Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 344. 340. The Battle of the Giants

In history, Pasteur and Koch can definitely be called the two giants in the field of microbiology.

Like other academics, they argue with each other and produce scientific results.In addition to the similar research fields, the relationship between the two also has a layer of national hatred and family hatred.

The Franco-Prussian War in 1870 turned the pro-German attitude of Pasteur's youth into irreconcilable hatred.This hatred was directly reflected in the attitude towards Prussian scholars, of which Koch was typical.

Koch was much younger than Pasteur, and his starting point was also low. He was a military doctor on the Prussian side during the war, but his status as a country doctor did not allow him to challenge Pasteur directly.Even though he held the result of "isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis" in his hand at that time, he was still repeatedly questioned by Pasteur about various loopholes in the experimental verification.

In the eyes of outsiders, the tit-for-tat competition and debate between the two even extended to their respective collaborators.At the end of the evolution, the two camps began to engage in various fierce confrontations verbally or in letters.

People may think that such a competitive relationship is not healthy, and may cause internal friction among scientists, which is not conducive to research.

But in fact, both of them have a strong competitive spirit, and even their life mottos and mottos are very similar.Pasteur is simply the word "work", while Koch is "never do nothing, and practice it thoroughly".

The fiercer the competition, the more they can drive them to catch up with each other. Finally, the two major French and German bacterial and microbiological research schools will be carried forward and become complements to each other's theories.

The results of these scholars' repeated "noisy" have directly affected the basic direction of the entire human race against infectious diseases.

It is now the end of 1866. According to historical development, there are still 4 years before Pasteur hated Prussia, and 10 years before Koch officially published the first bacteria-related paper to stimulate Pasteur to officially enter the medical field. It was 15 years before people met at the International Medical Congress in London.

As long as we wait for the wheel of history to move forward, all these will come true one by one.

But Carvey couldn't wait.

In fact, Pasteur has always put his energy in the field of chemistry, and has little research on human and animal diseases. At least in 66, he just came into contact with "pepper disease", which is a disease that can cause the sericulture industry to lose [-] million francs every year. silkworm disease.

This disease will cause brown and black spots to grow on the diseased silkworms, as if they are covered with pepper powder, hence the name.

Last year, Pasteur was invited to Arras, an important silkworm breeding town, and he is now researching the disease, which seems to have some clues.

But the experimental research report sent by Carvey interrupted his train of thought, and even shocked him: "Dr. Carvey, I have to admit that this report almost reveals spleen blood disease, which is the above-mentioned disease. The whole process of the onset of 'Anthrax' was written."

"As a great man in the field of microbiology, your low-temperature sterilization method has benefited me and my experimental team a lot." Carvey was a little excited when he saw Pasteur for the first time. Negative makes me more convinced of the importance of disinfection before and after surgery."

As someone who is also not interested in money, Carvey knows exactly what the other party likes.

The affirmation and admiration of his younger generations, and the application of his research results to all walks of life is the best meeting ceremony.This can greatly offset the various shocks brought about by this research report, and it can make him feel better.

"I've heard about some of your deeds, especially the high-temperature cooking of surgical instruments. Although it was inspired by me, I think Dr. Joseph Lister's disinfection method is also very good."

"I corresponded with Dr. Lister, and he introduced carbolic acid, and I introduced high-strength alcohol."

"That's right, it's good to have such insight at such a young age." Pasteur was still looking at the experimental report in his hand: "I didn't expect Austria's research on microbes to have reached this point. Who is this Robert Koch?" What a strange name, a professor at the Vienna Medical School?"

"No, he just finished his MD at the University of Göttingen and is now working in my laboratory."

"Just graduated?" Pasteur couldn't believe his ears. "A doctoral student who just graduated can do such a research in just half a year? Talents from Prussia are really against the sky."

"Ah..." Carvey smiled, but still couldn't help correcting, "In fact, he is not a Prussian."

"Not a Prussian?"

"Harz, where he was born, belongs to the German Confederation, and his father and grandfather have always supervised the local mining company."

Pasteur had no interest in geopolitics, and believed that the differences between countries only stayed in the differences in language.He nodded and said: "I went to the German Confederation more than ten years ago. Although it is not yet a country, it has ushered in economic changes."

"Economic change also requires administrative command," Carvey said. "Even if Austria has just been defeated by Prussia, it still has absolute dominance there. So strictly speaking, Koch should be an Austrian." Incorporated into Prussia after the war, so became German)

"Well, Austria, a beautiful country. You must know that the French are extremely picky about foreign affairs, and they also have a lot of prejudice. Especially after the French-Austrian War, Austria was devalued by them.

But I don't think so, the Austrian military uniform is very decent, and the officer's uniform can even be fascinating. "

Pasteur said with a smile, "I stayed in Vienna for a few days. At first I was worried that my German was not good enough and I might encounter many troubles. When you ask for directions, you can get accurate and polite French answers.

With the help of these good-hearted people, I have seen this charming city, reveled in the magnificent hotels built in it, moved by the most admirable masterpiece of Canova, the carved tombstone of the Grand Duchess Marie-Christina, the magnificent theater in the theater. Beethoven symphonies."

When people get older, it is easy to recall bitterness and sweetness, and Carvey has a deep understanding of this.

"What do Professor Pasteur think of the experiment?" He asked, "If even Professor Pasteur can't find any mistakes, I think this report can be directly published in major medical journals."

In history, Koch took many detours, and it took five or six years to figure out the cause of anthrax.

But now Carvey has directly opened up a shortcut, and every experiment is providing him with conclusions and avoiding doubts.Coupled with the affirmation and praise of Pasteur and his scientific research achievements at the end, the 44-year-old middle-aged man couldn't find any mistakes for a while.

