what problems contributed to the confusion of the early investigation into spontaneous generation
Microbiology is dominated by evolution today. But look at any text, journal article, or the topics presented at professional person scientific meetings. Darwin is ascendant.
Keywords: microbiology, development, Robert Koch, Koch's postulates, anthrax, Legionnaires' disease, Darwin, creationists, biologists, scientific discipline, germ theory, microbe constancy, specificity, tuberculosis
Effigy 1: Photograph of Dr. Robert Koch (1843–1910). Koch was the "male parent" of medical microbiology and is known for his many contributions to germ theory, bacteriology, and tropical medicine.3
Microbiology is dominated past evolution today. Only wait at any text, journal commodity, or the topics presented at professional scientific meetings. Darwin is dominant. Many debate that "nothing in biology makes sense except in the lite of evolution" (Dobzhansky 1973). But it was non ever this mode. In fact, a review of the major founders of microbiology has shown that they were creationists.1 We would contend that a ameliorate idea than evolution and one of much more practical importance is the germ theory of disease, originally put forth primarily by non-Darwinian biologists (Gillen and Oliver 2009). In our previous article (Gillen and Oliver 2009), we documented these and many other creation and Christian contributions to germ theory. Simply only recently has it get known that some other of import microbiology founder, Robert Koch (Fig. 1) and his co-workers were Linnaean creationists in their classification.two This is due, in part, to additional works of Robert Koch that were translated from German to English. The twelvemonth 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of his decease (died: May 27, 1910). Although Koch and other German language microbiologists were fairly secular in their thinking, their credence of Darwinian development was minimal.
As Dr. Henry Morris stated in The Biblical Basis of Modern Science, "The basic compatibility of scientific discipline with Christian theism is obvious when it is realized that modernistic biology grew in large measure out of the seeds of such theism" (Morris 2002, p. 21). Christians, Jews, and not-religious scientists take contributed to the germ theory over the past 150 years. The basic history of the germ theory is given in many texts, most frequently giving credit to the experimental work of Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister, and Koch. However, the role of worldview, and the fact that many were Christian and creation biologists, is frequently left out (Gillen and Oliver 2009). This article seeks to illustrate how creation principles of microbe constancy and specificity helped codify and establish the germ theory. The successful application of the germ theory has saved millions of lives.
Most people are familiar with the tuberculosis (TB) peel test (also called the Mantoux TB skin test) taken prior to entering schools or the armed forces. Koch discovered tuberculin4—a substance used in diagnosing TB that is at present routinely used in TB screening tests. Tuberculin aids in manifesting an immune reaction (seen as a red wheal on the skin) to those that have been exposed to TB bacteria. Koch as well succeeded in isolating the dreaded anthrax leaner (Fig. two), condign the first to bear witness that a specific microbe caused a specific disease. From this classic report Koch developed four critical rules—withal in use today—relating one kind of bacterium to one kind of disease. Virtually every educatee in introductory microbiology classes worldwide memorizes Koch'southward postulates—the "rules" for determining crusade and effect of infectious disease (Brock 1999).
Figure 2: Photograph of Bacillus anthracis, the cause of anthrax.iii
Robert Koch is most known for his development of rules, or postulates that determine the specific agent of infectious disease. His proper noun is well known as one of the founders of medical microbiology. However, only a few people know most his knowledge of natural history and his Linnaean (creationist) classification of microbes. Koch and a number of other famous 19th century German microbiologists were very skeptical of Darwinian principles of classification, "transformation," "transmutation," and "spontaneous generation" equally it related to microbes. In this article, we would like to evidence how the historic, Judeo-Christian worldview of creation and Linnaean classification played an important role in hygiene and applications of the germ theory of affliction. In doing and so, we continue a theme presented in earlier articles (Gillen and Sherwin 2008; Gillen and Oliver 2009).
Robert Koch and His Legacy
Dr. Robert Koch (1843–1910) received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1905 "for his investigations and discoveries in relation to tuberculosis." In that year, he was too recognized for demonstrating that specific bacteria tin cause common diseases. Tuberculosis was the specific affliction mentioned in the Nobel Prize, but Koch was already known for many other accomplishments in microbiology and tropical medicine. Koch is recognized equally one of the founders of medical microbiology, the others being Pasteur and Lister. All of them were creationists. One of his co-workers and young colleagues, Paul Ehrlich (a Bible-assertive Jew), won the Nobel Prize iii years after Koch. Some other young colleague, Emil von Behring won the first Nobel Prize in 1901 for his work on antibodies.
Robert Koch'due south precision in his methodology and logic were valuable in finding the best technique for every specific case, such as providing special nutrient agar to maximize the growth for item leaner. Koch'due south genius blazed new paths and gave present-day microbiology enquiry its form. Koch's methods helped creation microbiologist Carl Fliersman discover the crusade of Legionnaires' illness. Koch's postulates were enhanced past his workers, Walther and Fannie Hesse, when they discovered a solid food medium called agar. The solid medium immune each individual microorganism present to develop into a fixed colony making information technology easier to obtain pure cultures of bacteria.
