Louis Pasteur's contributions to biology briefly. Louis Pasteur and his role in the development of microbiology. Pasteur's development of the scientific basis for the specific prevention of infectious diseases
At 18 years old Pasteur received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and two years later a Bachelor of Science degree. Even then, his name was listed in the directories of portrait painters of the 19th century. Pastels and portraits of his parents and friends, painted by him at the age of 15, are now kept in the Pasteur Institute museum in Paris.
Pasteur performed his first scientific work in 1848, studying physical properties tartaric acid. After this, he was appointed associate professor of physics at the Dijon Lyceum, but three months later (in May 1849) he became associate professor of chemistry at the University of Strasbourg. At the same time he married Marie Laurent. Their marriage produced five children, but only two of them lived to adulthood (the other three died of typhoid fever).
The personal tragedies he suffered inspired Pasteur to search for causes and forced him to try to find cures for infectious diseases such as typhus. In 1854 he was appointed dean of the new Faculty of Natural Sciences in Lille, and in 1856 he moved to Paris, where he took up the post of director of educational work at the Ecole Normale Supérieure.
In his scientific activities, Pasteur always sought to solve pressing problems. The question of "disease" was of fault great importance, especially for wine-producing France. The scientist began to study the fermentation process and came to the conclusion that this is a biological phenomenon influenced by bacteria. To protect the wine from spoilage, he suggested immediately after fermentation to heat it to 60-70 degrees, without bringing it to a boil. The taste of the wine is preserved, and bacteria are killed. This technique is now known everywhere as pasteurization. This is how milk, wine, and beer are processed.
Following this discovery, Pasteur became interested in the question of microorganisms in general, since perhaps they are capable of causing not only “diseases” in wine, but also infectious human diseases? His little daughter Zhanna dies of typhus. Perhaps this also prompted the scientist to further study microbes.
At this time, the Paris Academy of Sciences announced a competition for The best decision the question of whether spontaneous generation of life occurs under ordinary conditions. Experimentally, the scientist was able to prove that even microbes can only arise from other microbes, i.e. spontaneous generation does not occur. In 1861, he was awarded a prize for resolving this issue. Two years later, he solved another practical agricultural problem by discovering the cause of silkworm diseases.
In 1868, Pasteur suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and the left half of his body was permanently paralyzed. During his illness, the scientist learned that the construction of his new laboratory had been interrupted in anticipation of his death. He developed a passionate desire to live and returned to scientific work. As it turned out, the most wonderful discoveries lay ahead of him.
On May 31, 1881, his triumphant public experiment began, proving the power of vaccination. 50 sheep were injected with strong poison. Two days later, in front of a huge crowd of people interested in this experiment, the death of 25 sheep that had not undergone preliminary vaccinations was confirmed, while 25 vaccinated sheep remained unharmed. It was an amazing result of many years of work by Louis Pasteur. On July 6, 1885, vaccination against rabies was given for the first time in history. This day is considered the day of victory over this terrible disease.
Pasteur studied biology all his life and treated people without receiving either a medical or biological education. Despite this, his contribution to science is enormous - scientists laid the foundations of several areas in medicine, chemistry and biology: stereochemistry, microbiology, virology, immunology, bacteriology. Vaccination, pasteurization, antiseptics - can you imagine modern life without these inventions made by a scientist in the 19th century.
Pasteur was awarded orders from almost all countries of the world. In total he had about 200 awards. The scientist died in 1895 from complications caused by a series of strokes and was buried in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, but his remains were reburied in the crypt of the Pasteur Institute. In Russia, the Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in St. Petersburg, founded in 1923, bears the name of Pasteur.
"Evening Moscow" invites you to remember the most striking scientific victories of an outstanding scientist.
