Research


500 years of scientific discovery

1590 :  The first compound microscopes are developed in Italy and in the Netherlands.

 
 
1674 :
Dutchman Antony van Leeuwenhoek describes bacteria for the first time without really knowing what they are, calling them "animalcules" i.e. small insects invisible to the naked eye. He appears to have guessed they could be a cause of infection.

1774 :
 Carl Wilhem Scheele discovers chlorine, which some years later would be mixed with water or a sodium solution (Claude Berthollet's sodium hypochlorite, or bleach) and used for disinfecting (Antoine Labarraque).

 
  1796 :
The Englishman, Edward Jenner, discovers vaccination by injecting patients with cowpox (a disease in cows, related to smallpox but benign). The name "vaccine" derives from the Latin root for cow (vacca).

1847 :  Ignac Semmelweis, a Hungarian, notes that hygiene awareness in doctors' practices, e.g. washing hands between examinations, helps protect patients from contamination.

 
 
1865 :
Frenchman Claude Bernard, defines the fundamental principles of scientific research.
1867 :
Joseph Lister, an English surgeon, introduces the use of antiseptics, which he applies during surgery and for disinfecting wounds, using iodized products.
  1873 :
German bacteriologist, Robert Koch, isolates the tubercle bacillus, responsible for tuberculosis.
1879 :
Louis Pasteur discovers the principle of vaccination using altered micro-organisms.

1928 :

Alexander Fleming, a Scot, discovers penicillin, a powerful bactericide that would be later used as an antibiotic.
1938 :  René Dubos extracts the first known antibiotic from micro-organisms found in soil.

 

Louis Pasteur

Born in 1822 in Dôle, in the Jura region of France, Louis Pasteur demonstrated a gift for drawing. But his artistic talents quickly took a back seat, behind his wish to enter the Ecole Normale Supérieure. There, he devoted himself to science and quickly attracted attention for his 1848 discovery in crystal stereochemistry. In 1854, he was named professor of chemistry and dean of the faculty of sciences at the University of Lille, where he embarked on researching the fermentation process, discovering lactic acid fermentation and anaerobic life. In 1864 Pasteur proved that the theory of spontaneous generation was devoid of scientific basis; the following year, he invented a process called Pasteurization.

After working on silkworm disease as well as beer and fermentation, Pasteur began research into virulent diseases in 1877. Two years later he discovered the principle of using altered cultures as a means of vaccination, while addressing anthrax in sheep and rabies in human beings. A vaccine for anthrax was available by 1881, but it was not until 1885 that the young Joseph Meister became the first human being to be successfully vaccinated against rabies.

Following this discovery, which was acknowledged on a worldwide scale, the Institut Pasteur was founded with international participation. From research laboratory to hospital, from training facility to information centre for test results, the Institute combined all the ideas Pasteur had acquired during his life. After its inauguration in 1888, it was not long before Institut Pasteur was branching out into a network spread over five continents. All establishments continue the Pasteur tradition of service, public health, research and training, with awareness of the environment, and on an independent basis.
Louis Pasteur died in Marnes-la-Coquette on 28 September 1895.

 

 

Research centres

Throughout the world and particularly in Europe, there are many organizations dedicated to researching health and sickness prevention. The fight against diseases involves not only a scientific appraisal of how they occur and develop, but also a sound understanding of health, social behaviour, local customs and hygiene. The majority of these organizations, just like the Institut Pasteur In France, have a number of laboratories working in a wide variety of fields. Advances in molecular biology, particularly genetics, give hope for major discoveries in the near future, and the work of thousands of researchers and colleagues around the world suggests we can anticipate further developments to help combat modern afflictions.