Analysis Of The Book Microbe Hunters By Paul De Kruif

In everyday life we run into millions of microbes. Some of the bacteria is capable of making humans sick. The study of microbes has become very important subject to help stop potential pandemics and ensure proper hygiene. Anthony van Leeuwenhoek was the first scientist who discovered bacteria. In my study of microbiology, I got to choose an unknown bacteria to identify. It is important to start off finding the family of the unknown bacteria and then eliminating one by one the species to know which bacteria it is. By knowing the family, a scientist can save themselves a lot of time by knowing which tests need to be performed for the elimination process. This might seem like a waste of time to one but being able to correctly identify bacteria

The germ theory was proposed by Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur in the 1870s, on the basis that microorganisms were the cause of many diseases.

There are many reasons for knowing the identity of microorganisms. The reasons range from knowing the causative agent of a disease in a patient, so as to know how it can be treated, to knowing the correct microorganism to be used for making certain foods or antibiotics. This study was done by applying all of the methods that I have been learned so far in the microbiology laboratory class for the identification of an unknown bacterium.

Since microorganisms are not visible to the eye, the essential tool in microbiology is the microscope. One of the first to use a microscope to observe microorganisms was Robert Hooke, the English biologist who observed algae and fungi in the 1660s. In the 1670s, “Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch merchant, constructed a number of simple microscopes and observed details of numerous forms of protozoa, fungi, and bacteria” (Introduction to Microscopes, n.d.). During the 1700s, microscopes were used to further explore on the microbial world, and by the late 1800s, the light microscope had been developed. “The electron microscope was developed in the 1940s, thus

Gerhart, D. “Ferdinand, Cohn, a Founder of Modern Microbiology”Features. Nov 1999. Retrieved on January 16, 2014 from microbeworld.org: http://www.microbeworld.org/images/stories/history_pdfs/f3.pdf

Contrast is directly related to the illumination system and can be adjusted by changing the intensity of the light and the diaphragm. Chemical stains applied to the specimen can also enhance contrast elements (Alonzo p56)

Our world has changed dramatically since the day Antoine van Leeuwenhoek discovered microorganisms in 1676 using a simple microscope. In early days, scientists first thought life arose from inanimate materials. This theory, known as abiogenesis or spontaneous generation, was disproved later on by scientists including Lazarro Spallanzani and Louis Pasteur. The experiments conducted by these scientists showed that living things could only arise from preexisting life, or biogenesis. All life begins with a living cell, composing of five required components. These components are DNA, RNA, cell membrane, ribosome, and cytoplasm. As more investigations on bacteria were conducted, scientists were able to acquire a deeper knowledge of the microbiology and pathology of animals, plants, and humans.

After many performed test such as the API 20E test strip, motility test, inoculated plates, gram stain, an identification flow chart which began with the results from an indole, MR, VP, and citrate test. This amongst many other test. These results brought the conclusion of my unknown culture to be Escherichia coli, my unknown number was 11.

uring the mid to late nineteenth-century, physicians and scientists had begun to understand that diseases are caused by microorganisms. This was a radical departure from traditional medical theories which had held that diseases were caused by miasmas or an

Imagine yourself living in the 1800s. Think of all of the inventions that made life easier, such as the telephone to communicate over long distances, or the typewriter to write formal letters to people. These were all important inventions that made life easier, but a biologist by the name of Joseph Lister had made some important discoveries in antiseptics that ended up saving the lives of people. In this paper, I will inform you about Lister’s early life and the degrees he earned from his educational background, his major contribution to the biological community and what people knew before his contribution, the scientists that inspired him and helped him, how knowledge of antiseptics has increased over time,

In the late 1700’s, Edward Jenner published his work on the development of a smallpox vaccination. Nearly a century later, Louis Pasteur goes on to formulate the Germ Theory of Disease. Two years later, Pasteur goes on to create the first live attenuated bacterial vaccine for chicken cholera. Six years later, the rabies vaccination is developed by the same man.

Many scientists say that several people saw his great idea and followed him on the way to discovery, but others opposed it. One of the followers was Louis Pasteur who seems to get most of the credit for the start of the germ theory. Pasteur was a French microbiologists and a dedicated man

Throughout history until the 19th century, infectious diseases, epidemics, and pandemics were thought to be the manifestation of supernatural forces and little to nothing was truly effective in preventing or treating these devastating threats to society. It was only during the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment that the long-accepted realities of society were questioned and research was conducted based on science and reason that would forever change the world we live in (Kumar, 2007). The science of epidemiology was founded by John Snow’s identification of polluted public water well as the source of an 1854 cholera outbreak in London. Shortly thereafter germ theory began to emerge and science took off.

Though the subject was initially limited to study of microbes and their characteristics or properties, latter it was explored to see all possible applications and benefits to man.

Answer #1: Koch was the major mind in establishing that microorganisms cause a specific disease. He was able to prove that certain bacteria was present in the blood of the infected person or animal, but the presence of the bacteria could have been caused by the disease. Koch proved that certain infectious diseases are caused by certain microorganisms that can be isolated and cultures onto a media. The requirements Koch established are that the same pathogen must be present in every case of the disease, the