Shortly subsequently the publication of his investigations into diseases from wound infections, Koch was appointed to the new hygienic institution, the Department of Health in Berlin. There he started piece of work on some of the most important human diseases—namely, tuberculosis, diphtheria, and typhus. He worked on these investigations with his pupils and assistants, Friedrich Loeffler and Georg Gaffky. For all three diseases the specific bacteria were discovered and studied in particular. Koch started, or accomplished through his students, the major techniques used in medical microbiology. They would build upon the foundation of Pasteur and Lister. As the head of the German Hygiene Commission, Koch investigated the etiology of Asiatic cholera and discovered Vibrio cholera and the weather necessary for its disease transmission. Koch and his co-workers found practical application in the development of measures taken to prevent and combat cholera in Egypt and India.
Koch perfected methods of isolating, culturing, and identifying bacteria. He was able to investigate disinfectants and methods of disease prevention important for hygiene and give advice concerning the early detection and combating of epidemic diseases such as cholera, typhus and malaria. In addition Koch conducted of import investigations of malaria, tropical dysentery, African sleeping sickness, bubonic plague, and the Egyptian eye disease (trachoma). He besides tackled typhus recurrens seen in tropical Africa. Koch conducted work of critical importance concerning a number of tropical cattle diseases, such as rinderpest (known equally cattle plague), Surra (a protozoan disease also institute in horses), Texas fever, Rhodesian ruby water fever, and the well-known African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) transmitted by the tsetse fly.
Koch's Early Studies on the Natural History of "Lower Forms of Plants"
Prior to his famous studies of anthrax and TB, Koch worked with Ferdinand Cohn (a botany good in Germany) on the natural history of pigmented bacteria. (At the time, all bacteria were classified as plants—guild Schizomycetes.) As a trained botanist, information technology was Cohn who first established the classification of bacteria according to Linnaean nomenclature principles. In 1875, Cohn published this early classification of bacteria, starting with the genus Bacillus, and this somewhen established bacteriology every bit a formal scientific discipline (Gradman 2009).
During this same era, new ideas of evolution were creeping into biological nomenclature systems, and some Darwinists were suggesting that out of a primordial soup bacteria evolved—and from them came "higher plants." For example, Carl von Nägeli and other evolutionary biologists believed that bacteria could make dramatic mutations and easily change from 1 morphological type to another (cocci→bacilli→spirilla) in the supposed life cycle and evolution of shapes, which they called "pleomorphism." Koch and Cohn did not believe in "intermediate forms"—missing links in the supposed evolution of microbes. They saw prokaryotes and protozoa as distinct and separate organisms and clearly understood their unlike life stages. This included vegetative cell and endospore formation in bacteria. They investigated protozoan parasites such equally Plasmodium (malaria) and its different life stages. They had the experimental evidence to dorsum their claims, whereas the "new" Darwinists were speculating on what might have happened.
Cohn and Koch, on the ground of their improved methodology and experience with pure cultures, defended the view of monomorphism. Monomorphism states that the morphological and physiological traits of bacteria are constant, stable, and can serve for identification and nomenclature. Nägeli proposed that at that place must be intermediate forms of leaner—life-forms in between observable bacteria. Some of the earlier studies done by Cohn were washed on pigmented microbes—both algae and leaner. Nägeli suggested that ane form of microbe could transform or transmutate (evolve into another kind). In item he suggested that micrococci (small-scale, round bacteria) could become bacilli (rod-shaped bacteria) (Gradman 2009; Mazumdar (2002).
Koch completed some natural history studies with red pigmented bacteria on potato slices as agar was non yet used in microbiology studies. He chosen the bacteria Micrococcus prodigious. Although he could isolate both micrococci (probably Micrococcus roseus) and rods (probably Serratia marcescens) separately, 1 leaner never transformed into the other. Koch at present verified Cohn's piece of work that there were ii singled-out kinds of pigmented leaner and one never transformed into another (Gradman 2009; Mazumdar 2002). These are both red leaner, merely very singled-out and split kinds of "lower forms of plants."
