82 WHAT IS LIFE ? 



many papers have already been devoted mainly to it, the 

 latest of these being an elaborate treatise of some 300 

 pages by Martin Heidenhain. I shall not here attempt 

 to follow out the details of all these researches, but will 

 be satisfied with putting before you the conclusion 

 which Heidenhain has come to regarding this particle, 

 viz., 'That it is morphologically, physiologi- 

 cally, and chemically a structure sui generis; 

 not merely a separate portion of nucleus or 

 of protoplasm, but an organ of the cell with 

 definite functions, and having a definite 

 existence of its own. 1 Nevertheless, it is almost 

 as minute an object as it is possible to conceive. 

 In a cell which is magnified a thousand diameters 

 the central particle appears merely the size of a 

 pin point. Yet this almost infinitely small object 

 exerts an extraordinary influence over the whole cell, 

 however large (and the cell may be many thousand 

 times its size), for it initiates and directs those processes 

 which result in the multiplication of the cell, and in- 

 directly, therefore, it is concerned in directing the general 

 growth of the individual, and ultimately the propagation 

 of the species." l 



In the above quotation the point to centre the mind 

 on is expressed in the words u attraction particle. n 

 We might also call it the molecular centre of energy. 



We now begin to feel the evidence closing around 

 us. There are gradations of powers of atoms. Atoms 

 have the power to form molecules, molecules to form 

 cells. The molecules, which form the central group of 

 molecules the nucleolus, formed under the influence of 

 a molecule perfectly invisible to the human eye, even 



1 The italics are ours. 



