History of microbiology

Question 1

what did aristotle believe about the origin of life?

Answer 1

in 300 B.C., he believed that life arose from nonliving matter: life appears spontaneously from the appropriate ingredients

Question 2

what experiment did jan baptista van helmont do?

Answer 2

the open container of soiled garments and wheat

Question 3

what did jan baptista van helmont conclude from his experiment

Answer 3

the wheat had disapeared, there were mice instead, so he concluded inert materials could propagate life, and that the spontaneous life could reproduce

Question 4

who first challenged spontaneous generation

Answer 4

francesco redi

Question 5

what experiment did francesco redit perform?

Answer 5

the cheese cloth covering the meat, and the uncovered jar and uncovered jars

Question 6

what was the conclusion of the experiment fransesco redi performed?

Answer 6

life can only come from life, but could not explain microbial growth

Question 7

who was the father of the microscope?

Answer 7

van leeuwenhoek

Question 8

what did van leeuenhoek call the microbes he observed

Answer 8

animalcules

Question 9

Who was the first person to describe bacteria and protists

Answer 9

van leeuwenhoek

Question 10

what did needham believe in?

Answer 10

SG

Question 11

what did spallanzani believe in?

Answer 11

life did not come from SG. instead, microbes come from the air and infect broth

Question 12

what were the three parts of the experiment of spallanzani vs. needham

Answer 12

1. broth heated and left to cool opened
2. broth heated, with lid always closed and allowed to cool
3. broth heated closed, and then uncovered and allowed to cool

Question 13

what was needhams response to the outcome of the experiment

Answer 13

you need the fresh air source for SG

Question 14

what theory did pasteur make

Answer 14

germ theory

Question 15

what was pasteurs theory

Answer 15

microorganisms fall from the air and grow if they fall on appropriate medium for food

Question 16

what did pasteur categorically prove (2)

Answer 16

life comes from life, germs are the cause of disease

Question 17

describe pasteurs experiment in 4 steps

Answer 17

1. he makes a glass flask with a gooseneck, which allows passage of air, but not of microbes, which fall straight down
2. once the mixture is boiled, no bacteria grow in broth
3. dirt collects in the neck of the flask
4. when the broth interacts with the dirt, then bacteria grow

Question 18

what did pasteur prove in animals that he did not prove in humans?

Answer 18

He proved that germs cause disease in animals, but not in humans

Question 19

who concluded that colonies are pure cultures that arise from one type of bacteria?

Answer 19

koch

Question 20

what was koch’s methodology observing colonies?

Answer 20

He used the medium of agar to grow them on, which stays solid and is not digested by most bacteria

Question 21

what was the bacteria koch obtained from studying anthrax

Answer 21

bacillus anthracic

Question 22

what are microorganisms responsible for disease?

Answer 22

pathogens