Anthrax
Afterward this, his early studies on the natural history of leaner and learning from Cohn, Koch began to piece of work on anthrax. Co-ordinate to Mazumdar (2002, p. 65) in his book, Species and Specificity, the anthrax bacillus was the first and major case for Koch's statement of the constancy of microbes and their specificity in infectious illness. Dr. Koch's classification and natural history of Bacillus anthracis was documented in photomicrographs. During his studies on the natural history of B. anthracis, Koch also observed and documented anthrax spores. He saw spores as further prove of stability and constancy of species—a conservation of types (or kinds). According to one major review of Koch and anthrax:
"We must fix things, at least in a preliminary style, says Koch, and photographs are an first-class fashion to practise it. They will go rid of numerous wilde Schössling, shots into the air. Koch points out that this [photograph of bacteria in sheep'south blood] shows four types of micrococcus, with no intermediate forms. . . . Koch comments that if the bacteria are left in their natural arrangement and not mixed up, no intermediate forms announced. . . . [He and so shows a] group of mixed B. anthracis and B. subtilis, which form long threads. . . . B. anthracis shows spotting with light spots [when stained]; Koch notes that this distinguishes it from B. subtilis, which otherwise looks very similar it. They differ not only physiologically, just as well in appearance – they are quite unlike organisms. . . . Koch says these ii photographs [of different types of bacteria] allow him to remark on Nägeli'due south claim [evolutionary biologist and Koch rival] that staff shapes and threads are made by joining bacilli and spirilli, and that bacilli will break upon into micrococci [via transformation]. He emphasizes that he has been keeping his eyes open for this from the beginning and has never seen it. This is a matter of principle that must exist solved if bacteriology is to get into a firm basis: bacteriology stands or falls on its truth or falsity. His experience, says Koch contradicts Nägeli's" (Mazumdar 2002, p. 65).
During the last half of the 1800s, bacteria were suspected of causing numerous diseases. Men like Pasteur and Lister provided increasing evidence that bacteria caused infectious diseases such as anthrax, yet they could not provide the conclusive evidence. During this time anthrax ravaged European livestock, particularly sheep. In some fields more than x% of the sheep were lost. Since sheep were vital to Federal republic of germany's economy, an anthrax cure was paramount. Soon, both Koch and Pasteur ended anthrax was acquired by the bacterium B. anthracis (Fig.2).
Koch worked in a makeshift lab out of his domicile and used wild mice captured in his befouled. He injected them with the blood of diseased sheep and cattle. He then performed autopsies and noted similar symptoms in mice that he had seen in sheep and cattle. Koch succeeded in isolating the bacillus simply was unable to grow the leaner on sterile media (potato slices or gelatin). He finally decided to grow the bacillus on the aqueous humour from the eyes of oxen. Koch could then discover the bacilli multiply, forming tangled threads and occasionally sporulation (producing spores). Later inoculating animals with bacilli from the oxen's aqueous humor, anthrax symptoms would appear in a twenty-four hour period. Post mortem examination revealed the feature anthrax bacillus. Equally predicted, Jacob Henle's (Koch's mentor) postulates were satisfied—the cycle was complete. Koch took B. anthracis from a mouse, grew it in oxen aqueous humor, and so injected information technology into another mouse. He did this for 20 generations of mice to demonstrate that B. anthracis acquired anthrax.
In addition, he tried injecting Bacillus subtilis (the hay bacillus), a similar all the same distinct species, to show that it did not cause anthrax (Waller 2002, p. 109). Koch did this because Nägeli and Thomas Huxley claimed leaner could somehow transform (evolve) from one species into another. Koch (a priori) did not agree and tested his hypothesis of bacteria being stable, constant, and highly specific. He plant, afterward several generations of testing, that B. subtilis did non change (Waller 2002). This is an example of the logical nature of creation thinking leading to a quantum in germ theory and medicine. Later on 20 generations in mice, B. anthracis faithfully reproduced B. anthracis after its kind. In improver, he attempted to grow other spore-producing bacteria (such as B. subtilis) in mice, but they did not produce anthrax. He also documented the unique physiological properties of B. subtilis (Gradmann 2009; Waller, 2002). The bacteria did non change into other species of leaner. Koch concluded that specific leaner acquired specific and characteristic infections. From early observations that B. anthracis was somehow implicated in anthrax came the final proof of information technology being the causative agent via elegant experiments in 1876. This finding was solidified by research washed with Cohn in the late 1870s and 1880s. Mod evolutionary biologists acknowledge there are limits to observable changes in leaner. According to Gophna (2009, p. 549), "despite lateral gene transfers, leaner genera remain singled-out, suggesting limits to gene flow betwixt species."
Koch's Postulates and Anthrax
For the first time, these experimental methods enabled Koch and his co-workers to isolate specific bacteria and achieve a pure civilization for suspected pathogens. They laid the groundwork for Koch to develop a logical series of observations and experiments that would show the specific agent of an infectious illness. The series of steps worked out by Koch and others have get known every bit Koch's postulates.
Koch'south work with B. anthracis provided absolute proof of the microbial etiology (crusade) of an important communicable diseases. Moreover, he enunciated a valuable principle. Fulfilling Koch's postulates provides absolute proof that a item microorganism causes a particular disease:
- The causative microorganism must be nowadays in every private with the disease.
- The causative microorganism must be isolated and grown in pure culture.
