SCIENCE PROJECT
Contribution of scientists in the world of
micro-organisms or Micro biology
What are micro-organisms
A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is microscopic (too
small to be seen by the naked human eye). The study of
microorganisms is called microbiology, a subject that began
with Anton van Leeuwenhoek's discovery of microorganisms in 1675,
using a microscope of his own design.
Microorganisms are very diverse; they
include bacteria, fungi,and protists; microscopic plants (green algae);
and animals such as plankton and the planarian. Some microbiologists
also include viruses, but others consider these as non-living. Most
microorganisms are unicellular (single-celled), but this is not
universal, since some multicellular organisms are microscopic, while
some unicellular protists and bacteria, like Thiomargarita
namibiensis, are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye
Microorganisms live in all parts of the biosphere where there
is liquid water, including soil, hot springs, on the ocean floor,
high in the atmosphere and deep inside rocks within the
Earth's crust. Microorganisms are critical to nutrient
recycling in ecosystems as they act as decomposers. As some
microorganisms can fix nitrogen, they are a vital part of
the nitrogen cycle, and recent studies indicate that airborne
microbes may play a role in precipitation and weather.
Microbes are also exploited by people in biotechnology, both
in traditional food and beverage preparation, and in modern
technologies based on genetic engineering.
However, pathogenic microbes are harmful, since they
invade and grow within other organisms,
causing diseases that kill people, other animals and plants.
Micro-organisms a good devil
ADVANTAGES
Lactobacillus converts milk to curd
They are involved in the making of cheese
Acetobactor is used for production of acetic acid from alcohol
Yeast is used for the commercial production of alcohol and wine
Anti-biotics are manufactured by growing certain microbes
Some bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen and makes the soil fertile
They are used in the preparation of medicines
Yeast is used in baking industries for making breads, pastries and
cakes
DISADVANTAGES
Common ailments like cold, Flu and cough
Serious diseases like polio and chicken pox are caused by
viruses
Diseases like dysentery and malaria are caused by protozoan
Typhoid and tuberculosis are caused by bacteria
Ring worm is caused due to fungi
Foot and mouth diseases of cattle is caused due to virus
Anthrax a dangerous human and cattle disease is caused by a
bacteria
What is Micro biology?
Micro biology is the study of microorganisms which are
unicellular or cell-cluster microscopic organisms such as fungi
and protists and prokaryotes. Viruses and prions though not
strictly classed as living organisms are also studied. In short;
microbiology refers to the study of life and organisms that are too
small to be seen with the naked eye. Microbiology typically
includes the study of immune system, or immunology. Generally,
immune system interacts with pathogenic microbes i.e. microbes
that cause diseases. Micro biology is a broad term which includes
virology, mycology, parasitology, bacteriology and other
branches. A microbiologist is a specialist in microbiology and
these other topics. Micro biology is a researched actively, and the
actively, and the field is advancing gradually.
To start………Louis pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in
dole on December 27, 1882. He is remembered for his remarkable
breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of disease. His
discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the
first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments supported
the germ theory of disease. He was best known to the general public
for inventing a method to stop milk and wine from causing sickness, a
process that came to be called pasteurization. He is regarded as one of
the three main founders of microbiology, together with Ferdinand
Cohn and Robert Koch. Pasteur also made many discoveries in the
field of chemistry, most notably the molecular basis for
the asymmetry of certain crystals. His body lies beneath the Institute
Pasteur in Paris in a spectacular vault covered in depictions of his
accomplishments in Byzantine mosaics.
To continue with…….Ferdinand Cohn
Cohn was born in Breslau in the Prussian Province of Silesia. At the age of 10
he suffered hearing impairment. He received a degree in botany in 1847 at the
age of nineteen at the University of Berlin. He was a teacher and researcher
at University of Breslau for his entire career. In the 1850s he mostly studied
algae. In the 1860s he studied plant physiology in several different aspects.
From 1870 onward he mostly studied bacteria. He published over 150 research
reports during his lifetime. The University of Breslau became an innovative
center for plant physiology and microbiology while he was there.
