Allen Vemotskv Wheaton College Wheaton, Illinois
I II
The Subtle Life An imaginary dialogue with a not so subtle moral
I n adistant land many years ago, therelived asage old biologist and an equally sage old chemist,. Their wisdom, however, did not extend to the other's discipline; the former thought that hyperconjugation, hybrid orbitals, and free radicals referred to suhversives, and the latter was quite convinced that mitosis was an inflammation of the liver and that DNA and ATP were somebody's initials. The story begins as the two scientists chanced to meet on a university campus. Scene 1 (on the compus)
Biologist: My dear chemist friend. I must tell you about my favorite horse who has a passion for cubes of sugar. I have often wondered about the fate of these cubes. Chernist: Why the cubes of sugar obviously must undergo various physical and chemical changes converting the carbohydrate to some other kind of moleode.
Scene 2 (in the loboratory of the chemist, same day)
Chemist: (to himself) Now, let's see, I could never fit a. horse in my laboratory so I will use a.smaller animal-perhaps a. rabbit. I will put the animal in a chamber, feed it sugar, and find out what kinds of molecule8 are formed and released in one way or another. I can label the sugar with carbon 14 so that only compounds coming from the sugar will become radioactive, then I will analyse the radioactive molecules that are respired or excreted.. . Scene 3 (on the campus, obout one year later)
Chemist: Ah, there yon are. I have been looking all over for you. I must tell you shout the sugar experiments. Biologist: Oh! Have you found out about the mysteriotts molecular transformations of the sugar? Chemist: Yes, indeed. After injecting radioactive glucose into the rabbit, I found that same of the sugar is broken down to CO1 and respired, and that some of the radioactivity found its way into the feces and the urine of the rabbit, and chemical analysesshowed the fallowing radioactive components. . . Biologist: How extraordinary! But do you really think that the rabbit handles the sugar exactly in the same way as my horse. Also, I wonder how the caged existence effects your results; perhaps the rabbit doesn't eat ss much in captivity. Do you suppose that the trauma of heing in a cage, manhandled, and forcefully injected with the glucose might in turn distruh his endocrine system changing the balance of his hormones? Perhaps, the rabbit doesn't respond to pure glucose solutions in the same way as it would to cubes of sugar in s. complex diet; it might even be able to detect the difference between lsloeled and unlabeled glucose. On the other hand, the emission of radioactivity within the organism may. . . Chemist: STOP! I think I must do some more work an this problem. (to himself) The biologist is right. There is something wrong with the system. There are too many variables to worry abont. Also, I don't like working with rabbit feces and urine in my laboratory. There must be a better way to resolve this problem. Scene 4 (on the campus, a few months later)
Biologist: Hello, there. How are you doing with that problem you were working on? You know, the study of the mysterious transformations of sugar in a home.
experimental apparatus. I t entails attaching some polyethylene tubing to rtn isolated rabbit liver and then circulating saline solution of the same ionic strength of blood serum through the liver. I call it a "perfusion" apparatus. I plan to inject the liver with labeled glucose, and from time to time, analyse the liver to see what reactions have occurred. Biologist: How interesting! But it seems to me that you still have all the problems in your experimental system that I suggested before, besides, a liver is not an entity in itself but is thought to receive hormones from the endocrine glands. Also, it occurs to me thst in the living organism, the hamful waste products of the cells are constantly heing removed hut in your system these compounds are constantly being recycled through the liver, and by the way, what makes you think thst physiological saline is the same as blood, and. . . Chemist: ENOUGH! Clearly, more work needs to be done. (to himself) There does seem to be something wrong with my approach. It's so very wmplicitted. If there were only some way to simplify it. . . Scene 5 (on the campus, 6 months later)
Chemist: I think I've solved your problem about the sugar. Since I last spoke to you, I have designed an instrument that cuts the liver into verv fine slices. Also. I have develooed verv
n cildr lwcr st, 1 d,,dt need o many anirnnls. Il,olr.q,d. I 1 *wn..;t o me t l ~ ihi? l d t w ~1 ~ 0 1T P H I I ~ take CUP c ~ frhe d , i r c t i m ~I r s 1 4 lust t l m wv ~ wnfwred ~ t > wthis t pwb~ H I H lnrm
lem, and b y slicing the tissue, you would also disrupt the normal relationship of different kinds of cells within the liver. I would suppose that the cells nearest to the sliced edge would be damaged fluids mieht eseaoe. From the and oerhaos the evtoolasmio " , d l ' + vantage pLut, t h e finrnt nliim>tlmw l h l e is l i k ~H Y I P I I ~ P I ~ ~ I I ~ T ITo W Id. e. r u r r d e H I I I I I ~&V ~ M, K the cell may lw CWILpared to dividing a huge crowd into orderly groups by igniting small charges of T N T in even patterns throughout the mob. Chemist: What a horrible thought! However, I do see your objection of the slicing teohniqne, and I will do some more work on this. Scene 6 (on the campus, several months later)
Biologist: Hello there. How are you doing with the sugar problem? Chemist: Excellent, my friend. I have eliminated all that difficulty with the slicing, and a t the same time streamlined the system. I now take the liver and homogenize it in a Waring blender so that I can get a. uniform cell-free mixture to which I plan to add labeled glucose and see what becomes of it. Biologist: This is all very interesting hut you have moved even further from the living organism and I wander ahout the physiological significance of the kind of data you will get. I n your homogenate, the organization within the cell is destroyed so that your molecules could he in B relationship that has no real bearing on their relationship in the living organism. Chemist: How subtle living things are! There must he a better way to find a n answer to the problem. Scene 7 (on the campus, a few years later)
Biologist: Have you done anything else with your research on sugar? Volume 44, Number 10, October 7 967
/ 607
Chemist: (beaming with pride): Have I! Since I last saw you, I have isolated the first enzyme with which the glucose reacts in the cell. I have purified i t 1WO-fold, recrystdlized it 5 times into beatiful long rhombic structures, and determined the sequence of the first seven amino acids in the protein chain.
Furthermore, I plan to determine the tertiary structure of this enzyme, and then. . . Biologist: With $1 your data, what a n you tell me about the tmnsfarmations of a.cube of sugar in a horse?
608 / Journal of Chemical Education
Chemist: Horse? The horse! I forgot all about him! Biologist: My poor friend, the distressing thing ahout your research is that as you have eliminated the variables of life, you h w e come closer and closer to an answer but I fear, a t the same time further and further from the tntth. Chemist: Perhaps same day, in s. distant land, men like you and men like me will work together to sdve the subt,le problems of life.