- The pure civilization must cause the disease when inoculated into an experimental animal.
- The causative microorganism must be re-isolated from the experimental creature and re-identified in pure culture.
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Effigy 3: Koch's tuberculosis sketches.5
These iv "rules" were a landmark in medical microbiology because they could exist used to prove beyond a incertitude that a particular leaner was the cause of an infectious illness; non the mere association. Some bacteria may accept been the result of a affliction; not its cause (Brock 1961; Brock 1999).
Tuberculosis
Koch completed these famous postulates while studying anthrax, but the disease that fabricated him famous was tuberculosis. TB is a lung disease consuming alveoli and other neighboring tissues. Effectually the plow of the twentyth century, information technology was the leading crusade of death worldwide. In the early 1880s, Robert Koch was working with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Fig. 3). This organism was of swell involvement because researchers suspected it caused the widespread, oftentimes-lethal infection. Koch fabricated two important discoveries. He found a way of staining human tissue for microscopic test that showed G. tuberculosis cells as sparse blue rods on a brown background of homo cells. He besides institute that M. tuberculosis—a irksome-growing, highly fastidious bacterium—would abound on coagulated blood serum. With these tools, Koch set up out to prove that tuberculosis was caused by M. tuberculosis (Brock 1961; Brock 1999).
Figure 4: A German Zeiss microscope (c. 1909) similar to the one used in Koch'southward lab.half-dozen
Koch began by examining tuberculosis patients for the presence of M. tuberculosis. He found the bacterium in every patient—blue rods confronting brown tissue. Then Koch cultured the tuberculosis cells on coagulated claret serum, isolating pure One thousand. tuberculosis cultures that he and so injected into guinea pigs; they later succumbed to tuberculosis. M. tuberculosis could be cultured from guinea pigs; this fulfilled Koch's ivthursday postulate. Unequivocally, M. tuberculosis caused tuberculosis.
Of course, Koch's postulates cannot be met if the pathogen cannot exist grown without infecting humans. Koch himself faced this dilemma subsequently in his career while studying cholera. He discovered that a batch of V. cholera was present in all the intestines from all the patients he examined, and he was able to civilization the organism from the guts. Only he could not find an experimental animal susceptible to the disease. The third postulate was ultimately fulfilled when a physician working with Koch accidentally swallowed cholera bacteria and developed the disease. Koch's postulates are non the just route to determining infectious etiology. They are, notwithstanding, the best time-tested models for determining specific cause and issue in microbiology and parasitology even today.
Figure v: A German Leitz microscope (c. 1910) similar to the one used in Koch'due south lab.half-dozen
One reason that Koch was so successful in studying leaner (and later tropical parasites) was his skill and innovations in microscope lenses. Not only did he apply the best microscopes of his day, he also pioneered a partnership with Carl Zeiss and Ernst Abbe for microscope improvements. Koch visited Ernst Abbe for an substitution of ideas for improving the resolution for viewing bacteria. This coming together resulted in an oil immersion objective lens with a loftier resolving ability and was introduced by Zeiss, the German microscope company. Another German microscope company, Leitz, also made high quality microscopes and had Koch test them. Koch became the "beta-tester" for both Zeiss (Fig. 4) and Leitz microscopes (Fig. five). He used them in his microbiology and parasitology studies. These microscope brands had the best lens and illumination systems at the turn of the century.
Specificity Leads to Precise Diagnosis and Handling in Malaria
Although Koch is about famous for his studies in bacteriology of anthrax, TB, and cholera (peculiarly tuberculosis for which he received the Nobel Prize), he actually published more papers near tropical medicine. He made significant progress in treating two life-threatening parasitic protozoan, claret diseases—malaria and African sleeping sickness. He used quinine finer confronting Plasmodium falciparum, the crusade of cancerous malaria and atoxyl against Trypanosoma brucei, the cause of African sleeping sickness. (Malignant malaria is the common proper noun given to malaria acquired by Plasmodium falciparum).
Malaria is an acutely parasitic affliction acquired past protozoa of the genus Plasmodium and transmitted from human to man merely by Anopheles mosquitoes. It is one of the most common and widespread of all parasitic diseases. It would not be an exaggeration to call it the about prevalent parasitic illness now suffered by humans. Malaria is frequent and astringent in tropical and subtropical countries, but occurs in localized owned areas throughout most of the world. The disease is annually responsible for an estimated i 1000000 deaths amongst children. Perhaps one in every 10 people worldwide has had the disease sometime during their life.
Click paradigm to overstate.
