ORIGIN OF LIFE

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1544, 13 September 1912, Page 4

ORIGIN OF LIFE

AN EXPLANATION BY PROFESSOR KIRK. In reference to the report, in yesterday's cable, of tho views expressed by Mr. H. W. T. Wager (botanist) at the British Association, to tho effect that the blue-green aglao coll stands for tho birth ,of life, and Professor Minchin's statement that the chromatin in the nucleus of the cell is the primitive living substance, Professor H. B. Kirk (of the Chair of Biology at Victoria College) kindly supplies an interesting explanatory note. " .' "Th<s blue-greeu algae," ho eays, "arc tho lowest group of algao (waterplants), each cell being in verymany forms . independent, although aggregated into masses. The green colour, chlorophyll, is present, its presence marked by n bluo pigment—phycocyanin. It has long been held that tho Wnc-grecn nlgne have no nucleus, and it is in tho nucleus that tho chromatin referred to by Professor Minchin ie so important a constituent. Rccont observa-tions-tend to sho\v that a nucleus is present iu the blue-green algae, although the chromatin is scanty./ 'lhcro are many points of resemblance between tho bluegreen algao and bacteria, tho most noticeable being that tho ordinary moons of reproduction is accomplished by simply splitting across, this proceeding with great rapidity, tho cells frequently being completely divided in the course of a few minutes. This tremendous rate of development is characteristic of bacteria, as, for example in tho bacillus of cholera which multiplies with appalling rapidity. Tho blue-green algat> readily enter into partnership with higher plants, occupying definite spaces in the tissues. It may well bo that, this harmless lifo Ttnefship has in somo eases degenerated into parasitism, involving llio loss of tho chlorophyll diking ploco and making enrbnn assimilation impossible. Thus tho algaewould become,. in ell'oct, parasitic, indislinguishnbkj except in size- from a parasitic bacterium." Professor Kirk states that it is very difficult to explain tho precise bearing of tlic points referred to in the cablegrams regarding Professor Kchaofer's presidential address and tho comments thereon until moro detailed information arrives by mail.