1. B late XIX century, childbirth fever became a real scourge in Europe. All maternity hospitals in Paris were plague centers; out of every nineteen women, one necessarily died from childbed fever. One of these institutions, in which ten mothers died in a row, even received a nickname: “House of Sin.” Women began to boycott maternity hospitals and many decided to abandon the risks associated with childbearing. Doctors were powerless in the face of this terrible phenomenon. Once, during a presentation on this topic at the Paris Academy of Medicine, the speaker was interrupted by a loud voice coming from the depths of the hall: “What kills women in childbed fever has nothing to do with what you are talking about. It is you, the doctors yourself, transfer deadly germs from sick women to healthy ones!” These words were spoken by Pasteur. He also found Vibrio septicemia (malignant edema bacilli) and studied its living conditions, and also pointed out the possibility of transmission of infection in many cases by the doctor himself at the patient’s bedside. Based on Pasteur's findings, surgery entered a new phase - aseptic surgery. All existing achievements in the fight against infectious diseases of humans, animals and plants would have been impossible if Pasteur had not proven that these diseases are caused by microorganisms.
2. After the publication of Robert Koch’s work “Etiology” in 1876 anthrax"Pasteur devoted himself entirely to immunology, having finally established the specificity of the causative agents of anthrax, puerperal fever, cholera, rabies, chicken cholera and other diseases, developed ideas about artificial immunity, and proposed a method of preventive vaccinations. In 1881, he discovered a way to weaken the strength of anthrax bacilli, turning them into a vaccine. He injected first a weaker and then a stronger culture into a sheep, which became slightly ill, but soon recovered. The vaccinated sheep was able to tolerate such a dose of the evil bacilli that could easily kill a cow. On January 28, 1881, Pasteur made. his famous message to the Academy of Sciences about the anthrax vaccine, and two weeks earlier the Society of Landowners of France awarded him an honorary medal.
3. Pasteur's last and most famous discovery was the development of a vaccine against rabies. On July 6, 1885, the first vaccination was given to 9-year-old Joseph Meister at the request of his mother. The treatment was successful and the boy recovered. On October 27, 1885, Pasteur made a report to the Academy of Sciences on the results of five years of work on the study of rabies. The whole world followed the research and results of vaccinations. Patients began to flock to Pasteur, hopeful of victory over the terrible disease. A group of Russian peasants from Smolensk arrived in Paris and were bitten by a rabid wolf. Of the 19 people, 16 were cured, despite the fact that 12 days passed from the moment of infection to the first vaccination. The popularity of the scientist who defeated such a terrible disease as rabies was enormous - the whole world was talking about him. Through international subscription, money was collected with which the magnificent Pasteur Institute of Microbiology was built in Paris, opened in 1888, but the scientist’s health deteriorated so much that by the time the institute opened, he could no longer work in the laboratory. Later, Ilya Mechnikov called the victory over rabies “Pasteur’s swan song.”
Professor V.D. Soloviev
On the fiftieth anniversary of his death
Louis Pasteur in the laboratory. In the picture there is an inscription: “In memory of the famous Mechnikov, the creator of the phagocytic theory, from the sincerely devoted Pasteur.
Ru and I. I. Mechnikov (Paris).
In Paris, on Rue Dutot, in a low, modest building surrounded by a cast-iron fence, the Pasteur Institute is located - one of the most interesting scientific institutions in the world. The institute was created according to the plan of the great scientist whose name it bears. It is built in last years Pasteur's life with funds raised through international voluntary subscription. The Pasteur Institute is the center of microbiological science in France and played an exceptional role in the development of this science. The best French bacteriologists, as well as many outstanding researchers from other countries, including Russian scientists, worked within its walls. The world-famous Russian zoologist and microbiologist Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov was at one time the Scientific Director of this Institute. Here, during the lifetime of Pasteur himself, N. F. Gamaleya, now an honorary member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, studied bacteriological skills.
The great scientist remained at his Institute forever, even after death. On the ground floor, in a small chapel, there is his tomb. Above the entrance there is an inscription: “Here lies Pasteur,” and on the sides there are two dates: “1822” and “1895” - the years of birth and death of this wonderful man! Inside, on the marble walls are marked the most important stages the activities of Louis Pasteur and the years of his discoveries: 1848 - molecular asymmetry. 1857 - enzymes, 1862 - so-called spontaneous generation, 1863 - observations on wine, 1865 - diseases of silkworms, 1871 - observations on beer, 1877 - infectious diseases, 1880 - preventative vaccinations, 1885 - prevention of rabies. This short chronological list reflects the history creative life great scientist.