Cohn was the first to classify algae as plants, and to define what distinguishes
them from green plants. His classification of bacteria into four groups based on
shape (sphericals, short rods, threads, and spirals) is still used today. Among
other things Cohn is remembered today for being the first to show (1876)
that Bacillus can change from a vegetative state to an endospore state when
subjected to an environment deleterious to the vegetative state.
To stay on with…….Robert koch
Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch was born in Clausthal, Germany as the son of a
mining official. He studied medicine under Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle at
the University of Göttingen and graduated in 1866. He then served in
the Franco-Prussian War and later became district medical officer, Wollstein
(Wolsztyn), Prussian Poland. Working with very limited resources, he became
one of the founders of bacteriology, the other major figure being Louis Pasteur.
After Casimir Davaine showed the direct transmission of the anthrax bacillus
between cows, Koch studied anthrax more closely. He invented methods to
purify the bacillus from blood samples and grow pure cultures. He found that,
while it could not survive outside a host for long, anthrax built
persisting endospores that could last a long time.
These endospores, embedded in soil, were the cause of unexplained
"spontaneous" outbreaks of anthrax. Koch published his findings in 1876,[1] and
was rewarded with a job at the Imperial Health Office in Berlin in 1880. In
1881, he urged the sterilization of surgical instruments using heat.
To see and learn with……Alexander
Fleming
Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August, 1881 – 11 March, 1955)
was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. He wrote many
articles on bacteriology, immunology and chemotherapy. His
best-known discoveries are the discovery of
the enzyme lysozymein 1923 and
the antibiotic substance penicillin from the mold Penicillium
notatum in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Howard
Florey and Ernst Chain.[1]
In 1999, Time Magazine named Fleming one of the 100 Most
Important People of the 20th Century for his discovery of
penicillin, and stated; "It was a discovery that would change
the course of history. The active ingredient in that mould,
which Fleming named penicillin, turned out to be an
When it was finally recognised for what it was, the most
efficacious life-saving drug in the world, penicillin would
alter forever the treatment of bacterial infections. By the
middle of the century, Fleming's discovery had spawned a
huge pharmaceutical industry, churning out synthetic
penicillins that would conquer some of mankind's most
ancient scourges,
including syphilis, gangrene and tuberculosis".[
Almost to end with..Edward jenner
Edward Jenner was born on 17 May 1749 (6 May Old Style) in Berkeley.
Jenner then trained in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire as an
apprentice to Daniel Ludlow, a surgeon, for eight years from the age of 14. In
1770 Jenner went up to surgery and anatomy under the surgeon John
Hunter and others at St George's Hospital. He studied his natural surroundings
in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. Jenner is widely credited as the pioneer of smallpox
vaccine, and is sometimes referred to as the 'Father of Immunology'. Jenner's discovery
'has saved more lives than the work of any other man
William Osler records that Jenner was a student to whom Hunter repeated William
Harvey's advice, very famous in medical circles (and characteristically Enlightenment),
"Don't think, try".[4] Jenner therefore was early noticed by men famous for advancing
the practice and institutions of surgery. Hunter remained in correspondence with him
over natural history and proposed him for the Royal Society. Returning to his native
countryside by 1773 he became a successful general practitioner and surgeon, practising
in purpose-built premises at Berkeley.
Last but not the least…… Antonie
Philips van Leeuwenhoek
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch tradesman
and scientist fromDelft, Netherlands. He is commonly known as
"the Father of Microbiology", and considered to be the
first microbiologist. He is best known for his work on the
improvement of the microscope and for his contributions
towards the establishment ofmicrobiology. Using his
handcrafted microscopes he was the first to observe and describe
single celled organisms, which he originally referred to
as animalcules, and which we now refer to as microorganisms.
He was also the first to record microscopic observations
of muscle fibers, bacteria, spermatozoa and blood flow
in capillaries (small blood vessels). Van Leeuwenhoek did not
author any books, although he did write many letters.
Acknowledgement
We the students of group 1
Prithvi,Sachin,Adithya.D.A and Harsha hereby
thank our beloved science teacher for giving us such
a wonderful opportunity and guidance to complete
this project successfully and we promise that we
shall present you more projects with more
information and inputs with the same enthusiasm
and spirit
