germ theory

• spontaneous generation:

  • decaying matter created microbes
• pasteurisation:

  • Pasteur was French scientist
  • he experimented to learn more about the process of fermentation
  • prevention was achieved by heating liquid to certain temperature, to kill bacteria in liquid and stop it from going bad
  • this was known as pasteurisation
• • Pasteur used swan neck flask to help him understand more about bacteria
  • when air entered neck of flask, small particles (bacteria) got trapped in long tube
  • when flask was tipped and bacteria reached liquid, liquid would turn sour
  • this proved that microbes in air caused decay
• • Pasteur's findings challenged ideas of spontaneous generation
  • he published his Germ Theory in 1861
  • Pasteur was able to show that bacteria was cause of disease
  • he could not identify the specific bacteria that causes specific disease
• • Pasteur's ideas were not accepted in Britain straight away
  • many people still believed in spontaneous generation
  • Pasteur influenced Joseph Lister who made links between bacteria and infection
  • however, it was hard to seperate bacteria that were causing infection from those already present