The son of a tanner from Arbois, a small town in eastern France, and the great-grandson of a serf, Louis Pasteur began his scientific career by studying theoretical issues of chemistry and chemical crystallography. While still a student at the Ecole Normale in Paris, he began his research on two acids extracted from tartar - tartaric and grape. These two acids are similar in their chemical composition, differ in one feature: the salts of the first of them rotate the plane of polarization to the right, while the salts of the second are optically inactive. Studying the causes of this phenomenon, Pasteur found that during the crystallization of the double ammonium-sodium salt of grape acid, two types of crystals stand out, differing from each other by the presence of tiny areas or edges that had previously escaped the attention of researchers. These areas were only on one plane of the crystal and caused their incomplete symmetry: sometimes they were on the left, and sometimes on right side. The pastor collected separately crystals of this salt with edges on the left side and crystals with edges on the right side. From these and other crystals he isolated free acid. It turned out that the solution of the first crystals rotates the plane of polarization to the left, and the solution of the second crystals rotates to the right.
In this way, for the first time in the history of chemistry, an optically active substance was artificially obtained from an inactive starting material. Previously, it was believed that the formation of optically active substances could only occur in living organisms. Pasteur explained the optical activity of right and left tartaric acids by the asymmetry of their molecules. Thus, the concept of molecular asymmetry was introduced into science.
Further developing his method of artificial splitting chemical compounds, Pasteur used the action of molds. This was the beginning of his subsequent work on microbes. Thus, purely chemical research contributed to the creation of one of the most important branches of biology - microbiology. The creation of this science is inextricably linked with the name of Pasteur. What is the cause of contagious diseases, how the infection is transmitted to humans - this became clear only when the brilliant mind of the Pastor revealed the secret of the driving force of fermentation and directed the development of science along a completely new path.
In the pre-Paster era, i.e. 60-70 years ago, humanity had a very vague idea of what infectious diseases were. There were known severe epidemics of cholera, smallpox, and plague, which the people called the “Black Death”; they carried millions of people to their graves. Many other endemic diseases were known, but what were the causes that caused them, and what should be the measures to combat them, no one knew. How powerless practical medicine was at that time can be seen from the example of the Crimean War of 1854. In the French army, numbering more than 300,000 soldiers, about 10,000 were killed, and 85,000 people died from diseases and infectious complications of wounds. In other words, in an army recruited from the healthiest and hardiest men, more than a quarter of the entire army fell victim to disease. The imperfection of surgery at that time is indicated by the enormous mortality rate from purulent complications of wounds. For example, 92% of those operated on died during hip amputation. The main reason Such terrible losses were due to ignorance of those rules of hygiene that seem to us now the most elementary.
By the age of 35, Louis Pasteur was already a famous scientist. His works devoted to the biological theory of fermentation date back to this time. Facts were established with impeccable accuracy showing that all fermentation processes are not simple chemical phenomena, as previously thought, but the result of the influence of microorganisms. Through a series of brilliant studies, Pasteur established the mechanism of various forms of fermentation, where the active principle was living creatures of negligible size, belonging either to yeast fungi or bacteria.
Later, when studying the processes of decay, Pasteur showed that they were also caused by the activity of microbes. He also understood the enormous importance that microorganisms have in the transformation of complex protein substances into a primitive state. “If microscopic creatures disappeared from the surface of the earth, it would quickly become cluttered with dead organic waste and all kinds of animal corpses and plant remains,” wrote Pasteur. “Without their participation, life would soon cease, since the work of death would remain unfinished.”
Where do these microorganisms, which play such a large role in nature, come from, what is their origin?
Pasteur's subsequent classic studies provided a clear answer to this question. It has been proven that there is no spontaneous generation of microorganisms, that wherever we find microorganisms, they were introduced from outside. It turned out that it is entirely within the power of man not only to cause, but also to prevent any of the phenomena of fermentation or decay. It turned out that there are microorganisms that can be used by humans, for example, to convert wort into alcohol, alcohol into vinegar. There are also harmful microorganisms, that is, those that cause infectious diseases.
These remarkable discoveries of Pasteur not only found practical use in industry and agriculture, but they illuminated all of medicine with new light and laid the foundation for a new science that studies microorganisms - microbiology.
