Louis Pasteur

                                             Louis Pasteur

 Do you like milk, cheese and ice cream? These foods can all be eaten safely by most people because of Louis Pasteur. Pasteur is still regarded as one of the most prominent chemists in history. Louis Pasteur's work in the 19th century still impacts people’s daily lives today.

Pasteur was born in Dole, France, on December 27, 1822, although he was raised in Arbois, France. Louis Pasteur was not a talented student in class and no one believed he would amount to much. Outside of class he was very creative and was always drawing. His drawings from his early life are still kept in museums around the world. While he was working on his doctorate he was doing scientific research. He then became a teacher.

While being a teacher, he proved that foods spoiled because of microbes, a form of bacteria. People at the time  germs and bacteria came from dust. He proved that bacteria was everywhere.This may sound basic but at the time it was very controversial. They called this his “germ theory.” His work in germ theory then led to pasteurization. Without his work you wouldn’t have to wash your hands and be sanitary.

One of the many contributions Pasteur made to the scientific world was pasteurization. At the time, wine was the biggest export from France and its economy was very dependent on wine. There was one big problem. The wine was spoiling too fast. Napoleon III came to Pasteur to ask for his help in solving this issue. Pasteur worked for quite some time testing samples, trying to discover what was causing the wine to spoil. He eventually discovered it was the same microbes that caused food to spoil. Pasteur then created a process of heating the liquid and letting it cool, to prevent the liquid from souring.  This process was called “pasteurization” after him. Pasteurization helped prevent diseases such as typhoid fever, tuberculosis, and even polio. People still use this process today. Pasteurization is why we can drink juices, milk, and make butter without getting serious diseases.

At the age of forty-five, Pasteur became paralyzed on the left side of his body due to a stroke. But still he continued his work. While Pasteur was working many people were dying because of a disease called rabies. This disease is contracted by being bitten by some kind of diseased wild animal. What was so deadly about this disease is that the person who was bitten doesn't realize anything is wrong until it's too late. Pasteur made it his job to try to solve this problem. He came up with a vaccine that he had tested on rats, but was very nervous to use it on humans. When a young boy was brought to him that had been bitten by a rabid animal he had no choice but to try the vaccine. It worked. From there, future scientists and chemists were able to make a more advanced vaccine based off Pasteur’s work. The most important thing he learned was that if you inject a weaker version of the disease into the infected person it cured them. This theory was not new but it did prove it.

In general, milk around the world is regarded as a healthy drink. People take it for granted that they don't have to worry about getting serious diseases when drinking dairy and juice products. Indirectly,  people around the world are able to have pets wit

hout being worried about being bitten and dying a slow and painful death from rabies. Pasteur's contributions earned many medals and honors. Pasteur’s work still impacts many lives to this day. Thanks to Louis Pasteur’s countless lives have been saved.

Links:

BBC Article