Bacteria

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Discovered by : Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
Discovered in year : 1674

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) discovered bacteria and other micro-organism in 1674. Leeuwenhoek was born in Delft on October 24, 1632. He was a tradesman of Delft, Holland. He belonged to a family of tradesmen, had no fortune, received no higher education or university degrees, and knew no languages other than his native Dutch. Yet with skill, diligence, an endless curiosity, and an open mind free of the scientific dogma of his day, Leeuwenhoek succeeded in making some of the most important discoveries in the history of biology.

He dabbled his hands in various professions including fabric merchant, surveyor, a wine assayer and as a minor city official. And at some time before 1668, Antony van Leeuwenhoek learned to grind lenses, made simple microscopes, and began observing with them. He seems to have been inspired to take up microscopy by having seen a copy of Robert Hooke's illustrated book Micrographia, which depicted Hooke's own observations with the microscope and was very popular.

His unique observations on micro-organisms probably began in 1674, when he examined water from a lake near Delft. He gave the first description of the common green alga Spirogyra but also observed smaller organisms, which were probably free-living protozoa. He was also able to isolate bacteria from different sources, such as rainwater, pond and well water, and the human mouth and intestine.

Van Leeuwenhoeks discovery of bacteria was not immediately accepted by scientists. His letter to the Royal Society announcing the discovery of bacteria caused doubts. However, upon the observations of Nehemiah Grew, the plant anatomist and Robert Hooke, the microscopist, the Royal Society accepted Leeuwenhoek as a scientist and declared him as the discoverer of bacteria."

Role of Bacteria in the Improvement Of Human Life

• The discovery of Bacteria led to many developments in the understanding of Animal Life.

• Further research showed that Bacteria are the only living things which can fix nitrogen. Therefore they are essential to all other life on Earth.

• Agriculture benefitted in terms of techniques with the awareness of Bacteria

• Bacteria are the major decomposers of dead plants and animals, so freeing their atoms to be re-used by other living things.

• Cows and other animals keep bacteria in their stomachs, as only bacteria can break down the tough cell walls of plants.

• Bacteria is used to turn wine into vinegar and milk into cheese and yogurt.

• They are increasingly used in biotechnology to manufacture proteins.

• Better understanding of diseases and it's control