The famous English surgeon, Joseph Lister, having understood the depth of the ideas of his contemporary Pastor, made the following practical conclusion from them: if purulent complications of wounds depend on the action of microorganisms that have entered from the outside, from the air, then for successful treatment it is necessary to prevent microbes from entering the wound. So was introduced into surgery new method treatment of wounds, called the putrefactive or antiseptic method, which was later replaced by a more advanced one - aseptic. The aseptic method consists of maintaining strict cleanliness and observing conditions that strictly prevent the penetration of infection, i.e. microorganisms, from environment. “Allow me,” Lister wrote to Pastor, “to thank you from the bottom of my heart for opening my eyes with your brilliant research to the existence of pyogenic microbes and thereby making it possible to successfully apply the antiseptic method in my work. If you ever come to Edinburgh, then I am sure that in our hospital you will receive true satisfaction from seeing to what a high degree humanity has been benefited by your labors.
Pasteur became interested in medical issues, studying the processes of infection and decay. His attention was especially occupied by the idea of the uniqueness of some infectious diseases. What is the reason for immunity, i.e. the body’s ability to resist the effects of infectious diseases?
In 1880, while researching a disease of chickens - chicken cholera, he discovered wonderful property the causative agent of this disease - not only to cause the disease, but also to create immunity against it. If an artificial breeding or, as they say, a microbial culture has become less toxic due to its long-term storage outside the body, then it can cause only a weak form of the disease. But after this, immunity is created - immunity to infection by even the most powerful microbial culture of a given disease. Thus, a method was found for preparing inoculations, or vaccines, i.e., material for vaccinations that protect against infectious diseases.
Although Pastor was already 58 years old at this time, it was now that the period of his most outstanding discoveries began. The discovery of a vaccine immunizing against chicken cholera was followed by experiments in the study of anthrax. Anthrax - a severe, often fatal disease of livestock, sometimes affecting humans - brought enormous losses to livestock farms at that time. Armed with his brilliant method of weakening the causative agents of infectious diseases and using them for vaccinations, Pasteur, after numerous laboratory experiments, began to produce a vaccine against anthrax. After persistent and painstaking work, Pasteur managed to find the conditions under which anthrax microbes lose their toxicity and prepare a vaccine. It was tested in a famous public experiment at the Poullier-Le-Fort farm in the spring of 1881. Having received 60 sheep and cows at his disposal, Pasteur gave half of them several preliminary vaccinations and then, in the presence of numerous spectators, infected both vaccinated and unvaccinated animals with anthrax in its most deadly form. All present were warned that after 48 hours, thirty animals would die, and the remaining half - the previously vaccinated animals - would remain unharmed. The prediction came true literally. Those gathered at Pouglier-les-Forts were presented with the following picture: 22 sheep lay dead, 2 died in front of the spectators, and the remaining 6 animals died by the end of the day; 30 vaccinated people remained alive and well.
The effect of this experience was exceptional. Newspapers around the world noted Pasteur's unprecedented success. The vaccination method he developed received full recognition.
Following his victory over anthrax, Pasteur moved forward along the intended path. Now he took on a new, very difficult task - to find the rabies microbe. The very name of this disease, always fatal to humans, inspired horror. Medicine did not know any means of combating rabies, and it was well known; If a person is bitten by a rabid wolf or dog and falls ill, then there is no salvation; the person bitten must die in the grave torments of hydrophobia.
A long, intense search this time did not yield the usual result. The rabies microbe could not be found either in sick people or in sick animals. We now know that the causative agent of this disease cannot be seen under a microscope, it belongs to the category of so-called filterable viruses and can only be detected by special research methods unknown in Pasteur’s time. All the more so, Pasteur’s gift of foresight seems great: not having found the microbe that causes hydrophobia, he did not stop his research and, through the most ingenious experiments and logical conclusions, discovered a way to combat rabies.
