Microbiology plays a huge role in the development of mankind. The formation of science began in the 5th-6th century BC. e. Even then it was assumed that many diseases are caused by invisible living beings. A brief history of the development of microbiology, which is described in our article, will allow us to find out how science was formed.
General information about microbiology. Subject and objectives
Microbiology is a science that studies the vital activity and structure of microorganisms. Microbes cannot be seen with the naked eye. They can be of both plant and animal origin. Microbiology is a fundamental science. To study the smallest organisms, methods of other subjects are used, such as physics, chemistry, biology, cytology.
There is general and particular microbiology. The first studies the structure and vital activity of microorganisms at all levels. The subject of private study is individual representatives of the microworld.
Advances in medical microbiology in the 19th century contributed to the development of immunology, whichtoday is a general biological science. The development of microbiology occurred in three stages. At the first, it was found that there are bacteria in nature that cannot be seen with the naked eye. At the second stage of formation, species were differentiated, and at the third stage, the study of immunity and infectious diseases began.
Problems of microbiology - the study of the properties of bacteria. Microscopy instruments are used for research. Thanks to this, the shape, location and structure of bacteria can be seen. Often, scientists plant microorganisms in he althy animals. This is necessary to reproduce infectious processes.
Pasteur Louis
Louis Pasteur was born December 27, 1822 in eastern France. As a child, he was fond of art. Over time, he began to be attracted to the natural sciences. When Louis Pasteur turned 21, he went to Paris to study at the Higher School, after which he was supposed to become a science teacher.
In 1848, Louis Pasteur presented the results of his scientific work at the Paris Academy of Sciences. He proved that there are two types of crystals in tartaric acid, which polarize light differently. It was a brilliant start to his career as a scientist.
Pasteur Louis is the founder of microbiology. Scientists before the beginning of his activity assumed that yeast forms a chemical process. However, it was Pasteur Louis, who, after conducting a series of studies, proved that the formation of alcohol during fermentation is associated with the vital activity of the smallest organisms - yeast. Hefound out that there are two types of such bacteria. One type creates alcohol, and the other creates what is called lactic acid, which spoils alcoholic beverages.
The scientist did not stop there. After some time, he found that when heated to 60 degrees Celsius, unwanted bacteria die. He recommended the gradual heating technique to winemakers and cooks. However, at first they were negative about this method, believing that it would spoil the quality of the product. Over time, they realized that this method really has a positive effect on the process of making alcohol. Today, Pasteur Louis' method is known as pasteurization. It is used when preserving not only alcoholic beverages, but also other products.
The scientist often thought about the formation of mold on products. After a series of studies, he realized that food spoils only if it is in contact with air for a long period of time. However, if the air is heated to 60 degrees Celsius, the decay process stops for a while. Products do not spoil and high in the Alps, where the air is rarefied. The scientist proved that mold is formed due to spores that are in the environment. The less they are in the air, the slower the food spoils.
The above studies brought success to the scientist. He was asked to study an unknown disease that affects silkworms and thereby threatens the economy. The scientist found out that the cause of the disease is a parasitic bacterium. He recommended destroying all mulberry trees and infectedworms. Silk manufacturers heeded the advice of scientists. Thanks to this, the French silk industry was restored.
The popularity of the scientist grew. In 1867, Napoleon III ordered that Pasteur be provided with a well-equipped laboratory. It was there that the scientist created the rabies vaccine, thanks to which he became known throughout Europe. Pasteur died on September 28, 1895. The founder of microbiology was buried with all state honors.
Koch Robert
The contribution of scientists to microbiology has made a lot of discoveries in medicine. Thanks to this, humanity knows how to get rid of many diseases dangerous to he alth. It is believed that Koch Robert is a contemporary of Pasteur. The scientist was born in December 1843. From childhood he was interested in nature. In 1866 he graduated from the university and received a medical degree. After that, he worked in several hospitals.
Robert Koch began his career as a bacteriologist. He focused on the study of anthrax. Koch studied the blood of sick animals under a microscope. The scientist found in it a mass of microorganisms that are absent in he althy representatives of the fauna. Robert Koch decided to inoculate them in mice. The test subjects died a day later, and the same microorganisms were present in their blood. A scientist has found that anthrax is caused by pathogenic bacteria that are shaped like a stick.
After successful research, Robert Koch began to think about the study of tuberculosis. This is no coincidence, because in Germany (the place of birth and residence of the scientist) from this diseaseevery seventh inhabitant died. At that time, doctors did not yet know how to deal with tuberculosis. They thought it was a hereditary disease.
