A Civic Biology Part 42

In the preceding chapters of this book we have learned something about our bodies and their care. We have found that man is able within limitations to control his environment so as to make it better to live in. All of the scientific facts that have been of use to man in the control of disease have been found out by men who have devoted their lives in the hope that their experiments and their sacrifices of time, energy, and sometimes life itself might make for the betterment of the human race. Such men were Harvey, Jenner, Lister, Koch, and Pasteur.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Edward Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination.]

Edward Jenner and Vaccination.--The civilized world owes much to Edward Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination against smallpox. Born in Berkeley, a little town of Gloucestershire, England, in 1749, as a boy he showed a strong liking for natural history. He studied medicine and also gave much time to the working out of biological problems. As early as 1775 he began to a.s.sociate the disease called cowpox with that of smallpox, and gradually the idea of inoculation against this terrible scourge, which killed or disfigured hundreds of thousands every year in England alone, was worked out and applied. He believed that if the two diseases were similar, a person inoculated with the mild disease (cowpox) would after a slight attack of this disease be immune against the more deadly and loathsome smallpox. It was not until 1796 that he was able to prove his theory, as at first few people would submit to vaccination. War at this time was being waged between France and England, so that the former country, usually so quick to appreciate the value of scientific discoveries, was slow to give this method a trial. In spite of much opposition, however, by the year 1802, vaccination was practiced in most of the civilized countries of the world. At the present time the death rate in Great Britain, the home of vaccination, is less than .3 to every 1,000,000 living persons. This shows that the disease is practically wiped out in England. An interesting comparison with these figures might be made from the history of the disease in parts of Russia where vaccination is not practiced. There, thousands of deaths from smallpox occur annually. During the winter of 1913-1914 an epidemic of smallpox with more than 250 cases broke out in the city of Niagara Falls. This epidemic appears to be due to a campaign conducted by people who do not believe in vaccination. In cities and towns near by, where vaccination was practiced, no cases of smallpox occurred. Naturally if opposition to vaccination is found nowadays, Jenner had a much harder battle to fight in his day. He also had many failures, due to the imperfect methods of his time. The full worth of his discovery was not fully appreciated until long after his death, which occurred in 1823.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Louis Pasteur.]

Louis Pasteur.--The one man who, in biological science, did more than any other to directly benefit mankind was Louis Pasteur. Born in 1822, in the mountains near the border of northeastern France, he spent the early part of his life as a normal boy, fond of fishing and not very partial to study.

He inherited from his father, however, a fine character and grim determination, so that when he became interested in scientific pursuits he settled down to work with enthusiasm and energy.

At the age of twenty-five he became well known throughout France as a physicist. Shortly after this he became interested in the tiny plants we call bacteria, and it was in the field of bacteriology that he became most famous. First as professor at Stra.s.sburg and at Lille, later as director of scientific studies in the ecole Normale at Paris, he showed his interest in the application of his discoveries to human welfare.

In 1857 Pasteur showed that fermentation was due to the presence of bacteria, it having been thought up to this time that it was a purely chemical process. This discovery led to very practical ends, for France was a great wine-producing country, and with a knowledge of the cause of fermentation many of the diseases which spoiled wine were checked.

In 1865-1868 Pasteur turned his attention to a silkworm disease which threatened to wipe out the silk industry of France and Italy. He found that this disease was caused by bacteria. After a careful study of the case he made certain recommendations which, when carried out, resulted in the complete overthrow of the disease and the saving of millions of dollars to the poor people of France and Italy.

The greatest service to mankind came later in his life when he applied certain of his discoveries to the treatment of disease. First experimenting upon chickens and later with cattle, he proved that by making a virus (poison) from the germs which caused certain diseases he could reduce this virus to any desired strength. He then inoculated the animals with the virus of reduced strength, giving the inoculated animals a mild attack of the disease, and found that this made them _immune_ from future attacks.

This discovery, first applied to chicken cholera, laid the foundation for all future work in the uses of serums, vaccines, and ant.i.toxins.

Pasteur was perhaps the best known through his study of rabies. The great Pasteur Inst.i.tute, founded by popular subscriptions from all over the world, has successfully treated over 22,000 cases of rabies with a death rate of less than 1 per cent. But more than that it has been the place where Roux, a fellow worker with Pasteur, discovered the ant.i.toxin for diphtheria which has resulted in the saving of thousands of human lives.

Here also have been established the principles of inoculation against bubonic plague, lockjaw, and other germ diseases.

Pasteur died in 1895 at the age of seventy-three, "the most perfect man in the realm of science," a man beloved by his countrymen and honored by the entire world.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Robert Koch.]

Robert Koch.--Another name a.s.sociated with the battle against disease germs is that of Robert Koch. Born in Klausthal, Hanover, in 1843, he later became a practicing physician, and about 1880 was called to Berlin to become a member of the sanitary commission and professor in the school of medicine. In 1881 he discovered the germ that causes tuberculosis and two years later the germ that causes Asiatic cholera. His later work has been directed toward the discovery of a cure for tuberculosis and other germ diseases. As yet, however, no certain cure seems to have been found.

