CHEMICAL PHENOMENA IN LIFE 



the substances mentioned above is easily explained, 

 and it becomes more and more probable that 

 enzyme reactions can cause these decompositions. 

 In the case of some of these enzyme reactions we 

 may be sure that they even occur in the cells of 

 higher plants and animals, and are not confined 

 to the lower organisms. 



After our short review of the immensely ex- 

 tended territory of catalytic and enzymatic 

 phenomena in the living cell, we cannot but confess 

 that the importance of such processes is surprisingly 

 great. The large number of different chemical 

 reactions which take place in living protoplasm, 

 and which we know from physiology to be the 

 fundaments of chemical phenomena in life, is 

 comparatively well understood at present on the 

 basis of enzyme-chemistry. 



It is true, there are some most important chemi- 

 cal processes in living cells which do not yet 

 form part of catalytic chemistry. I may here 

 mention the unique synthetical process in plants, 

 the formation of sugar from the carbonic acid of 

 the air by the chlorophyll bodies of green cells in 

 sunlight. But any day may bring the revelation 

 that even here catalytic phenomena are at work, 

 and nothing at present excludes the supposition 

 that enzyme effects take part also in these pheno- 

 mena of plant life. If we suppress our feelings 

 of satisfaction that Exact Science has been able 

 to penetrate into these mysteries of life, there are 



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