For his first research, Koch used the corpse of a young worker who died of consumption. He examined all the internal organs and did not find any pathogenic bacteria. Then the scientist decided to stain the preparations and examine them on glass. Once, while examining such a blue-colored preparation under a microscope, Koch noticed small sticks between the tissues of the lungs. He instilled them in a guinea pig. The animal died a few weeks later. In 1882, Robert Koch spoke at a meeting of the Society of Physicians about the results of his research. Later, he tried to create a vaccine against tuberculosis, which, unfortunately, did not help, but is still used in diagnosing the disease.
A brief history of the development of microbiology at that time aroused the interest of many. A vaccine against tuberculosis was created only a few years after Koch's death. However, this does not diminish his merits in the study of this disease. In 1905, the scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize. Tuberculosis bacteria are named after the researcher - Koch's wand. The scientist died in 1910.
Vinogradsky Sergey Nikolaevich
Sergei Nikolaevich Vinogradsky is a well-known bacteriologist who made a huge contribution to the development of microbiology. He was born in 1856 in Kyiv. His father was a we althy lawyer. Sergei Nikolayevich, after graduating from a local gymnasium, was educated at the ConservatorySt. Petersburg. In 1877 he entered the second year of the natural faculty. After graduating in 1881, the scientist devoted himself to the study of microbiology. In 1885 he went to study in Strasbourg.
Today Sergei Nikolaevich Vinogradsky is considered the founder of the ecology of microorganisms. He studied the soil microbial community and divided all microorganisms living in it into autochthonous and allochthonous. In 1896, Winogradsky formulated the concept of life on Earth as a system of interconnected biogeochemical cycles catalyzed by living beings. His last scientific work was devoted to the taxonomy of bacteria. The scientist died in 1953.
The Emergence of Microbiology
A brief history of the development of microbiology, described in our article, will allow us to find out how humanity began the fight against dangerous diseases. Man encountered the vital processes of bacteria long before they were discovered. People fermented milk, used the fermentation of dough and wine. In the writings of a doctor from Ancient Greece, assumptions were made about the connection between dangerous diseases and special pathogenic fumes.
Confirmation has been received by Anthony van Leeuwenhoek. By grinding glass, he was able to create lenses that magnified the object under study by more than 100 times. Thanks to this, he was able to see all the objects around him.
He found out that the smallest organisms live on them. A complete and brief history of the development of microbiology began precisely with the results of Leeuwenhoek's research. He could not prove the assumptions about the causes of infectious diseases, but the practic althe activity of doctors since antiquity confirmed them. Hindu laws provided for preventive measures. It is known that things and dwellings of sick people were subjected to special treatment.
In 1771, a Moscow military doctor for the first time disinfected the things of plague patients and vaccinated people who had contact with carriers of the disease. Topics in microbiology are varied. The most interesting is the one that describes the creation of the smallpox inoculation. It has long been used by the Persians, Turks and Chinese. Weakened bacteria were introduced into the human body because it was believed that this way the disease progresses more easily.
Edward Jenner (English doctor) noticed that most people who did not have smallpox do not become infected through close contact with carriers of the disease. This was most often observed in milkmaids who became infected while milking cows with cowpox. The doctor's research lasted 10 years. In 1796, Jenner injected the blood of a sick cow into a he althy boy. Some time later, he tried to inoculate him with the bacteria of a sick person. This is how the vaccine was created, thanks to which humanity got rid of the disease.
Contribution of domestic scientists
Discoveries in microbiology, made by scientists from all over the world, allow us to understand how to cope with almost any disease. Domestic researchers have made a significant contribution to the development of science. In 1698, Peter I met Levenguk. He showed him a microscope and showed a number of objects in an enlarged form.
WoAt the time of the formation of microbiology as a science, Lev Semenovich Tsenkovsky published his work, in which he classified microorganisms as plant organisms. He also used the Pasteur method to suppress anthrax.
Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov played a significant role in microbiology. He is considered one of the founders of the science of bacteria. The scientist created the theory of immunity. He proved that many cells of the body can inhibit viral bacteria. His research became the basis for the study of inflammation.
