CHEMICAL PHENOMENA IN LIFE 



as well as albuminous bodies ; it acts on oxidisable 

 substances and splits up fats. The same \vas 

 found of paste formed from animal liver. Most 

 probably a large number of different enzymes 

 occur in the narrow space of each cell. It is 

 astonishing to see how all these actions can be 

 exerted at the same time without disturbing each 

 other and how exactly regulated they are. We 

 have here another argument for the subtle struc- 

 ture which protoplasm must possess, that every 

 substance of the cell is kept in its proper place, 

 and cannot mix with the others. It is an im- 

 portant fact that enzymes of a certain kind are 

 not formed by the organism under all conditions. 

 That was shown distinctly in experiments on 

 moulds. The common mould, Penicillium glaucum, 

 when cultivated on starchy material produces in 

 abundance an enzyme which acts on starch, the 

 so-called Amylase or Diastase. But if the fungus 

 is kept on starch-free food, it has been found that 

 it does not contain any diastatic enzyme. The 

 latter is only immediately and abundantly pro- 

 duced when starch is added to the culture medium. 

 Penicillium even produces an enzyme which acts 

 on wood substance, as I once showed. But such an 

 enzyme is only produced if the fungus is cultivated 

 on wood and not upon any other substance. We 

 must conclude that the formation of enzymes in 

 the organism underlies some regulations, and that 

 it is a purposive process in life. 

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