Ending Note

     Here I have jotted my notes for my concluding speech at the Pasteur Institute which I had my son read for I was too weak to speak to my delegates. 


"Gentlemen, you bring me the greatest happiness that can be experienced by a man whose invincible belief is that science and peace will triumph over ignorance and war.… Have faith that in the long run … the future will belong not to the conquerors but to the saviors of mankind."


------- Paris, September 28, 1895
I felt my body and mind breaking down, this will be my last blog. So to everyone out there, Work, and work hard because all I can say now is "I have done what I could."


Source: (info and quote): http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ni-Pe/Pasteur-Louis.html

     

Personal Life Overview

     I longed for the perfect childhood or hoped that my love for science would bring me good fortune. Everything I do in life is for the good of others, I never intended to receive pay for the many discoveries I had made. Simply seeing others being able to live and benefit from my works makes me content. Knowing that I do everything for a good cause, I do not understand why life has been filled with such tragedies.  Three of my five children died from childhood illness. My beloved sister, was mocked by others due to her mentally retarded disease that formulated from a childhood disease. 

     However, I was never brought down by such sorrow, death has motivated me to work for cures to spare others from losing their loved ones. I spend days in laboratories and libraries, researching, studying, and trying to find new information. I have been told that such contact with chemicals and exposure to patients could deter my immune system, however, I disregarded this. When I felt my own body wanting to give up, I still continued to work. I was struck by a brian hemorrhage and many strokes that made me partially paralyzed. Other doctors have encouraged me to rest as I often overworked, but still, I ignored this. Despite the awards and praise, I tried to remain humble, all I wanted was a simply life. Being a Christian, I saw no interference with science. I believed "science brought men nearer to God". With that being said, I can say that I have found joy in life from seeing other's happiness. Being old and paralyzed, I can only say I am ready to join my father and children. To my father, who I owe all my thanks:

"I have been thinking all day of the marks of affection I have had from my father. For thirty years I had been in his constant care, I owe everything to him. When I was young he kept me from bad company and instilled into me the habit of working and the most loyal and best filled life. The touching part of his affection for me is that it was never mixed with ambition...and yet, I am sure that some of the success in my scientific career must have filled him with joy and pride." 

Info: http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v14/i1/pasteur.asp

(quote): http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/ci/1992/Pasteur.html

A cure afterall

After success in discovering pasteurization, my next greatest challenge was to find a cure to, perhaps, one of the most common disease in humans: rabies. I have heard that in London, the rabies disease was so widespread that the government gave local authorities to lock up and dispose any animals that where thought of having rabies. This is what initiated my work in 1880. I remember clearly when I was sitting in my home in 1882 when I began to ponder how this deadly disease has come to be. For anyone who has never heard of, or seen anyone with rabies, it is a deadly disease that can be received when bitten by an animal who is inflected. I took a different approach to finding a cure, I started my experiments with animals. I experimented with different animals; however, the fact that I could not understand the difference between rabies and other diseases bothered me. It took me several weeks and much research to tell the difference between the germs reaching the brain and the actual bitting. Nevertheless, although this problem has wasted much of my time, I have concluded that rabies is different from other diseases. This is because Rabies could be treated only after the victim has been bitten. 

     In 1885 when I was at Ecole Normale on rue d' Ulm, I tested out my vaccine on a nine year old boy by the name of Joseph Meister who had been bitten many times by a rabid dog. It was frightening for me because I did not know if the treatment would work, however, if the boy did not receive any treatment, he would have died shortly. I injected him with 13 doses of rabbit medulla homogenate, one every day, and it was clear that the vaccine was a success; Joseph survived the illness. Then three months later, another young shepherd, Jean-Baptiste Jupille, also bitten by a rabid dog, received the same treatment. As as before, he survived without any other side affects. Soon enough, on October 26, 1885, I showcased my treatment results to the French Academy of Sciences and two years later, established the Pasteur Institute in Paris so that others could continue my research.

source: http://www.pasteur.fr/ip/easysite/pasteur/en/press/press-kits/rabies/louis-pasteur-and-rabies-vaccination

http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/louispasteur.html
(picture): google images

