676 Beutner .— Diphasic Liquid Systems 
the non-existence of diffusion potentials in ‘oils’. 1 Many details relating 
to the book of the author are described by Dr. Haynes as ‘ curious mis¬ 
interpretation ‘ faulty interpretation or as ‘ being very hard to understand 
for all of which she appears to think the author is to be blamed. 
In order to solve the problem of the origin of electric currents in tissues 
it seemed of prime importance to find substances which actually reproduce 
electromotive phenomena observed with a tissue. After years of experimental 
work the author succeeded in finding some such substances. This could 
only be done by experiments ; the detailed questions about the physical 
nature of the electromotive action of those substances could be solved only 
after they had been found. In the old electro-physiological theories, however, 
no definite substances were known which might have been responsible for 
electro-physiological effects. Instead, hypotheses were put forward—e. g. 
in the ‘ membrane theory ’—about the possible properties of the ‘ plasma 
membrane the composition of which was entirely unknown. 
The author is well aware of the need of further developing the results 
obtained so far. Every criticism would be welcome which—on the basis of 
experimental evidence—would indicate what substances might serve as 
better models for the reproduction of biological currents. It is hard to 
understand, however, how a justified criticism can be based on the statement 
that the new method ‘ cannot take us very far in the interpretation of the 
cellular mechanism of the cell.’ 2 
Such a statement indicates the influence of the old alteration-hypothesis 
of L. Herrmann and his followers, to the discussion of which many volumes 
have been devoted, especially in Germany. As a matter of fact, nothing 
definite is known so far about cellular mechanism and little can be expected 
from further discussion of the matter, or by a prophecy that any experimental 
method holds no possibilities of future developments. 
‘ Apple skin with its coating of wax and specialized nature is very far 
removed from the plasma membrane of the living cell ’ is another criticism 
of Dr. Haynes. Macdonald, however, has shown that the nerve also 
exhibits an effect ‘dominated by the salt content’. Further experiments 
described in the older literature show that all kinds of other tissues 
(muscle, &c.) exhibit a similar effect. Also, the effect of the salt content 
is of the same kind in all cases , and it certainly is, therefore, quite a general 
biological phenomenon. The author holds that on the biological side no 
criticism of his experiments is possible without due reference to the most 
important work of Macdonald, who was the first to observe the electro¬ 
physical effect of the salt content. 3 Since Dr. Haynes does not even mention 
1 A whole chapter in the book of the author (pp. 72-86) is devoted to this question. On the 
basis of experiments it is found that diffusion potentials do exist in oils. 
2 Dr. Haynes, loc. cit., at the end of p. ioi. 
3 Similar experiments were described by Biedermann (1SS0) and others, who found that water has 