Microbiology, virology and immunology, as well as medicine itself, were of great interest to almost everyone at that time. Mechnikov studied the human body and tried to understand why it ages. The scientist wanted to find a way that would extend life. He believed that poisonous substances, which are formed due to the vital activity of putrefactive bacteria, poison the human body. According to Mechnikov, it is necessary to populate the body with lactic acid microorganisms that inhibit putrefactive ones. The scientist believed that life could be significantly extended in this way.
Mechnikov studied many dangerous diseases such as typhus, tuberculosis, cholera and others. In 1886 he established a bacteriological station and a school of microbiology in Odessa (Ukraine).
Technical microbiology
Technical microbiology studies bacteria that are used in the creation of vitamins, some drugs and food preparation. The main task of this science is the intensification of technological processes in production(usually food).
Mastering technical microbiology orients a specialist to the need for careful compliance with all sanitary standards in production. By studying this science, you can prevent product spoilage. The subject is most often studied by future food industry professionals.
Dmitry Iosifovich Ivanovsky
Microbiology became the basis for the creation of many other sciences. The history of science began long before its public recognition. Virology was formed in the 19th century. This science does not study all bacteria, but only those that are viral. Dmitry Iosifovich Ivanovsky is considered its founder. In 1887 he began researching the diseases of tobacco. He found crystalline inclusions in the cells of a diseased plant. Thus, he discovered pathogens of non-bacterial and non-protozoal nature, which were later called viruses.
Dmitry Iosifovich Ivanovsky published several works on the features of physiological processes in diseased plants and the effect of oxygen on alcoholic fermentation in yeast.
The results of his research on diseased plants Ivanovsky presented at a meeting of the Society of Naturalists. Dmitry Iosifovich also actively studied soil microbiology.
Educational literature
Microbiology is a science that cannot be learned in a few days. It plays an important role in the development of medicine. Books on microbiology allow you to independently study this science. In our article you can findwith the most popular.
- "Thermophilic Microorganisms" (2011) is a book that describes the vital activity of bacteria that live at high temperatures. They exist at great depths, where heat comes from magma. The book contains articles by various scientists from all over the Russian Federation.
- "Three lives of the great microbiologist. A documentary story about Sergei Nikolaevich Vinogradsky" is a book about the greatest scientist, authored by Georgy Aleksandrovich Zavarzin. It was written according to the diaries of Vinogradsky. Scientists laid down several major areas in microbiology (microbial, soil, chemosynthesis). The book will be extremely useful to future doctors and just curious people.
- "General Microbiology" by Hans Schlegel is an introduction to the wonderful world of bacteria. It is worth noting that Hans Schlegel is a world famous German microbiologist who is still alive. The publication has been updated and expanded many times. It is considered to be one of the best books on microbiology. It briefly describes the structure, as well as the process of vital activity and reproduction of bacteria. The book is easy to read. There is no unnecessary information in it.
- "Germs are Good and Bad. Our He alth and Survival in the World" is a contemporary book written by Jessica Sachs and published last year. With improved sanitation and the advent of antibiotics, human life expectancy has increased substantially. The book is devoted to the problem of the emergence of immune diseases, which is associated withexcessive concern for sanitation.
- "Look What's Inside You" is a book by Rob Knight. It was published last year. The book talks about microbes that live in different parts of our body. The author claims that microorganisms play a more important role than we previously thought.
The basis of the latest technologies
Microbiology is the basis of the latest technologies. The world of bacteria is not yet fully understood. Many scientists have no doubt that thanks to microorganisms it is possible to create technologies that have no analogues. Biotechnology will serve as the basis for them.
Microorganisms are used in the development of coal and oil deposits. It's no secret that fossil fuels are already running out, despite the fact that humanity has been using it for about 200 years. In case of its exhaustion, scientists recommend using microbiological methods for obtaining alcohols from renewable sources of raw materials.
Biotechnology allows us to cope with both environmental and energy problems. Surprisingly, the microbiological processing of organic waste allows not only to clean the environment, but also to obtain biogas, which is in no way inferior to natural gas. This method of obtaining fuel does not require extra costs. There is already enough material in the environment for recycling. For example, only in the USA it is about 1.5 million tons. However, at the moment there is no thought out method for the disposal of waste from processing.
Bringingresults
Microbiology occupies an important place in the life of mankind. Thanks to this science, doctors learn to cope with life-threatening diseases. Microbiology has also become the basis for the creation of vaccines. Many of the greatest scientists who have contributed to this science are known. Some of them you met in our article. Many scientists living in our time believe that in the future it is microbiology that will make it possible to cope with many of the environmental and energy problems that may arise in the near future.
