
  Professor 
  Guye 
  of 
  Geneva 
  

   has 
  in 
  recent 
  years 
  offered 
  some 
  very 
  interesting 
  considerations 
  

   concerning 
  this 
  difficult 
  problem. 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  statistical 
  

   theory 
  of 
  probability, 
  if 
  we 
  wait 
  long 
  enough, 
  anything 
  that 
  is 
  pos- 
  

   sible, 
  no 
  matter 
  how 
  improbable, 
  will 
  happen. 
  All 
  the 
  ordinary 
  

  

  