A Civic Biology, Presented in Problems

by George W. Hunter

Louis Pasteur.—The one man who, in biological science, did more than any other to directly benefit mankind was Louis Pasteur. Born in 1822, in the mountains near the border of northeastern France, he spent the early part of his life as a normal boy, fond of fishing and not very partial to study. He inherited from his father, however, a fine character and grim determination, so that when he became interested in scientific pursuits he settled down to work with enthusiasm and energy.

At the age of twenty-five he became well known throughout France as a physicist. Shortly after this he became interested in the tiny plants we call bacteria, and it was in the field of bacteriology that he became most famous. First as professor at Strassburg and at Lille, later as director of scientific studies in the École Normale at Paris, he showed his interest in the application of his discoveries to human welfare.

In 1857 Pasteur showed that fermentation was due to the presence of bacteria, it having been thought up to this time that it was a purely chemical process. This discovery led to very practical ends, for France was a great wine-producing country, and with a knowledge of the cause of fermentation many of the diseases which spoiled wine were checked.

In 1865-1868 Pasteur turned his attention to a silkworm disease which threatened to wipe out the silk industry of France and Italy. He found that this disease was caused by bacteria. After a careful study of the case he made certain recommendations which, when carried out, resulted in the complete overthrow of the disease and the saving of millions of dollars to the poor people of France and Italy.

The greatest service to mankind came later in his life when he applied certain of his discoveries to the treatment of disease. First experimenting upon chickens and later with cattle, he proved that by making a virus (poison) from the germs which caused certain diseases he could reduce this virus to any desired strength. He then inoculated the animals with the virus of reduced strength, giving the inoculated animals a mild attack of the disease, and found that this made them immune from future attacks. This discovery, first applied to chicken cholera, laid the foundation for all future work in the uses of serums, vaccines, and antitoxins.

Pasteur was perhaps the best known through his study of rabies. The great Pasteur Institute, founded by popular subscriptions from all over the world, has successfully treated over 22,000 cases of rabies with a death rate of less than 1 per cent. But more than that it has been the place where Roux, a fellow worker with Pasteur, discovered the antitoxin for diphtheria which has resulted in the saving of thousands of human lives. Here also have been established the principles of inoculation against bubonic plague, lockjaw, and other germ diseases.

Pasteur died in 1895 at the age of seventy-three, "the most perfect man in the realm of science," a man beloved by his countrymen and honored by the entire world.

Robert Koch.

Robert Koch.—Another name associated with the battle against disease germs is that of Robert Koch. Born in Klausthal, Hanover, in 1843, he later became a practicing physician, and about 1880 was called to Berlin to become a member of the sanitary commission and professor in the school of medicine. In 1881 he discovered the germ that causes tuberculosis and two years later the germ that causes Asiatic cholera. His later work has been directed toward the discovery of a cure for tuberculosis and other germ diseases. As yet, however, no certain cure seems to have been found.