EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE LIFE CYCLE OF INFUSORIA

The experiments briefly recorded were conducted for considerable periods on two species of Protozoa, whose status in the life-cycle was known through long cultures, and on a sufficiently large number of individuals to afford reliable averages. It is believed, therefore, that the results obtained show the general effect of alcohol on the division rate and, therefore, on the metabolism of the forms studied, when subjected to a practically constant environment.The evidence brought forward shows that:1. Minute doses of alcohol will decrease the rate of division at one period of the life cycle and increase it at another period of the life cycle.2. When alcohol increases the division rate, the effect is not continuous, but gradually diminishes and finally the rate of division falls below that of the control, followed by fluctuations above and below the rate of the control.3. An increase (doubling) of the amount of alcohol administered, however, will again cause a more rapid cell division for a limited period. B...