When studying dogs with rabies, it was discovered that the reservoir of infection is the nervous system - the brain and spinal cord. If you take pieces of nervous tissue, crush them and then use a syringe to inject them under the skull bone of a healthy animal, then it will develop typical rabies. Thus, it is possible to induce illness at the will of the experimenter. Following further his principle of weakening the infectious principle and then using it to create immunity, Pastor found a way to weaken the terrible poison of rabies. His talented assistants Roux and Chamberlant removed the spinal cord from a rabbit that had died of rabies and then dried it for 14 days in a glass jar. In this way, 14 varieties of dried rabies poison were prepared, with varying strengths, ranging from almost harmless to one-day dried poison that could kill an unvaccinated dog. But if you inject dogs sequentially with these 14 doses, starting from the weakest, and then infect the vaccinated animals with the deadly rabies poison, the vaccinated dogs will not get sick.
After careful monitoring of these experiments, a commission of the French Academy of Sciences came to the following conclusion: “if a dog is immunized with gradually increasing doses of the poisonous spinal cord of rabid rabbits, it can never again contract rabies.”
Victory seemed to be in Pasteur's hands, but another issue had to be resolved. Is it possible with such vaccinations to save from the disease not only before the infection penetrates, but also after the bite of a rabid animal? In other words, is it possible not only to prevent a disease, but also to cure it? And this issue was soon resolved. Rabies poison acts slowly. From the moment of the bite to the appearance of the first signs of the disease, several weeks and sometimes months pass. Therefore, it turned out to be possible, after this deadly poison, slowly moving to the central nervous system, to send a weakened poison, but with a faster effect. He stays ahead of the strong poison and prepares nervous system, making the body invulnerable.
This bold and brilliant idea of Pasteur was brilliantly implemented and confirmed by numerous experiments. But experiments on animals, no matter how good they may be, are not yet enough to judge the benefits of vaccinations for humans. And so on July 4, 1885, the first injection of weakened rabies poison was made to a person. It was nine-year-old Joseph Meister, an unfortunate boy who was brutally bitten by a rabid dog. Day after day, the first patient received all 14 vaccinations. Vaccinations saved the boy from a fatal disease.
At this time Pasteur was 63 years old. This was the pinnacle of his scientific activity and fame; His name became the property of all mankind.
Pasteur's services to science are great, and it is impossible to short essay convey the full significance of his discoveries. Microbiology, of which he is rightfully considered the founder, has now developed into a vast independent branch of the natural sciences, playing exclusively important role not only in medicine, but also in veterinary medicine and agriculture.
In medicine, Pasteur's works, as we have already seen, are of great importance for the development of surgery and for the fight against infectious diseases. Modern immunology, i.e., the doctrine of immunity to infectious diseases, is entirely based on the immunization method discovered by Pasteur: the use of pathogenic microorganisms weakened in their toxicity for vaccinations that protect against infection. The method of protection against rabies developed by Pasteur saved humanity from the horrors of this terrible disease. All over the world, special institutions have been organized, the so-called Pasteur stations, where they prepare material for vaccinations against rabies. It is interesting to remember that the second Pasteur station in the world, after the Paris one, was organized in Russia, by Russian scientists I. I. Mechnikov and N. F. Gamaleya.
Pasteur's importance in medicine is also great because he widely introduced the experimental (experimental) method of research into the study of medical issues. This method armed scientists with that precise knowledge of disease processes, which was completely absent in the pre-Pasteur era, and has brought so many brilliant successes to date.
Half a century scientific activity Pasteur, full of hard work and endless research, passed under the banner of the creative power of thought and the amazing ability to transform her ideas through a long series of experiments into indisputably proven facts. He taught his students: “Do not say anything that you cannot prove simply and beyond doubt. Bow to the spirit of criticism. By itself, it does not reveal new ideas and does not inspire great deeds. But without it nothing is strong. Always remains behind him the last word. This demand, which I make of you, and which you will make of your students, is the most difficult one that can be made of a researcher making discoveries. Be sure that you have discovered an important scientific fact, burn with a feverish desire to notify the whole world about it and ask yourself for days, weeks, sometimes years; to enter into a struggle with oneself, to strain all one’s strength in order to destroy the fruits of one’s labors oneself and not to proclaim the result obtained until one has tried all the contradictory hypotheses - yes, this is a difficult feat. But, on the other hand, when after so much effort you achieve complete certainty, you experience one of the highest joys available to the human soul.”