Figure half-dozen: Life cycle of the parasites of the Plasmodium, causal agents of malaria. Too, Koch treating the disease with quinine.7
All species of malaria organisms pass through the same life cycle. Plasmodium has a complex life wheel involving transmission between several hosts. This circuitous life bike makes it difficult to develop a vaccine. There are two distinct phases: in the mosquito, where Plasmodium undergoes sexual reproduction; and in the human trunk, where Plasmodium undergoes asexual reproduction. A diagram summarizing the life bicycle is given in Figure 6. The life cycles of the malarial parasites have 3 important stages: the sporozoite, the merozoite, and the gametocyte. Each is a gene in malaria. The mosquito sucks human blood and acquires gametocytes, the form of the protozoan found in red blood cells (Gillen 2007, p. 59).
Koch was successful in treating patients with malaria using quinine; whereas its prior use had limited success. Why? He understood the life stages of the malaria parasite. In addition, his creationist view of species and specificity of parasites held for life stages, too every bit created kinds. In other words, there were predictable patterns that did not vary and that drugs specific to life form stages would be well-nigh effective.
Quinine had been the "miracle drug" of the day; yet, information technology did non always piece of work. It was frequently used at the wrong phase of malaria and sometimes made things worse. Many physicians only applied quinine when there was an active infection. Those cases that were latent—showing no symptoms at all—were non treated. Every bit a result some people who had latent infections would develop Blackwater fever. Blackwater fever is a grave condition associated with malignant malaria, but its clinical picture is singled-out. Information technology is an acute, massive lysis of red blood cells marked by high levels of hemoglobin and waste products in blood and urine. The urine is a very deep dark reddish color and an indication of renal failure. In recent years, it has declined dramatically due to the use of quinine for prophylaxis—Koch's idea!
Koch's piece of work on malaria was the result of his detailed diagnosis of blood samples. By observing blood cells, Koch could not only tell if a patient had malaria, but besides at what phase. For example, Koch could tell if patients had "latent" malaria—an ongoing infection without clinical symptoms. In add-on, he could tell how much of the drug to administer to a patient based upon the stage of malaria and its "load." He could give just the right corporeality of quinine and subsequently check the progress of the infection past re-checking the blood for the Plasmodium parasite (Knight 1961, pp. 126–127).
A brilliant proof of the success of Koch'southward method came in 1900. In Brioni, an isle in the Adriatic Ocean, about 300 people were threatened with malignant malaria (probably P. falciparum). All 300 were tested, but but 22% actually had the serious form. Subsequently diagnosis, Koch administered quinine in precisely the right amount and saved them from almost inevitable decease if not treated. In honor of this cracking success, the island erected a statue of his likeness (Knight 1961, pp. 126–127).
Koch studied the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma, which—like malaria—is besides found in the blood and spread by an arthropod. He understood that Trypanosoma brucei had variations in the wide African continent. One species of Trypanosoma only infected cattle (Nagana), while other species caused East and West African sleeping sickness in people. Koch understood its variation and subspecies in Africa; he did not see it every bit a contradiction of his rejection of transformation from one protozoan type into another. He did understand variation within a protozoan kind. He had limited success in finding treatment for African sleeping sickness with atoxyl, just also found information technology could be toxic.
The "Germ Men" Living a Century Ago
The study of microbial pathogenesis—the relationship between pathogenic microorganisms and the diseases they cause—began a footling more than 100 years agone, when Koch conclusively proved that a specific species of bacterium caused a specific human illness. Koch'due south success, forth with Pasteur's at about the same time, initiated a period of intense research. This period—from the late 1800s through the early 1900s—became known as the Aureate Age of Microbiology. Virtually major bacterial pathogens were isolated during this time. The techniques were fairly basic: isolate the microorganism, grow it in pure culture, and examine human and microbial cells under the microscope. Koch influenced many students, most of which were Linnaean botanists/microbiologists (i.e., each of them had a limited view of "evolution," rejecting most of Darwinism while accepting a degree of natural selection). Even today, the term "Linnaean" refers to "a hierarchical system of fixed categories," emphasizing overall carve up, fixed kinds (i.due east. taxonomic families) of living things, but assuasive for variation within those kinds via mechanisms like natural option.
Koch started a hygiene plant in Berlin, and out of it came many great microbiologists, including Emil Von Behring, Richard Pfeiffer, Friedrich Loeffler, and Paul Ehrlich. These were the "apostles" of germ theory. Equally a result of their influence (along with Pasteur and Lister), a "gospel of germs" spread to the Usa and health practices began to alter (Bulloch 1938).
Koch and co-workers held a view that was consistent with the Old Testament view of disease. The thought of specificity in diagnosing infectious skin disease (so chosen "leprosy" or contagion) appears to take its roots in the Bible. We read of many specific symptoms in the Levitical law and and so a pronouncement of clean or unclean. The diagnosis and "treatment" was prescribed by the Levites, who served as public health servants, or physicians, in that mean solar day.
