92 POISONOUS PROTEINS 



The chemism of the protein poison is intense 

 and it combines with various inorganic and or- 

 ganic substances to form more complex mole- 

 cules, still retaining and imparting to these 

 larger molecules its protein characteristics. 

 Combined with phosphate of lime it forms such 

 phosphoglobulins, so-called, as casein. Com- 

 bined with carbohydrate it develops the glyco- 

 proteins and in combination with both phos- 

 phorus and carbohydrates, the glyco-nucleo- 

 proteins result. In the last mentioned bodies 

 the protein molecule reaches its most complex 

 form, and further development is possible only 

 by polymerization and the aggregation of many 

 protein molecules into cells. At what stage in 

 the evolution of the protein molecule metabo- 

 lism begins I cannot say, but it is quite evident 

 that multiplication does not begin until the 

 most complex structure has been reached. It 

 seems quite evident that from the beginning the 

 process is a synthetical one. 



It is possible to conceive of the beginning of 

 life on the earth, as proceeding in this way. In 

 the intense heat of past geological ages when 

 even carbon existed in the gaseous state this 

 element combined with nitrogen forming cyano- 

 gen. With this binary compound under proper 

 conditions the synthesis of the simplest amino 



