Biology: Germ Theory of Disease
What is bacterium?
- (plural:bacteria): living; unicellular prokaryote that can cause disease; can be killed with antibiotics
What is a theory?
- An accepted truth because it has lots of evidence to back it up - The result of many experiments to test a hypothesis - Can be changed if new evidence is presented
What is a hypothesis?
- An educated guess - Not true: just a prediction based on past experience - Use experiments to test -Evidence gathered during experiments either supports or refutes hypothesis
What is a disease?
- Any change, other than injury, that disrupts the normal function of the body.
What are symbionts?
- Carry out their life functions without causing an issue for the host
Who was Robert Koch? And what did he accomplish?
- Considered a founder of modern microbiology and bacteriology - Developed a series of rules to identify microorganisms that cause specific diseases (called Koch's Postulates) - First to isolate tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax - Won the Nobel Prize for TB. in 1905
Who is Louis Pasteur? What did he accomplish?
- Discovered fermentation of beer and wine is caused by microorganisms - Developed 'Pasteurization' for beer, wine, and milk - Developed vaccines for anthrax and rabies
What are the eight characteristics of living things?
- Grow and develop - Have genetic material - Respond to stimuli - Made of cells - Reproduce - Maintain homeostasis - Get and use materials and energy (Metabolism) - As a group living things evolve
What is a pathogen?
- Microorganisms that cause a disease (can be a bacterium, a virus, a fungus, a protozoan, a parasite)
What is a virus?
- Nonliving; can cause disease; antibiotics have no effect on viruses
What are microorganisms?
- Organisms that are very small and need to be viewed with a microscope
What are the steps of Koch's Postulates?
1. Pathogen should be found in the body of a sick organism and not in a healthy one 2. Pathogen must be isolated and grown in a laboratory in pure culture 3. When cultured pathogens are placed in a new host, the host should get the same disease 4. The pathogen should be isolated from the second host. It must be identical to the original
What is the Germ Theory of Disease?
Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms of different types, commonly called germs
What was Pasteur's experiment?
Pasteur helped to prove that life comes from life-- the theory of biogenesis-- before this people believed in spontaneous generation-- they thought things randomly appeared, like maggots on rotting meat
