Louis Pasteur would have turned 200 this December. No single scientist has demonstrated more dramatically the benefit of science for humankind.
. And Pasteur ranked behind only Darwin among the most exceptional biological scientists of the 19th century.
And yet he was a tireless worker, motivated by service to humankind, faithful to his family and unwaveringly honest. He was devoted to truth, and therefore also to science.In his youth, Pasteur did not especially excel as a student. His interests inclined toward art rather than science, and he did display exceptional skill at drawing and painting.
Pasteur built the rest of his career on this discovery. His research on tartaric acid and wine led eventually to profound realizations about the relationship between microbes and human disease. Before Pasteur, most experts asserted that fermentation was a natural nonbiological chemical process. Yeast, a necessary ingredient in the fermenting fluid, was supposedly a lifeless chemical acting as a catalyst.
Louis Pasteur used the foreground double flask to demonstrate anaerobic fermentation. The flask in the back is full of barley water that Pasteur had pasteurized in 1860. It remained unfermented decades later.In the early 1860s Pasteur undertook a series of experiments that should have left no doubt that spontaneous generation, under conditions encountered on Earth today, was an illusion.
His first foray into applying the germ theory of disease came during the late 1860s in response to a decline in French silk production because of diseases afflicting silkworms. After success in tackling the silkworms’ maladies, he turned to anthrax, a terrible illness for cattle and humans alike.
Pasteur cultured the anthrax microbe and weakened it for tests in farm animals. Success in such tests not only affirmed the correctness of the germ theory of disease, but also allowed it to gain a foothold in devising new medical practices. Even in Pasteur’s own lifetime, thanks to his defeat of rabies, his public reputation was that of a genius.As geniuses go, Pasteur was the opposite of Einstein. To get inspiration for his theories, Einstein imagined riding aside a light beam or daydreamed about falling off a ladder. Pasteur stuck to experiments. He typically initiated his experiments with a suspected result in mind, but he was scrupulous in verifying the conclusions he drew from them.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
EURUSD Price Analysis: Extra gains likely above the 200-day SMAEURUSD’s upside momentum remains well in place and breaks above the 1.0400 hurdle once again on Wednesday . The continuation of the recovery looks the
Read more »
Mill Valley officials pledge more arrests in massive party with over 200 juvenilesPolice cited three juveniles during Nov. 5 incident, including the one who allegedly hosted the party where it all started. Investigators have been reviewing video and conducting interviews since t…
Read more »
Roku will lay off 200 employees after warning of weak Q4 results | EngadgetRoku is the latest tech company to announce job cuts, as it slashes 200 jobs..
Read more »
Roku lays off 200 US employeesSelling fewer boxes cut into its real business — advertising.
Read more »
USD Index Price Analysis: Immediately to the downside comes the 200-day SMADXY remains under pressure and maintains the trade in the area of multi-month lows around 106.00 midweek. If the selling bias gathers extra pace, then
Read more »