In Search of the Physical Basis of Life

I. Opposing Concepts in Cell Physiology: History and Background.- 1. The Early History of Cell Physiology.- 1.1. The Evolution of Physiology as the Physics and Chemistry of Living Phenomena.- 1.2. The Cell Theory.- 1.3. The Discovery of Protoplasm.- 1.4. Colloidal Chemistry and the Concept of Bound Water.- 1.5. Traube's Semipermeable Copper Ferrocyanide Gel Membrane and the Introduction of the van't Hoff Equation.- 1.6. Pfeffer's Membrane Theory.- 1.7. Summary.- 2. Evolution of the Membrane and Bulk Phase Theories.- 2.1. Concepts of the Nature of the Plasma Membrane.- 2.1.1. The Lipoidal Theory of Overton.- 2.1.2. Mosaic Membranes with Pores.- 2.1.3. Membranes with Charged Pores and Selective Ionic Permeability.- 2.1.4. The Paucimolecular Membrane of Davson and Danielli.- 2.2. Cellular Electrical Potentials and Swelling in the Context of the Membrane Theory.- 2.2.1. Early History of Cellular Electrical Potentials.- 2.2.2. Bernstein's Membrane Theory and the Diffusion Potential.- 2.2.3. The Cremer-Haber-Klemensiewicz Theory for Glass Electrodes.- 2.2.4. Phase Boundary Potentials and the Baur-Beutner Controversy.- 2.2.5. Michaelis's Theory of the Cation-Permeable Collodion Membrane.- 2.2.6. The Donnan Theory of Membrane Equilibrium.- 2.3. Cellular Ionic Distribution in the Context of the Membrane Theory.- 2.3.1. Boyle and Conway's Theory of Membrane Potentials, Ionic Distribution, and Swelling'.- 2.4 Early Criticisms of and Experimental Evidence against the Membrane Theory.- 2.5. Inquiries into the Nature of Protoplasm.- 2.5.1. Protoplasm as a Structural Substance.- 2.5.2. Fischer's Theory of Protoplasm.- 2.5.3. Lepeschkin's Vitaid Theory.- 2.5.4. Nasonov's Phase Theory of Permeability and Bioelectric Potentials.- 2.5.5. Bungenberg de Jong's Concept of Protoplasm as a Coacervate.- 2.6. Early Inquiries into the Physical State of Water and Ions in Living Cells.- 2.6.1. Bound Water.- 2.6.2. Bound K+.- 2.7. Rejection of the Bulk Phase Theories.- 2.7.1. Evidence against the Bulk Phase Theories.- 2.7.2. Evidence against the Concepts of Bound K+ and Bound Water.- 2.8. Summary.- 3. The Emergence of the Steady-State Membrane Pump Concept.- 3.1. Major Developments Providing the Background for the Acceptance of the Membrane Pump Theory.- 3.1.1. The Disproof of the Original Equilibrium Membrane Theory.- 3.1.2. The Concept That the Constituents of Living Beings Are in a State of Dynamic Equilibrium.- 3.1.3. The Hill-Embden Controversy and "A-lactic Acid" Muscle Contraction.- 3.1.4. The High-Energy Phosphate Bond as the Immediate Source of Energy for Biological Work Performance, Including Ionic Pumping.- 3.2. The Postulation of the Na+ Pump.- 3.3. Arguments and Evidence in Support of the Na+ Pump Theory.- 3.3.1. The Dependence of Ionic Distribution on Continued Metabolic Activities and Normal Temperature.- 3.3.2. The Energy Requirement of the Na+ Pump Appears to Be Adequately Met by Cell Metabolism.- 3.3.3. Active Solute Transport by Epithelial Tissues and Giant Algal Cells.- 3.4. The Further Development of the Membrane Theory of Cellular Electrical Potential in the Context of the Membrane Pump Theory: The Ionic Theory of Hodgkin, Katz, and Huxley.- 3.4.1. The Hodgkin-Katz-Goldman Equation.- 3.4.2. The Hodgkin-Huxley Theory of the Action Potential.- 3.4.3. The Hodgkin-Huxley Theory of Permeability Changes during the Action Potential.- 3.4.4. Experimental Confirmation of the Membrane Theory of the Resting and Action Potentials.- 3.5. Summary.- 4. The Reemergence of the Bulk Phase Theories.- 4.1. Kamnev's Study of Sugar Distribution in Frog Muscle.- 4.2. Troshin's Sorption Theory.- 4.2.1. Osmotic Behavior of Living Cells.- 4.2.2. Cells as Colloidal Coacervates.- 4.2.3. Solute Exclusion and Accumulation.- 4.3. Rekindled Doubts about the Revised Membrane Pump Theory.- 4.3.1. Discovery of the Non-Donnan Distribution of Many Permeant Substances.- 4.3.2. Reinvestigation of the Question of Whether or Not Cells Have Enough Energy to Operate the Po