The Pastor's life is an excellent confirmation of his words. Devotion to science and selflessness were excellent traits of his character. “In the midst of one of his works,” recalls K. A. Timiryazev, “which, as always, absorbed all of him physical strength, since his intense mental work was usually complicated by insomnia, the doctor who treated him, seeing that all admonitions were in vain, was forced to threaten him with the words: “You are threatened, perhaps, with death, and certainly with a second blow.” Pasteur thought for a minute and calmly replied: “I cannot interrupt my work. I already foresee its end: come what may, I will fulfill my duty.”
Pasteur died on September 23, 1895 at the age of 73. 50 years have passed since then. Over these years, natural science has gone far ahead in its development. And in the progress of science, which we are witnessing, the unfading glory of the name of Pasteur's Luke lights the way for new searches and for new discoveries.
The discoveries made by the great French scientist Louis Pasteur are depicted on memorial plaque at the entrance to his first laboratory: “Here was Pasteur’s laboratory; 1857 - ; 1860 - spontaneous generation; 1865 - diseases of wine and beer; 1863 - diseases of silkworms; 1881 - infection and vaccine; 1885 - protection against rabies."
“To the Worker of Miracles” was written instead of an address on the envelope of one of the letters to Pasteur.
Who is he, this amazing scientist? A chemist by training, he considered himself a bacteriologist. He understood science as a living, loving service to humanity.
At the age of 25, Pasteur successfully completed a course in physics and chemistry at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. His first work was related to optical activity chemical substances and subsequently led to the emergence of stereochemistry. At the age of 27 he became a professor at the University of Strasbourg, and at 32 he became the dean of the Faculty of Natural History at the University of Lille. Here he began studying mechanisms, was the first to establish the difference between processes and determined the role of certain organisms in various processes.
Pasteur was interested in the question of the origin of microorganisms. At that time, it was believed that many living beings arise through spontaneous generation with the participation of some “ vitality" Pasteur resolved endless discussions and disputes with adherents of the theory of spontaneous generation in the following simple and witty way. Sterilized culture media for microorganisms in two glass vessels. In one of them, the neck was left open, and microorganisms could easily penetrate through it into the vessel. The second was closed, and the nutrient medium remained inaccessible. Not a single one appeared in the second vessel for four years. This is how the theory of spontaneous generation of microorganisms was refuted.
The scientist introduced into practice a quickly adopted method of processing milk by heating to a temperature of 60-70 ° C to destroy microbes, called pasteurization. (The same principle was applied in the production of wine and beer). He identified bacterial pathogens of silkworms and developed methods for preventing these diseases.
In 1868, Pasteur became seriously ill, but continued to work intensively, and made subsequent important discoveries while semi-paralyzed. He discovered many pathogenic microorganisms. Among them is the causative agent of anthrax, a deadly disease of many animals that is also dangerous to humans. Pasteur created a vaccine to inoculate against this disease.
Pasteur's last greatest discovery was the rabies vaccine. The genius of the scientist was that, without knowing anything specific about the causes of rabies, except indisputable fact its infectious nature, he used the principle of weakening the pathogen when developing a vaccine. July 6, 1885 is a significant day in the history of medicine. The mother of a nine-year-old boy, bitten by a rabid dog and doomed to death, turned to Pasteur. Pasteur first used his method of vaccination. The 20 days of waiting for the result were the most difficult for the scientist. Both the boy and the scientist passed the test. Pasteur's method spread widely in many countries and saved many people.
Pasteur is the founder of modern microbiology and immunology (see). In 1888, he created and headed the Research Institute of Microbiology (Pasteur Institute), where many famous scientists worked.
Louis Pasteur born on September 18, 1822 in the small French town of Doyle. His father, a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, made a living by running a small tannery. The head of the family never finished school and barely knew how to read and write, but he wanted a different future for his son. The tanner spared no expense, and after graduating from school, young Louis was sent to college, where he continued his education. They say it would be difficult to find a more diligent student in all of France. Pasteur showed unprecedented persistence, and in letters to his sisters he talked about how much success in science depends on “desire and work.” No one was surprised when, after graduating from college, Louis decided to take the exam for the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.Having successfully passed the entrance examination, Pasteur became a student. The money that the tannery brought in was not enough for education, so the young man had to work as a teacher. But neither work nor passion for painting (Pasteur received a Bachelor of Arts degree, painted many portraits that were highly appreciated by artists of that time) could distract young man from a passion for natural sciences.