Regulations about Infectious Skin Diseases
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a bright spot on his peel that may get an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to i of his sons who is a priest. The priest is to examine the sore on his skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than peel deep, it is an infectious skin disease. When the priest examines him, he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean. If the spot on his skin is white but does not announced to be more than skin deep and the pilus in it has not turned white, the priest is to put the infected person in isolation for vii days. On the 7th solar day the priest is to examine him, and if he sees that the sore is unchanged and has not spread in the skin, he is to keep him in isolation another seven days. On the seventh day the priest is to examine him again, and if the sore has faded and has non spread in the peel, the priest shall pronounce him make clean; it is only a rash. The man must launder his dress, and he will be clean. But if the rash does spread in his skin after he has shown himself to the priest to be pronounced clean, he must appear before the priest once again. The priest is to examine him, and if the rash has spread in the skin, he shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious affliction." Lev. xiii:1–8 (NIV)
Koch believed in the idea of specificity of diagnosis and applied it to present day infections and later parasites. Although Koch was never associated with "organized religion" or church, he was baptized as an babe in the Lutheran church building and did have formal organized religion classes when he was immature. Also, there was the influence of Cohn (his mentor in the natural history of bacteria) and his immature colleague, Ehrlich (who pioneered a remedy for syphilis), who were both orthodox Jews and seem to have been religious and familiar with the Bible.
Koch'southward Postulates Practical Today
In 1876–77, Dr. Robert Koch solved the mystery of what caused anthrax. In 1976–77, Dr. Carl Fliermans, a modernistic creationist, helped solve the mystery of Legionnaires' affliction using Koch's postulates. In July 1976, a mysterious affliction struck hundreds of veterans with an unusual life-threatening pneumonia. It became a national focus of an intense investigation that resulted in the discovery in January 1977 of a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that was found to cause the illness. The bacterium was named Legionella pneumophila. Nearly 100 years later on the discovery of anthrax, a new problem arose in the USA. In 1 of the about dramatic entrances of whatsoever disease into the public-health arena, Legionnaires' disease appeared at the U.Due south. Bicentennial Convention of the American Legion, July 1976, in Philadelphia. Nearly five,000 Legionnaires attended the iii-twenty-four hours meeting, with over 600 staying at the elegant but aging Bellevue Stratford Hotel. Even before checking out of the hotel, several Legionnaires began to feel ill with flu-similar symptoms. On Tuesday, July 27, only iv days after leaving Philadelphia, an Air Force veteran who had stayed at the Bellevue Stratford during the convention died at a hospital in Sayre, Pennsylvania. He was the first of more than thirty Legionnaires to somewhen succumb to a lethal pneumonia that the news media chop-chop named "Legionnaires' disease." What was the cause of this new disease? Information technology would take the Centers for Affliction Control (headed by Dr. Joseph McDade) to isolate a new organism, Legionella pneumophila. But, the CDC with hundreds of workers could not complete Koch's postulates to prove that the new found bacterium was the cause. McDade asked Dr. Carl Fliermans to aid in the investigation (Gillen 2007).
In the bound and summer of 1977 Fliermans described the ecology of the Legionella leaner. He was a microbial ecologist with DuPont and was on the technical informational board at the Institute for Creation Enquiry at that time in San Diego. Fliermans was the scientist who painstakingly and successfully isolated the causative amanuensis of Legionnaires' disease. He is a Christian who credits the Creator for guiding him in his discovery of Legionella. Proficient microbiologists like McDade and Fliermans considered pathogenic sources in nature, routes of manual to susceptible persons, and means of preventing the spread of pathogens. Their procedure illustrates how classical techniques are used to show and/or implicate the cause of a specific disease.
Since 1969, Fliermans had been conducting fascinating research on microorganisms constitute within thermal habitats, such as those at Yellowstone and thermal streams from man-made habitats. The leaner associated with these hot water habitats were oftentimes associated with an optimal growth temperature between 30º and 90ºC. These "thermopiles" (heat-lovers) were just similar the clinical isolates of Legionella. Armed with this information, Fliermans began looking in other aquatic habitats for the presence of Legionella. He found them living symbiotically in warm waters with freshwater amoebas and algae. For Fliermans, the question at present became: how and where does Legionella fit in the ecological setting?
Many at the CDC were puzzled regarding the origin of Legionella. Simply the epidemiological data led Fliermans to focus on aquatic niches as the bacterium's natural habitats. He was aware that some infections had been associated with people who had stayed in hotels that had old air conditioning systems. Legionella was establish growing inside clammy pipes that heated to 125–150ºF in the hotel's AC system. A biofilm (consisting of a mixture of algae, amoebas, and bacteria) coated the inside of the pipes and Legionella bacteria that grew in the biofilm became aerosolized in droplets and were carried through the AC system and infected people. Clinical data indicated a seasonality of infection that fit well with the apply of the Air conditioning system. Such a cyclic design was very similar to that observed for the growth of aquatic bacteria.
