The Microscope Did Not Cause Infectious Disease

The biological significance of this article is due in part to the fact that viruses are being considered as partway-living things. Even though they are only halfway living, per se, they are still an important part of the study of living things because of the unique way in which they “live” and continue to reproduce by taking advantage of host cells. The information in this article relates to biologists in that viruses provide an entirely different element of potential life, as they are a cause for reconsideration when it comes to defining and determining life and non-life forms. This

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.

Louis Pasteur was a very curious man that is recognized as the founder of the term germ and many advances in the medical field. Pasteur wanted to prove a theory he had about immunity in which he asked questions about the potential success or failure and the reason why some people or animals didn't get as sick as others. These questions lead to his theory about early exposure to a weakened bacteria and the strength of the immune system within an organism. He decided to perform an experiment on sheep in which he gave a “vaccine” to a certain number of them and didn't give it to some others. Later he went back and exposed all off them to a stronger bacteria which killed the ones that weren't given the vaccinations. This discovery is the basis

Modern-day advances have allowed scientists to develop methods to control pathogens. The more common methods include the use of antiseptics, antibiotics, and vaccines. By definition, antiseptics are chemicals used to kill pathogens. A few widespread antiseptics include soap, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. Antiseptics are primarily used for the external destruction of pathogens, while antibiotics and vaccines target internal pathogens. Nevertheless, there are and can be difficulties concerning the use of antibiotics. “As antibiotic use has become more common, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have evolved.” This resistance due to evolution is called antibiotic resistance. It results in the antibiotics having no effect whatsoever on the bacteria, rendering the antibiotics useless. When antibiotic resistance occurs, scientists must resume their search to create a new medicine to can kill the mutant bacteria.

In the early 1900’s medicine was making some steps closer into some great improvements for health and better understanding of the human body. Doctors with sufficient knowledge of the human body and cures for diseases and viruses were scarce. People were much more concerned with government and politics, than health and medicine, until one of the greatest and most grotesque lethal pandemics that’s struck the earth in human history. This pandemic the “Spanish Flu” spread so rapidly and had an extremely high mortality rate. This was caused by the close contact of humans and poor cleanliness and sanitation, and the host (virus) and the body taking harsh action

In 1928 Dr. Alexander Fleming began to sort through a pile of petri dishes containing colonies of bacteria that causes boils, sore throats, and abscesses. As he sorted through the dishes he noticed something unusual on one dish. It was dotted with colonies, and one area had a blob of mold growing. The area of mold was later identified as a rare strain of Penicillium notatum, the mold had secreted something that inhibited bacterial growth. Fleming later uncovered that this mold was capable of killing a wide range of harmful bacteria such as streptococcus, meningococcus and the diphtheria bacillus, that had played humanities. Prior to the discovery of Penicillin, Sulfa drugs were used during World War II. These drugs were name as the “wonder drug”. Although they’re still used today, Sulfa drugs were used to cure bacterial infections such as UTIs and gonorrhea. The new found drug penicillin, would cure millions and replace the use of Sulfa drugs.

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

Scientists are sharpening their swords once again preparing for battle. This vehemence was in sued by new evidence favoring the underdogs of the last campaign, which took place in “1946” (dis. Rice). That hatchet has been buried for 70 years, only to be excavated and used in a global game of hot-potato. The cause of this contention and angst is a microscopic composition of proteins and enzymes. Though it may not seem like a controversial subject, highly intelligent minds are on both sides of the debate. They argue over the question “Is a virus a living or non-living?”

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

The disease was first noted in 1786 by Caleb Hillier Parry 1755- 1822, physician from General Hospital, Bath, England. His account was published posthumously in 1825.

    Considering all those great ideas, medical science was used to treat the sick and improve their health through operations. In April 1, 1717 constantinople had received a letter from an english writer named Lady Wortley Montagu in which she stated that the disease smallpox was fatal and was able to kill many Europeans in a short period of time. However, Lady Wortley Montagu came up with an invention that was known as engrafting to eliminate this disease and create a vaccine

A creature lives hidden, lurking in a world of microorganisms. Common information is to know they exist, yet hard to imagine such a small creature can end a life. Bacteria is fighting back against humans becoming immune to antibacterial. These guys are becoming bulletproof; scientists need to make a

Gerhard Johannes Paul Domagk was a German biochemist. His research with antibacterial chemicals resulted in the discovery of many new drugs that provided the first most effective treatments for pneumonia, meningitis, and other bacterial diseases. This research of Domagk’s involved analyzing thousands of chemicals for their antibacterial properties. In 1932 he tested Prontosil which is a red dye. It had no antibacterial properties, but when German Biochemist, Domagk, slightly changed the chemical makeup, it showed a tremendous ability to fight the infections in mice. The infections were caused by streptococcal bacteria, also known as, strep. He then tested the drug on his daughter, she was near death from a strep infection and wasn’t responding to any of the other treatments. She surprisingly made a complete recovery.

In the year 1665 an English scientist, Robert Hooke built the microscope and observed slices of cork and came up with the name cells to describe the arrangement of small box spaces within the cork. It wasn’t until Anton van Leeuwenhoek, that observed living organisms under a microscope, which he built and had a power of 300X. Leeuwenhoek was amazed by the fact of being able to view “animalcules”; he would sab a sample of water making people sick and samples of his own mouth. Over the years he would have viewed all the major organisms of microbiology, such as; protozoa, algae, yeast, fungi and bacteria in spherical, rod and spiral shapes. Leeuwenhoek did not sell his microscope or foster the development/ study of microbiology It was not until the later scientists who discovered the germ theory(Theodor Schwann), Redi,

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.