Vaccination of a boy bitten by a rabid dog. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Already at the age of 26, Louis Pasteur received the title of professor of physics for his discoveries in the field of the structure of tartaric acid crystals. However, in the process of studying organic substances, the young scientist realized that his calling was not physics at all, but chemistry and biology.
In 1826, Louis Pasteur received an invitation to work at the University of Strasbourg. While visiting rector Laurent, Pasteur met his daughter Marie. And just a week after they met, the rector received a letter in which the young professor asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Pasteur saw Marie only once, but was completely confident in his choice. In the letter, he honestly informed the bride’s father that “except good health and a kind heart” he has nothing to offer Marie. However, for some reason Mr. Laurent believed in a happy future for his daughter and gave permission for the wedding. Intuition did not disappoint - the Pasteur couple lived in harmony for many years, and in Marie the scientist found not only his beloved wife, but also a faithful assistant.
Wine and chickens
One of the first works that brought Pasteur fame was a work devoted to fermentation processes. In 1854, Louis Pasteur was appointed dean of the faculty of natural sciences at the University of Lille. There he continued his study of tartaric acids, which he had begun at the École Normale Supérieure. Once upon a time, a wealthy winemaker knocked on Pasteur’s house and asked the scientist to help him. Local winemakers could not understand why wine and beer spoiled. Pasteur enthusiastically set about solving an unusual problem. Having examined the wort under a microscope, Pasteur discovered that in addition to yeast fungi, the wine also contained microorganisms in the form of rods. In vessels containing sticks, the wine turned sour. And if fungi were responsible for the process of alcoholic fermentation itself, then the sticks were responsible for the spoilage of wine and beer. This is how one of the greatest discoveries- Pasteur explained not only the nature of fermentation, but also made the assumption that microbes do not arise by themselves, but enter the body from the outside. Pasteur began to solve the problem of wine spoilage by creating an environment free of bacteria. The scientist heated the wort to a temperature of 60 degrees so that all microorganisms would die, and based on this wort they prepared wine and beer. This technique is still used in industry and is called pasteurization in honor of its creator.
Louis Pasteur in his laboratory. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Despite the fact that this discovery brought recognition to Pasteur, those times were difficult for the scientist - three of Pasteur's five daughters died of typhoid fever. This tragedy prompted the professor to study infectious diseases. By examining the contents of ulcers, wounds and ulcers, Pasteur discovered many infectious agents, including staphylococcus and streptococcus.
Pasteur's laboratory in those days resembled a chicken farm - the scientist identified the causative agent of chicken cholera and tried to find a way to counteract this disease. The professor was helped by an accident. The culture with cholera microbes was forgotten in the thermostat. After the dried virus was injected into the chickens, to the scientist’s surprise, they did not die, but only suffered a mild form of the disease. And when the scientist infected them again with a fresh culture, the chickens did not show a single symptom of cholera. Pasteur realized that introducing weakened microbes into the body could prevent future infections. Thus vaccination was born. Pasteur named his discovery in memory of the scientist Edward Jenner, who, to prevent smallpox, injected patients with the blood of cows infected with a form of this disease that was safe for humans (the word “vaccine” comes from the Latin vacca - “cow”).
After a successful experiment with chickens, Pasteur developed a vaccine against anthrax. Preventing this disease in livestock saved the French government huge amounts of money. Pasteur was given a lifetime pension and was elected to the French Academy of Sciences.
Mad Dogs
In 1881, the scientist witnessed the death of a five-year-old girl, bitten by a rabid dog. What he saw amazed Pasteur so much that he began to create a vaccine against this disease with great zeal. Unlike most microorganisms with which the scientist had to deal before, the rabies virus could not exist on its own - the pathogen lived only in brain cells. How to obtain a weakened form of the virus - this question worried the scientist. Pasteur spent days and nights in the laboratory, infecting rabbits with rabies and then dissecting their brains. He personally collected the saliva of sick animals directly from the mouth.
