0. Loew; Nature of Living Protoplasm. 



The further characteristic difference, that living protoplasm is not stained 

 by aniline colours, while the dead is. also betrays an essential chemical 

 change, pointing to the development of an acid character indeed, in 



The analogy of Living Matter with dynamic labile compounds is also 

 elucidated, as alwve indicated, by the action of ^ many iM.iM.n-. Prussk 

 acid, diainid.^-n. In droxylamine/ e.g., have all in moderate dilution and at 



ordinary proteids, while they change living protoplasm very easily to dead 

 protoplasm, a change induced by a chemical attack. Labile compounds. 



compound* acting upon aldehvde- and all thai act easilv upon labile 

 amido-groups are also poisons for all kinds of living protoplasm, 5 " and this 

 fact leads us to infer that the lability of the plasma proteids is caused by 

 the presence of aldehyde and amide groups within the same molecules. 3 ' 

 Chemical lability, i.e., great inclination of compounds to undergo 



the molecules, respiration must stop also at/the moment of (h ath. Again, 

 the heat energy produced by respiration^ j mv:1 ,,., tic oscillations of the 



reaction! possible. ^ ' acreased ' iendci 1 



denned as a mode of motion of the atoms of the plasma proteids, i.e., 

 as a special case of Chemical Energy. Living protoplasm has often been 

 compared with a watch; and dead protoplasm to a watch whose machinery 



while the chemical character of the watch material remains intact after 

 pulverising, that of the dying protoplasm undergoes a chemical change. 



1) Also aldehydes can combine with bases but to form compounds of a different nature. 



2) Cf. 0. Loew, Natiirliches System der Giftwirkungen, Munich, 189.°,. Chap. IV. 

 4) Th" 8 W0Uld agfee W - hh - ^ the ° ry ° f Pr ° tei . d formati ° n in P ,a " ts- . llg j 



been fully treated in my tmitKo; T!;c 'v.ucrr.- ..f I.ivit', Protoplasm, London, 1896; Kegan 

 Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co. 



