Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was one of the greatest biologists of the nineteenth century. He is credited with the discovery of the germ theory, using heat to kill germs in food products (a process now called pasteurization ), debunking the long held theory of spontaneous generation, and the development of early vaccines to prevent the spread of diseases.
Part of the Resource Center from the National Health Museum, this one-page Louis Pasteur biography includes a link to a page describing how Pasteur debunked spontaneous generation. "For example, a seventeenth century recipe for the spontaneous production of mice required placing sweaty underwear and husks of wheat in an open-mouthed jar, then waiting for about 21 days, during which time it was alleged that the sweat from the underwear would penetrate the husks of wheat, changing them into mice."
This one-page illustrated Louis Pasteur biography for elementary and middle-school students includes a huge collection of printable and interactive games and worksheets. Scroll down the page to find a printable Louis Pasteur Word Search, Crossword, Word Scramble, Study Sheet, Coloring Picture, and five interactive Louis Pasteur games housed at Quia. Scroll further for the excellent links section and a glossary of scientific terms. "Bacteriology: noun. A science that deals with bacteria and their relations to medicine, industry, and agriculture."
In their article on the scientific method, How Stuff Works uses one of Pasteur's famous spontaneous generation experiment as an example. It describes step-by-step how Pasteur Pasteur proved that germs could only come from other germs, and could not be generated spontaneously. "Pasteur's experiment has all of the hallmarks of modern scientific inquiry. It begins with a hypothesis and it tests that hypothesis using a carefully controlled experiment. This same process -- based on the same logical sequence of steps -- has been employed by scientists for nearly 150 years."
Although Louis Pasteur is not referenced by name, this one-page article from The Kitchn does a nice job of explaining how milk is pasteurized and why. "The process of heating milk to kill pathogens and prevent spoilage was developed back in the 1860's, but it didn't become standard until dairy farming became industrialized in the 1900's. As milk started being collected and distributed by centralized companies, the risk of contamination grew and pasteurization became a necessity."
"Pasteur founded the science of microbiology and proved that most infectious diseases are caused by micro-organisms. This became known as the 'germ theory' of disease. He was the inventor of the process of pasteurization and also developed vaccines for several diseases including rabies." This Pasteur biography is just one of a couple of dozen scientists featured at Zephyrus' Science Superstars site for middle-school students. Other featured scientists include Marie Curie, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla, and Charles Babbage.
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or try a FREE trial of the Printables ClubThe following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
Bio Medicine: Louis PasteurLouis Pasteur | The Life and Times of Louis PasteurWhat are Homogenization and Pasteurization? |
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