posted
Over the course of today, I've written 1,161 words of what's meant to be a 1,500 word essay. I'm trying to get into a course at a community college. Most of that time has been research, with a little bit of time every now and then to get my mind off it.
I'm quite proud of myself: this is the first essay I've written in about 18 months, the research has been a brilliant introuction to this marvellous field for me, and it doesn't sound anything near as amateurish as the essays I used to write in high school.
But to finish it, I need two more microbiologists to write about. Really interesting ones. Can anyone help me? So far I've already written about:
Rebecca Craighill Lancefield Robert Koch Gregor Mendel Luc Montagnier Louis Pasteur Robert Gallo Alexander Fleming
Posts: 1138 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
OK, he wasn't a microbiologist, and wasn't even aware of germ theory, but Ignaz Semmelweis is a huge hero of mine, and he doesn't get enough credit for his work, theories, and for saving countless women's lives.
Semmelweis was the originator of the concept of surgical asepsis, and a passionate advocate and pioneer. Never fully appreciated in his lifetime, he was mocked and ridiculed for his insistence on handwashing between performing an autopsy on a sepsis patient and performing invasive procedures on healthy patients.
Of your list, I'm not familiar with Lancefield, and I wouldn't put Mendel in with the microbiologists. What's the connection with him? More a geneticist and gardener, I'd think.
Oh, and Joseph Lister, another (more widely recognized and appreciated -- my goodness, he had a mouthwash named after him!) proponent of surgical asepsis.
I guess I'm just a sucker for asepsis. An ounce of prevention is not only worth a pound of cure, it is also our best bet at saving lives.
And I just loooooved microbiology when I was in school. It was years ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. Really really good stuff.
Make my day, include Semmelweis.
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posted
"Of your list, I'm not familiar with Lancefield, and I wouldn't put Mendel in with the microbiologists"
It's more anyone who made a major contribution to microbiology than actual microbiologists per se. I'll look Semmelweis up.
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quote:Joseph Lister built on the work of the previously ridiculed Ignaz Semmelweis in the field of surgical hygiene. Semmelweis had failed to get other surgeons to take seriously his theory that the spread of many infectious microbes could be prevented if surgeons would simply wash their hands before performing surgery. The ridicule played a significant part in his eventual nervous breakdown. Ironically enough, Semmelweis died from an infection he received whilst performing surgery during the recovery from his nervous breakdown. Lister was more successful in putting across ideas regarding surgical hygiene, and even became famous enough to have a mouthwash named after him used by people all over the world today. I’m sure you can guess which one.
That's the final paragraph, so I don't feel too bad ending like that.
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posted
Nope, I think you got it wrong. Semmelweis never understood germ theory, but he was close. Lister made that breakthrough. Semmelweis thought that the infection was spread by contact with "cadaveric poisons" and maybe by bad smells. He knew that the infections were spread by the surgeons not washing their hands, but he wasn't sure of the mechanism.
And the infection that killed him was self-induced. He deliberately cut his finger and then exposed the wound to sepsis. He was in the midst of some kind of mental illness at that point, and very frustrated that women were dying in droves because he colleagues disregarded his theories.
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posted
Also, for an academic essay, phrases like "I'm sure you can guess which one" are bad, unless you've been explicitly told to make it informal.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
Agreed. For an informal essay, that's fine, but for an academic essay, you really have to try to resist those kind of catchy comments. A good rule of them is to never use the word "you". I can't think of an acceptable use of it in an academic essay. "I" occasionally will make an appearance, if you're asked to state your opinion, but as much as possible, stick with third person.
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