Pasteurization

     I continued to work towards finding processes that would get rid of bacteria. After turning medical practices around, I turned my focus to more common, everyday problems such as foods. The problem of spoiling has been brought up by my peers often and I decided to apply my microbiological techniques to industrial and agricultural fields. With the pasteurization process, I modified the process with broth and applied it to wine. When I boiled the wine too long, the taste changed. Therefore, I heated it just enough( at 55˚ C) so that the microbes would be killed. After, I took the wine and froze it to keep the microbes left from multiplying. This was mandatory since any contact with air would allow new microbes to enter the wine. Just as I expected, the method prevented liquids from spoiling and by using this, I was able to help industries and farms save milk, wine, and other liquids from spoiling. This technique, which I called Pasteurization, also prevented foods from rotting too. Again, I was called for help from a group of French farmers when the silk industry had a crisis with diseased eggs. He was able to demonstrate that by using a microscpe, they could identify the diseased eggs. 

source: http://www.experiment-resources.com/discovery-of-pasteurization.html#ixzz1EMmWM1WW

Spontaneous generation?

     One of the many problems I faced was with interference with the theory of Spontaneous Generation, the belief that living things can create itself from organic and even non-living matter. I looked at this issue with much concern as I have always thought that this theory was completely ridiculous. It was thought to be the Origin of Life until I have disproved it. I researched diligently for answers and came to enhanced the experiment performed by my dear companion, John Needham to show the error in Spontaneous Generation. In my demonstration, I poured meat broth into a long necked flask and heated the glass and bent the beck in a "S" looking flask. This was because I did not want air filled with microorganisms to get inside the broth. Then, I boiled the broth to show that no microorganisms had formed. After, to show that microbes did not give life to itself, I broke off the flask neck and allowed the air to fill the flask. Soon after, the broth turned into a cloud substance. My observations showed that microbes did not "spontaneously" generate itself from the broth, instead the microbes appeared only when they were in contact with the air. By doing so, I was able to prove the Spontaneous Generation wrong and to state that microorganisms gather in the air. 

Link to experimental demonstration (step by step) 

Visual Learning- My experiment slideshow

source: (slide) http://www.pasteurbrewing.com/the-life-and-work-of-louis-pasteur/experiments/louis-pasteurs-experiment-to-refute-spontaneous-generation/204.html

(picture & info) http://www.microbiologytext.com/index.php?module=Book&func=displayarticle&art_id=27

To whomever it may concern

Hi, my name is Louis Pasteur and I was born on December 27, 1822 in Dole, France. Much of my childhood life was spent in a small town named Arbois. Growing up, life was harsh as my parents barely provided enough being peasants. School in Arbois was banal, I did not try as hard as I intended to. I rather go fishing at a nearby lake than spend a day at school. Although many of my professors did not believe in me, my headmaster thought I had potential and convinced me to study in Paris. When I was 15, I traveled to Paris where I planned to study for the entrance exams. However, Paris was such a hassle for me and I was extremely homesick. My father came to Paris to bring me home. After studying locally at Besancon, I decided to venture to Paris again. Fortunately, I was accepted to the Ecole Normale Superieure. There, I studied and hoped to major in Chemistry yet although I spend much time studying, I was still not considered an exceptional student. However, I remember clearly running to my science teacher and telling him that I have made a great discovery, I was so ecstatic that I barely felt my body moving.

And so in 1947, I earned my university degree and worked as an assistant to one of my preferable teachers. I spent many years learning teaching techniques and experimenting with chemicals. In 1854, I had an urge to teach chemistry at the University of Lille where I continued to work towards my scientific goals. I continued to work on my theory on fermentation which I started at Strasbourg. I discovered that microorganisms, that cannot be scene with the naked eye, were the cause of disease and fermentation. This I have called the science of microbiology. I enforced changes in hospital practices to minimize the spread of microorganisms as they have caused bacterial infections which lead to death. After experimenting, I discovered the process of pasteurization, or in other words heating or killing of the germs, which saved many industries in France such as the wine and beer industry. Not only that, I also developed many vaccines one of which was against rabies. I have found that by weakening forms of the microorganism, the body would recognize the weakened virus, fight it, and be able to recognize the real virus when it takes place. About ten years later, I was given the position of dean of the new science faculty at Lille University. In 1867, a laboratory was awarded to me for my discovery of the rabies vaccine. It was known as the Pasteur Institute in 1888 and I cared of this place and kept it in operation as it became one of my greatest achievements. Much of my discoveries and research was accredited. I was awarded with France's highest decoration, the Legion of Honour along with many other distinctions. However, all these still have not yet satisfied my desires. I hope to uncover more scientific discoveries which can help benefit the world.“Whether our efforts are, or not, favored by life, let us be able to say, when we come near the great goal, "I have done what I could.”

Source: http://thinkexist.com/quotes/louis_pasteur/

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95dec/pasteur.html

http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/louispasteur.html