Exam 1: People Flashcards
Robert Hooke
earliest record of microbes; observes plants under simple microscope; coins term “cell” due to resemblance of plant cells to monk’s cells; studied household objects, visible plants and animals; first to describe cellular structures in tree bark, drawing little structure that were “alive”
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
creation of first microscope; linen merchant who needed to analyze cloth fibers; became curious about other specimens like rain water and tooth plaque; viewed water from clay pot smeared on specimen holder → found “moving animalcules”; saw “enormous numbers” when viewing plaque from his teeth and from others who never cleaned them
− Developed a magnifying glass by making lens from ground up glass; took this information to the grave; first time we saw anything that was microscopic
− 1676 – first to observe microbes (up to 300x)
Francesco Redi
published experiments to disprove spontaneous generation; meat & maggots
− + control (what he knew would happen) – open container w/meat → flies → maggots on meat
− - control – lid on container w/meat → no flies → no maggots
− experimental – meat in container w/cloth over the opening → flies → maggots on cloth
− flies cause maggots, not spontaneous generation on meat
Louis Pasteur
disproves spontaneous generation (S-shaped flask experiment), fermentation, pasteurization, and anthrax vaccine
− 1857 – fermentation caused by microbes
− 1861 – S flask – found that microbes are everywhere (air) and will grow in broth unless killed by boiling and prevented from entering broth
o Vigorous heat applied to produce broth free of live cells (sterile)
o Exposed = microbe growth occurs (flask neck broken and microbes can enter – expose it to environment and immediately get growth)
o Intact = microbe growth does not occur (neck intact – airborne microbes trapped at base and broth remains sterile)
o The curve meant that gravity would cause airborne particles to deposit in lower part of neck
− 1862 – introduces pasteurization to prevent spoilage; this contributed to germ theory of disease
− 1881 – develops anthrax vaccine for animals
Edward Jenner
origin of vaccines; demonstrates that inoculation w/ cowpox material provides humans w/immunity to small pox
− Scrape the skin & put some stuff from cowpox blisters in there → mild fever for a few days → never get small pox → first vaccination
Holmes
observed that mother’s who opted for at home births experienced fewer infections that those giving birth at the hospital
Ignaz Semmelweis
discovered the reason for Holmes’ observations: women became infected in the maternity ward after physicians coming directly from the autopsy room performed examinations on them: → first to test whether disinfecting hands can prevent disease; fired for training ppl to wash hands b/c it wasted time; died from disease you get from not washing hands in medical environment
Joseph Lister
invented aseptic techniques in response to Semmelweis’ discovery; tested effectiveness of disinfecting medical equipment using aseptic (perfectly clean) techniques; techniques were meant to reduce microbes in a medical setting and prevent the spread of infections; included disinfecting hands and the air w/strong antiseptic chemicals (phenol)
Robert Koch
studied anthrax and hypothesized that it may be caused by bacteria
− 1876 – proved that microbes cause disease (cause & effect link)
− Invented agar plates
− Developed Koch’s postulates (used by germ theory of disease) – steps that verified the theory and could establish whether and organism was pathogenic and which disease it caused
Paul Ehrlich
introduces first chemotherapeutic for syphilis (searched for “magic bullets”)
Alexander Flemming
accidentally discovered penicillin
Ferdinand Cohn
discovered heat-resistant bacterial endospores, which were the reason that heat would sometimes fail to eliminate all microorganisms
