who established the idea that microorganisms play a role in disease
Robert Koch Agostino Bassi
title: Germ theory of disease text: end caring for the sick. Searching for a cure, Kircher observed microorganisms under the microscope and invented the germ theory of disease, which he outlined in his "Scrutinium pestis physico-medicum" (Rome 1658). Building on Leeuwenhoek's work, physician Nicolas Andry argued in 1700 that microorganisms he called "worms" were responsible for smallpox and other diseases. In 1720, Richard Bradley theorised that the plague and 'all pestilential distempers' were caused by 'poisonous insects', living creatures viewable only with the help of microscopes. In 1762, the Austrian physician Marcus Antonius von Plenciz (1705-1786) published a book titled "Opera medico-physica". It outlined a theory title: Microorganism text: which he called the unseen creatures animalcules, and warns against locating a homestead near a swamp: In "The Canon of Medicine" (1020), Avicenna suggested that tuberculosis and other diseases might be contagious. Akshamsaddin (Turkish scientist) mentioned the microbe in his work "Maddat ul-Hayat" (The Material of Life) about two centuries prior to Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek's discovery through experimentation: In 1546, Girolamo Fracastoro proposed that epidemic diseases were caused by transferable seedlike entities that could transmit infection by direct or indirect contact, or even without contact over long distances. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek is considered to be the father of microbiology. He title: Agostino Bassi text: Agostino Bassi Agostino Bassi, sometimes called de Lodi (25 September 1773 – 8 February 1856), was an Italian entomologist. He preceded Louis Pasteur in the discovery that microorganisms can be the cause of disease (the germ theory of disease). He discovered that the muscardine disease of silkworms was caused by a living, very small, parasitic organism, a fungus that would be named eventually "Beauveria bassiana" in his honor. In 1844, he stated the idea that not only animal (insect), but also human diseases are caused by other living microorganisms; for example, measles, syphilis, and the plague. He was the son title: Microbiology text: certain minute creatures which cannot be seen by the eyes, which float in the air and enter the body through the mouth and nose and thereby cause serious diseases." In the golden age of Islamic civilization, Iranian scientists hypothesized the existence of microorganisms, such as Avicenna in his book "The Canon of Medicine", Ibn Zuhr (also known as Avenzoar) who discovered scabies mites, and Al-Razi who gave the earliest known description of smallpox in his book "The Virtuous Life" (al-Hawi). In 1546, Girolamo Fracastoro proposed that epidemic diseases were caused by transferable seedlike entities that could transmit infection by direct title: Microorganism text: bioactive compounds. They are essential tools in biology as model organisms and have been put to use in biological warfare and bioterrorism. They are a vital component of fertile soils. In the human body microorganisms make up the human microbiota including the essential gut flora. They are the pathogens responsible for many infectious diseases and as such are the target of hygiene measures. The possible existence of microorganisms was discussed for many centuries before their discovery in the 17th century. By the fifth century BC, the Jains of present-day India postulated the existence of tiny organisms called nigodas. These nigodas