Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Two scientists that helped invent vaccines:Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch

Louis Pasteur(1882-1895)
How does a vaccine work? This remained a mystery until the middle of the 18th century. Then, scientists Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch discovered that infectious diseases were passed on by microbes such as bacteria and viruses. So, they began a proper scientific study of infectious diseases. Pasteur developed a vaccine against rabies and antrax, as well as a procedure called pasteurization, named after him. This is still used today to preserve different kinds of foods, especially milk.
Robert Koch
The German doctor Robert Koch(1843-1910) identified the bacteria which cause tuberculosis, a dangerous disease which mainly attacks the respiratory(breathing) system. Koch also discovered tuberculin, a substance which is extracted from bacteria and which helps in the diagonosis of this disease, even when there are no outward signs or symptoms present.

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