The professor personally collected the saliva of rabid animals directly from the mouth Photo: www.globallookpress.com Relatives seriously feared for the professor’s health - it left much to be desired even without unbearable stress. 13 years earlier, when Pasteur was only 45, he suffered a severe stroke, which turned the scientist into an invalid. He never recovered from the illness - his arm remained paralyzed and his leg dragged. But this did not stop Pasteur from making the greatest discovery of his life. He created a vaccine against rabies from dried rabbit brains.
The scientist did not risk conducting tests on humans until the mother of a boy who had been severely bitten by a rabid dog contacted him. The child had no chance to survive, and then the scientist decided to inject him with a vaccine. The child recovered. Then, thanks to Pasteur's vaccine, 16 peasants who were bitten by a rabid wolf were saved. Since then, the effectiveness of rabies vaccinations has no longer been questioned.
Pasteur died in 1895 at the age of 72. For his services he received about 200 orders. Pasteur received awards from almost all countries of the world.
Greetings to regular and new readers! Friends, this informative article contains basic information about the French microbiologist and chemist.
Everyone knows the word “pasteurization”. It is a process of controlled heat treatment of foods to kill bacteria and other microorganisms.
No housewife can do without pasteurization when canning vegetables and fruits at home.
Without this process will not be able to work food industry and winemakers around the world. Thanks to the scientist's discovery, it became possible to preserve food for long term and saving people from hunger.
Pasteurization is the amazing discovery of Louis Pasteur. We will talk about this man today.
Childhood and youth
Louis was born on December 27, 1822 (zodiac sign - Capricorn) in the city of Dole, in eastern France. Louis was the son of a tanner. The father dreamed of giving his son a decent education.
When Pasteur was 5 years old, his family moved to the city of Arbois, 437 kilometers from Paris. Here his father opened a leather workshop, and Pasteur Jr. began his studies at college.
In his studies, the boy was distinguished by perseverance and diligence, surprising all teachers. After graduating from college, Louis worked as a junior teacher in Besançon.
Then he moved to Paris to enter the Ecole Normale Supérieure. In 1843, he easily passed the entrance exams and, four years later, received a diploma. Many years later, Louis will become the academic director of this prestigious school.
Bachelor of Arts
The young man was talented in painting. As a teenager, he painted wonderful portraits of his mother, sisters and friends. For his results in painting, Pasteur received a Bachelor of Arts degree, his name was included in reference books as a great portrait painter of the 19th century. But the young man made a firm decision to devote himself to science.
Scientific discoveries (briefly)
- 1846 - The structure of tartaric acid crystals was discovered.
- 1861 – Method of preservation discovered liquid products by heat treatment. Hereafter called pasteurization.
- 1865 – Found effective methods control of silkworm diseases. Sericulture saved!
- 1876 – Immunology. In the process of researching infectious diseases, he established that diseases are caused by pathogens of a certain kind.
- 1881 – Vaccine against anthrax developed
- 1885 – Rabies vaccine.
Personal life
In 1848, the young scientist began working at the University of Strasbourg. Here he studied fermentation processes, which later brought him worldwide fame.
One day, while visiting the rector, he met his daughter, Marie. A week later Louis written request he asked the rector for his daughter's hand in marriage. The happy young man received consent. A year later, Louis and Marie Lauren got married and lived for 46 long years.
A loving wife was an assistant and reliable support for her husband. The couple had five children. But, unfortunately, the lives of three were taken by typhoid fever. These personal tragedies will force the scientist to search for a cure against contagious infections. And many years later he will discover a life-saving vaccine! The scientist was a sincerely believing Catholic.
Illness and death
In the prime of his life (45 years old), the scientist became disabled. After the stroke, his arm and leg did not move, but the microbiologist continued to work hard. Over the next 27 years, he suffered a series of strokes. The brilliant scientist died of uremia. This happened in September 1895. He was 72 years old.
Louis Pasteur was buried in Notre-Dame de Paris. Later his remains were transferred to the Pasteur Institute. More than 2,000 streets in cities around the world are named after him.
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