THE CELL 9 



atomic energy, and this is accompanied by heat. The emanation 

 coagulates the protein and decomposes water into oxygen and hydrogen 

 producing the " cells," really bubbles of gas surrounded by a coagulum. 

 As the gaseous emanation continues to form, " cells " grow i.e., 

 the bubbles bulge out, burst, and form new bubbles. There is no 

 production of life in these phenomena. They are of interest as show- 

 ing ways in which an alveolar structure may be formed in colloidal 

 solutions. The atomic energy made evident to us by radium may 



FIG. G. OVUM OF A CAT JUST BEFORE MATURITY. (Redrawn from Dahlgren and 



Kepner.) 



C.m., Cell membrane; n.m., nuclear membrane; nd., nucleolus; mica., microsomes; 



yk. al., yolk alveoli. 



possibly be a form of energy of fundamental importance in living 

 matter, although the elements into which living matter is decomposed 

 are, as far as we can see, stable. If an unstable mixture be made 

 of two sterile colloidal solutions of opposite electrical sign, such as 

 ferric hydrate ( + ve) and silicic acid (-ve), and be left standing, 

 growth-like structures appear, simulating in outward appearance simple 

 living protoplasmic forms. 



The granules so frequently lodged in the cell may be fat, pigment, 

 glycogen, or protein. The last may stain either with a dye possessing 



