GOLDEN AGE OF MICROBIOLOGY

 ·       The Golden Age of Microbiology refers to the period roughly between 1857 and 1914, during which major advances were made in the field of microbiology. This era was marked by groundbreaking discoveries about microbes and their role in disease, fermentation, and other biological processes.

·       It laid the foundation for modern microbiology, immunology, and medical microbiology.

·       Key contributions in Golden Age of Microbiology includes

ü  Louis Pasteur - Disproved Spontaneous Generation (by Swan Neck Flask Experiment), Fermentation (Beer and Wine), Pasteurization (Milk), Germ theory of disease and Vaccines (Rabies vaccine, Anthrax vaccine and Chicken cholera vaccine).

ü  Robert Koch - Koch’s postulates, Introduced Pure Culture Techniques using solid media (agar plates), Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Vibrio cholerae and Bacillus anthracis.

ü  Joseph Lister – Antiseptic Surgery.

ü  Richard J. Perti – Petridish

ü  Fanny Hesse - Use of Agar in Culture media.

ü  Hans Christian Gram – Gram Staining Technique.

ü  Emil von Behring and Paul Ehrlich - Proposing the "Magic Bullet" concept for Targeted Therapies.

ü  Dmitri Ivanovsky and Martinus Beijerinck - Identified viruses (1890s), starting with Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV).

ü  Ferdinand Cohn - Classified bacteria and discovered Heat-resistant Endospores.