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Effigy vii: The investigation of Legionnaires' illness by Fliermans and his utilise of Koch's postulates.8
Figure 7 traces the investigation of the etiology of Legionnaires' affliction and summarizes Koch'south postulates. Legionnaires' disease was showtime recognized in July 1976. It was more than 6 months later before Koch's postulates were fulfilled and L. pneumophila was pronounced the etiologic agent of the disease. Starting time, if the etiological agent were biological, and then the agent had to be found to be regularly associated with the illness. Tissues from lung biopsies and sputum samples were examined for a recurring microorganism. A Gram-negative rod with a tendency to form long, looping filaments was consistently detected in specimens. Second, the newly discovered bacterium was isolated in pure culture in the laboratory. This necessitated investigating L. pneumophila's nutritional requirements and designing special growth media that would come across these narrow requirements for bacterial growth. Tertiary, a susceptible animate being was needed to demonstrate that L. pneumophila could produce affliction, particularly a respiratory disease like to Legionnaires' disease in humans. The guinea sus scrofa was that beast. L. pneumophila was recovered from infected republic of guinea pigs fulfilling Koch'south fourth postulate (Fig. seven).
Summary of Robert Koch'southward Work
In summary, Koch was a main of operational science but a skeptic of Darwinian evolution. Thomas Brock (1999, p. 286) says of Koch: "Koch was one of the nigh influential and dedicated medical researchers of the nineteen century." His motto, nunquam otiosus (never idle) expressed the essence of his life. His close friend and colleague, Ehrlich, placed him amongst the "princes of medical scientific discipline" and thought that Koch was an experimenter par excellence. Ehrlich besides stated about Koch that "Careful and patient observation, hard work and corking insight were the tools of his trade" (Brock 1999, pp. 286–287). Koch provided bear witness or proof for the causative agents of anthrax, TB, and cholera. He also did extensive studies on malaria, African sleeping sickness, and many other tropical diseases that had plagued both humans and animals. In fact, he completed more than papers on tropical, parasitic diseases than his more famous papers on bacteriology.
Koch approached his first major work, the life bike of B. anthracis and B. subtilis as a trouble in natural history, but he quickly discovered the practical significance of his work and went on (along with Pasteur) to aid control the disease. Although there was a marked contrast betwixt French and the German approaches to infectious disease, they were complimentary (Brock 1999). Pasteur and the French developed treatments for individuals, whereas, Koch and the Germans developed approaches for the command of infectious disease in populations. Koch emphasized specificity in the cause of infectious diseases; Pasteur emphasized variation of virulence within a kind. Both were creationists: Pasteur was religious; Koch was non. Pasteur was very public in his appeal and sometimes theoretical in his ideas, defective the "concluding proofs." Koch was private and usually emphasized precision. On occasion they cooperated, but, more than oft, they competed. They did accept a common friend, Christian and creationist Joseph Lister. All three were giants in microbiology and founders of a new field of medicine.
Koch was rigid in views, just he was right most of the fourth dimension. He believed in the monomorphic nature of bacteria (minimal variation); Pasteur saw bacteria having greater variation in virulence than Koch (such every bit anthrax bacillus that could exist rendered nonpathogenic by heating it). Both saw discontinuity in bacterial forms. Conversely, Nägeli, Darwin, and Huxley believed in a continuous line of bacteria life-forms from "simple" to complex (molecules-to-human development). These three men also believed in "transformation" of ane microbial blazon into some other (such as coccus or bacillus species changing into spirilla species).
Subsequently Koch opened the manner, other microbiologists and physicians discovered other specific disease-causing germs. The contributions of creationists Pasteur and Lister had paved the way for proof of the germ theory of disease. The application of Koch's postulates in discovering the specific agent in affliction would mark the pinnacle of the Aureate Age of Microbiology. Many bacteriologists consider 1876 to be the twelvemonth medical microbiology became a valid scientific discipline. Good science is marked past careful observation, repeatability of experiments, falsifiability, and predictive ability. Koch'south postulates' demand for proof of crusade and effect provided epidemiologists and physicians a framework with which to diagnose and treat infectious and parasitic diseases.
Thomas Brock (1999) says of Koch: "Organized religion never entered his life." It should be pointed out that it is very unlikely that Koch was a Christian. He was baptized as an infant (Lutheran) only was never considered to be religious nor did he attend church as an adult. He basically had no interest in "religion" and did non comment on it. He did cover a creation classification organization, which is why nosotros accept written the article. His early on teaching on "religion" as a school male child and/or the influence of orthodox Jewish friends (Cohn and Ehrlich) may have something to do with his traditional view of classification and view of natural history (Bulloch 1938).
