Erlich Paul is a world famous German scientist and physician who received the Nobel Prize in 1908 for his work in the field of immunology. He was also a chemist and bacteriologist. Became the founder of chemotherapy.
Paul Ehrlich: biography
The boy was born on March 14, 1854 in the city of Strzelen in a family of six: parents and four children. In addition, he was the youngest child and the only boy. Paul's father was a rich man, as he was engaged in a distillery and had an inn. All children were brought up in strict conditions in compliance with Jewish traditions. Already at an early age, the boy became interested in natural science, which served as a modest beginning for his great achievements.
The famous Karl Weigert (his mother's cousin) was able to contribute to the development of medical and scientific interests in young Paul. The boy studied at the Breslav Gymnasium, after which he continued his studies at medical schools. After graduating, Erlich Paul got a job in a Berlin clinic.
The beginning of the path to science
The young scientist conducted his first studies on blood cells, staining themdifferent colors and methods. As a result of his experiments, he discovered various forms of leukocytes, showed the importance of bone marrow for the formation of blood, and was also able to find mast cells in connective tissue.
Thanks to staining, Paul Ehrlich, whose photo you can see in this article, was able to develop a special method for recognizing tuberculosis bacteria, which significantly influenced the process of diagnosing this disease in patients.
Scientific insight
Staining the cells, the young scientist witnessed the most grandiose medical discoveries, which influenced his future. Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur are scientists, on the basis of whose works Erlich Paul put forward his theory of combating microbes. While still an inexperienced student, the young man read a book about lead poisoning, which could not leave the boy's mind alone. In this work, it was said that, getting into the body, lead accumulates in certain organs. It's also very easy to prove chemically.
Thus, the young scientist came to the conclusion that it is necessary to look for such substances that will attach to harmful bacteria and bind them. This will help stop harmful substances from entering the human body. It is hard to believe, but a simple paint, which he used purely out of curiosity, led the scientist to this conclusion. He realized that if the dye could stick to the fabric and thus stain it, it could also attach to harmful bacteria and kill them.
Theory"magic bullet"
In 1878, Erlich Paul became chief physician of a Berlin hospital. He was able to develop his own methods of histological research. First, he stained bacteria on glass, after which he proceeded to the tissues of animals that had been killed by infectious diseases. And once he injected blue dye into the blood of a live rabbit. During such an experiment, the scientist was surprised by the incredible consequences.
Only the brain and nerves turned out to be blue. All other fabrics did not change their color. Ehrlich came to the conclusion that if there is a dye that can stain a certain type of fabric, then there is a substance that can kill a certain type of harmful microorganisms. Thanks to such observations, the theory of the “magic bullet” arose, which implies that a substance that can very quickly kill all harmful inhabitants enters an infected organism.
Sleeping sickness
Erlich Paul, whose contribution to microbiology is invaluable, in 1906 became director of the Institute of Experimental Serotherapy. At this time, he was interested in the "sleeping" disease, which killed a large number of Africans at that time. Scientists have invented the miraculous drug "Atoxil", which destroyed trypanosomes, but at the same time a person lost his sight. Erlich Paul found out that this product contains arsenic, which is a real poison.
The main task of the scientist was the invention of such a tool that would kill all trypanosomes, but would not have a detrimental effect on humans. Hundreds of substances have been tried, butthese microorganisms developed immunity, so the drugs were not suitable. However, despite so many disappointments, Paul managed to create a cure for sleeping sickness.
STD
Such diseases have been worrying mankind for a very long time. In the era of bacteriology, many scientists began to search for pathogens of various diseases, and at that time they were able to find three. First, the gonorrhea bacillus was found, then the chancre and finally syphilis, the causative agent of which is the pale spirochete.
Cure for syphilis
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, intravenous injections were just beginning to appear. In hospitals, they were almost never used. But everything changed after Erlich Paul proposed a medicine that could cure syphilis. There were many attempts to create it, the result was amazing. By the way, using chemicals in his scientific experiments, the scientist created a new direction in medicine.
The academician proposed to treat syphilis with substances that, when oxidized, begin to form active arsenic compounds. But, unfortunately, during the course of many tests, it was not possible to completely eliminate its destructive harm.
An unexpected twist in life
Paul Ehrlich, for whom microbiology was a vocation, in 1887 became an associate professor, and in 1890 a university professor. At the same time, he also worked at the Robert Koch Institute. In 1888, during one of the laboratory experiments, he was infected with tuberculosis. Takingwife and both daughters, went to Egypt for treatment. But instead of curing one disease, he fell ill with diabetes. When he alth improved, the family returned to Berlin.
Since 1891, Erlich Paul, whose work has become the starting point for most scientists, devoted a lot of time to the selection of chemicals needed to treat diseases caused by parasites from the outside. His first achievement was a drug based on methylene blue, which was intended to treat four-day malaria. After that, he began to use many other dyes. During such work, he was the first to notice the habituation of microorganisms to the introduced drugs. Immunological responses for recovery have been established.
Nobel Prize
The scientist was the first to put forward the theory of immunity - the body's ability to protect itself from genetically foreign bodies. He created the theory of side chains, which plays a very important role in the development of the science of immunology. For this work, the German scientist, together with Mechnikov, received the Nobel Prize in 1908.
Erlich Paul: contribution to science
In 1901, a physician and scientist with extensive experience begins to deal with the issue of treating malignant tumors. He developed a special series of experiments during which he inoculated tumors into animals, and for the first time he was able to prove that animals have immune responses that form after the disappearance of the grafted tumor.
The most important discovery of the scientist wasfinding mast cells unknown to science, which play an important role in the formation of immunity. Paul was also able to prove that every cell of a living organism that enters into immune reactions has special receptors that can recognize foreign agents. It was for such discoveries that Erlich Paul received the Nobel Prize.
Erlich also proved himself in the field of chemistry, as he described reactions that are of great importance in medicine. For this he received the Liebig medal.
He was a member of seventy world scientific communities and academies. To date, the following are named after him: the Institute of Immunological Preparations, as well as streets, hospitals, educational institutions, scientific communities and foundations, a prize for scientific discoveries. A crater on the Moon was also named after him.
In 1909, Nicholas II awarded the academician the Order of St. Anna, and also awarded the title of real Privy Councilor. Erlich resigned as he could not renounce the Jewish faith.
He was married to a woman who provided for the household and financial aspects of his life. Paul was completely immersed in science. He paid no attention to anything else. He could write anywhere, from the floor and walls to the hands of his interlocutors.
The scientist died on August 20, 1915 from an apoplexy in Bad Homburg. Buried in the Jewish cemetery. In 1933, the Nazis destroyed the monument, but it was restored again.