"The experiment was perfect, at least I didn't find any logical errors in it after reading it. But"

Pasteur was silent for a moment, but he still said: "As far as I know, the first person who found tiny bacteria in anthrax sheep was the biologist Professor Pierre Heyer.

He mentioned a similar experimental method in the article "Propagation of Spleen Blood Disease" published in "Proceedings and Meeting Minutes of the Biological Society" in 1850. Although the conclusion is still some distance from the results of this report, he should be The first person to discover the anthrax bacterium. "

"Is there such a thing?" Carvey still doesn't quite understand Pasteur's obsession with the title of "first discoverer", thinking that it is really what he said, "Does the professor have this report here?"

"have". 2
But after Carvey quickly scanned the paper, he shook his head helplessly: "Professor Haye did find something in sheep blood, but he didn't clearly point out that it was bacteria. And he didn't know what these substances meant, I did not continue to do research, otherwise I would not have missed his next related research papers."

"It's a French paper, and it doesn't have much to do with human medicine."

Pasteur avoids the facts, implying that it is entirely possible that Carvey may have missed a not-so-remarkable document.However, in Carvey’s view, the main reason why the discovery of Bacillus anthrax is attributed to Koch, whether it was the discovery or later historical evaluation, is that the discussion is complete enough.

"I don't think it's really a discovery just to point out something special."

Carvey explained: "Otherwise, Professor Jakob Heinle from Berlin should have been earlier. In his "Pathological Investigations" published in 1840, he proposed that epidemic diseases may be caused by some microorganisms. Oh , By the way, Professor Henle has also elaborated on the fermentation of alcohol and other foods based on microbial assumptions."

Even such a giant still has many shortcomings, Pasteur scratched the tip of his nose with his fingers, but couldn't find any refutation for a while.

Because "Fermentation" and "Combating Fermentation" are Pasteur's most proud treatises, Carvey almost denied his research with the same words.But he knew very well that the so-called elaboration in 1840 was not a discovery in the true sense at all, and it was not tenable at all.

The discovery and research of anthrax has always been a key topic for biologists, because tens of thousands of cattle and sheep die from this disease every year all over the world.

In addition to the aforementioned Professor Heyer, Pasteur alone knew of Delafond, Heyer's assistant Daveen, and the famous German scholar Berland, all of whom were well-known biologists in France and Germany.Carvey and Koch's research is based on their suspicions and experimental conclusions, and it is definitely not right to talk about discoveries without them.

But if they insist on taking their research as "first", then Carvey will not agree.

"I'm really sorry, I made a mistake just now." Pasteur sighed, and said, "From a scientific point of view, this really cannot be such a hasty decision on the attribution of a major research achievement."

Carvey knows how important the existence of competitors is. Although the remarks just now are not polite, at least let the great man in front of him know that what he is facing is not an ordinary young scholar, but someone who has a deep understanding of the literature of various countries. figure.

"Professor Pasteur is right."

"...But as a researcher who has worked in the field of biology for so many years, I still have doubts about this experimental report that is only half a year old." Pasteur stood up and explained, "It's not that I doubt its authenticity, but that I have doubts about its authenticity. There are doubts about the strength of this young man in Koch."

Shortening the time from six years to half a year is indeed a bit cruel. Even a person like Pasteur who has been dealing with microorganisms cannot have such efficiency.

But the experimental process and conclusions are real, and Carvey is not afraid to question: "Koch only has this project. In the past six months, he has devoted all his energy to the experiment except for simple daily life. And there are also other people in the laboratory. Help, he didn't finish it alone, the report should have a signature at the end."

"Well, I saw it."

Pasteur glanced at the list, then at Carvey, and suddenly said, "I didn't expect Dr. Carvey to be so interested in microorganisms while studying surgery."

"I?"

Carvey just wanted to help Koch shorten the research time, and did not intend to leave his name.Moreover, there was no sign of him in the whole experiment process, and Savarin must be ranked behind Koch in terms of rewards for meritorious deeds.

But at the end of the experiment report, the second name is Carvey, and the third is Savarin.

"I just found an experimental direction for them." Carvey insisted on leaving out his role in it, "Probably less than 5% are related to me."

"But Mr. Koch does not seem to have written that at the end of the report." [1]

While Carvey and Pasteur were discussing the cause of anthrax, Liben and Safit were actively preparing for their beautiful future life.

They put on shirts and dresses that matched their status, made appropriate hairstyles, sprinkled some perfume, and met the aristocratic lady at 7 o'clock in the evening.

At first, the venue was agreed to be in the theater, but later they changed to a nearby restaurant because the theater was too loud. After an expensive dinner, the three began to slowly talk about some business investment matters.

Li Ben originally wanted to use a fictitious overseas mining company as a selling point, hoping to extract some investment from the other party's wallet.

Of course, if a fictitious company wants to become official enough, it needs some forged documents, and at the same time, there must be enough fake gems to prove the existence of the mine in order to be convincing.

"It was dug out from that African mine, and it's very eye-catching bright red." Li Ben put a gem the size of half a thumb on the table and explained, "The market price of such a ruby ​​exceeds 5 francs."

"Amazing"

"This is only the ore that was first discovered, and there must be some inside." Li Ben introduced, "This is an African geological prospecting expert. He travels between mines all the year round and knows the geological features inside. He also has a related Mining exploration report, which records in detail"

"Mr. Li Ben! I trust you to tell you the existence of the document." Saffite was a little embarrassed, "What are you doing?"

"It's just a report."

"The report document is a secret. I have signed an agreement with the company. Mr. Wells can only review the document before he can decide whether to disclose it." Safit said helplessly, "I have my professional ethics. If you do this What should I do?"

(End of this chapter)