Creation Thinking Leads to Better Medicine
Since the Fall, human has struggled to conquer affliction, 1 of the curses brought upon by sin. But only in the past century has humanity made significant strides toward curing and preventing these scourges. Today at that place is a failure of scientists to recognize and acknowledge the clear evidence of the Creator'southward paw in the world effectually united states (Romans i:xx). This was not the case just a century agone. There were a number of Christian and creation biologists that were founders of tropical medicine and involved in the discovery of microorganisms, vectors, and parasites (Graves 1999). Some notable scientists were either traditional Catholics or evangelical Christians (Gillen and Oliver 2009). In addition to Koch, nigh the entire school of "Germ Men" of the nineteenthursday century was composed of Linnaean creationists. Their lives were focused on experimental science as it related to infectious disease, only they were also influenced by a Judeo-Christian worldview of origins.
Today, evolutionary ideas are prominent in microbiology. Most secular biologists claim antibody resistance in leaner every bit an instance of "development in action," when information technology really isn't (Purdom 2007). This seems to be the majority stance among professional person biologists. They want to link On the Origin of Species by Ways of Natural Pick (Darwin 1859) with the origin of microbes from inorganic thing. Fortunately, the thought of biogenesis was proven by Pasteur, Lister, and Koch. Each of these men rejected evolution equally Darwin proposed it. They accepted natural option, and perhaps today they would comprehend natural choice happening with antibiotic resistance. Notwithstanding, this is not evolution in action; it is simply variation and a type of artificial selection.
Most of the founders of modern-day microbiology and parasitology held a worldview that was consistent with historic and traditional biblical teachings, including Creation, Abuse, Expletive, and Christ. There is no question that Christians and non-Christians have clearly added to the modern-day germ theory of illness. Only, sadly, today in that location are very few creation microbiologists within these ranks. The practiced news is that a group of modern-day creation microbiologists are emerging from the Microbe Forum (Purdom and Francis 2008), sponsored past Answers in Genesis. The forum's purpose is to present creation enquiry on the role of microbes in the globe. With a possible resurgence of the God-honoring biblical worldview, science might over again be blessed with more than medical discoveries that would increment humanity's quality of life (Mitchell 2005).
Acknowledgements
Nosotros would like to limited our appreciation to Dr. Paul Sattler for taking photographs of the microscopes. We wish to also thank Dr. Georgia Purdom for all her comments and providing feedback on earlier drafts of the manuscript.
References
Brock, T. 1961. Milestones in microbiology. (pp. 69 - 75). Washington DC: The American Microbiology Society.
Brock, T. D. 1999. Robert Koch: A life in medicine and bacteriology. Washington DC: The American Microbiology Society.
Bulloch, W., 1938. The history of bacteriology, New York: Dover Publications.
Darwin, C. 1859. On The Origin of Species Past Means of Natural Selection. London: John Murray.
Dobzhansky, T. 1973. Nothing in biological science makes sense except in the light of evolution. The American Biology Teacher 3:125-129.
Gillen, A. L. 2007. The Genesis of Germs: Disease and the Coming Plagues in a Fallen World, Greenish Forest, AR: Master Books.
Gillen, A. L. and F. Sherwin, 2008. Louis Pasteur's Views on Cosmos, Evolution, and the Genesis of Germs. Answers Research Journal (1): 43–52.
Gillen, A. L. and Oliver, J. D. 2009. Creation and the Germ Theory: How a Biblical Worldview Helped Shape the View that Germs Brand U.s. Sick. Answers in Genesis, Answers In-Depth, July 29, 2009 posted.
Graves, D. 1999. Doctors who followed Christ. K Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.
Gophna, U. 2009. Complexity apparently is not a bulwark to lateral cistron transfers. Microbe Magazine 4 (12), pp. 549-553.
Gradmann, C. 2009. Laboratory disease: Robert Koch's Medical Bacteriology. Baltimore, Md The Johns Hopkins Academy Press.
Knight, D. C. 1961. Robert Koch: Father of Bacteriology (Immortals of Scientific discipline Serial) New York. Franklin Watts, Incorporated.
Mazumdar, P. 1000. H. 2002. Species and Specificity: An Interpretation of the History of Immunology. Cambridge, United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press.
Mitchell, R. T. 2005. Evolution and medicine. http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2005/1122medicine.asp (posted Nov 22, 2005).
Purdom, G. 2007. "Antibiotic Resistance of Bacteria: An Instance of Development in Action?" Answers Magazine. http://world wide web.answersingenesis.org/manufactures/am/v2/n3/antibiotic-resistance-of-leaner
Purdom, Thou. and Francis, J. 2008. "Proceedings of the Microbe Forum, June, 2007" Answers Research Journal (2008): 1-6. http://world wide web.answersingenesis.org/articles/arj/v1/n1/proceedings-microbe-forum
Waller, J. 2002. The Discovery of the Germ. New York, Columbia University Press.
Source: https://answersingenesis.org/biology/microbiology/robert-koch-creation-and-the-specificity-of-germs/
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