Lister and Antiseptic Treatment of Wounds.--A third great benefactor of mankind was Sir Joseph Lister, an Englishman who was born in 1827. As a professor of surgery he first applied antiseptics in the operating room. By means of the use of carbolic acid or other antiseptics on the surface of wounds, on instruments, and on the hands and clothing of the operating surgeons, disease germs were prevented from taking a foothold in the wounds. Thus blood poisoning was prevented. This single discovery has done more to prevent death after operations than any other of recent time.

Modern Workers on the Blood.--At the present time several names stand out among investigators on the blood. Paul Ehrlich, a German born in 1854, is justly famous for his work on the blood and its relation to immunity from certain diseases. His last great research has given to the world a specific against the dread disease syphilis.

Another name a.s.sociated with the blood is that of Elias Metchnikoff, a Russian. He was born in 1845. Metchnikoff first advanced the belief that the colorless blood corpuscles, or _phagocytes_, did service as the sanitary police of the body. He has found that there are several different kinds of colorless corpuscles, each having somewhat different work to do.

Much of the modern work done by physiologists on the blood are directly founded on the discoveries of Metchnikoff.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Charles Darwin, the grand old man of biology.]

Heredity and Evolution. Charles Darwin.--There is still another important line of investigation in biology that we have not mentioned. This is the doctrine of evolution and the allied discoveries along the line of heredity. The development or evolution of plants and animals from simpler forms to the many and present complex forms of life have a practical bearing on the betterment of plants and animals, including man himself. The one name indelibly a.s.sociated with the word evolution is that of Charles Darwin.

Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, a son of well-to-do parents, in the pretty English village of Shrewsbury. As a boy he was very fond of out-of-door life, was a collector of birds' eggs, stamps, coins, sh.e.l.ls, and minerals. He was an ardent fisherman, and as a young man became an expert shot. His studies, those of the English cla.s.sical school, were not altogether to his liking. It is not strange, perhaps, that he was thought a very ordinary boy, because his interest in the out-of-doors led him to neglect his studies. Later he was sent to Edinburgh University to study medicine. Here the dull lectures, coupled with his intense dislike for operations, made him determine never to become a physician. But all this time he showed his intense interest in natural history and took frequent part in the discussions at the meetings of one of the student zoological societies.

In 1828 his father sent him to Cambridge to study for the ministry. His three years at the university were wasted so far as preparation for the ministry were concerned, but they were invaluable in shaping his future. He made the acquaintance of one or two professors who were naturalists like himself, and in their company he spent many happy hours in roaming over the countryside collecting beetles and other insects. In 1831 an event occurred which changed his career and made Darwin one of the world's greatest naturalists. He received word through one of his professional friends that the position of naturalist on her Majesty's ship _Beagle_ was open for a trip around the world. Darwin applied for the position, was accepted, and shortly after started on an eventful five years' trip around the world. He returned to England a famous naturalist and spent the remainder of his long and busy life producing books which have done more than those of any other writer to account in a satisfactory way for the changes of form and habits of plants and animals on the earth. His theories established a foundation upon which plant and animal breeders were able to work.

His wonderful discovery of the doctrine of evolution was due not only to his information and experimental evidence, but also to an iron determination and undaunted energy. In spite of almost constant illness brought about by eyestrain, he accomplished more than most well men have done. His life should mean to us not so much the a.s.sociation of his name with the _Origin of Species_ or _Plants and Animals under Domestication_, two of his most famous books, but rather that of a patient, courteous, and brave gentleman who struggled with true English pluck against the odds of disease and the attacks of hostile critics. He gave to the world the proofs of the theory on which we to-day base the progress of the world. Darwin lived long enough to see many of his critics turn about and come over to his beliefs. He died on the 19th of April, 1882, at seventy-four years of age.

a.s.sociated with Darwin's name we must place two other co-workers on heredity and evolution, Alfred Russel Wallace, an Englishman who independently and at about the same time reached many of the conclusions that Darwin came to, and August Weissman, a German. The latter showed that the protoplasm of the germ cells (eggs and sperms) is directly handed down from generation to generation, they being different from the other body cells from the very beginning. In 1883 a German named Boveri discovered that the chromosomes of the egg and the sperm cell were at the time of fertilization just half in number of the other cells (see page 252) so that a _fertilized_ egg was really a _whole cell_ made up of _two half cells_, one from each parent. The chromosomes within the nucleus, we remember, are believed to be the bearers of the hereditary qualities handed down from parent to child. This discovery shows us some of the mechanics of heredity.

Applications to Plant and Animal Breeding.--Turning to the practical applications of the scientific work on the method of heredity, the name of Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, stands out most prominently. Mendel lived from 1822 until 1884. His work, of which we already have learned something (see page 258), remained undiscovered until a few years ago. The application of his methods to plant and animal raising are of the utmost importance because the breeder is able to separate the qualities he desires and breed for those qualities only. Another name we have mentioned with reference to plant breeding is Hugo de Vries, the Dutchman who recently showed that in some cases plants arise as new species by sudden and great variations known as _mutations_. And lastly, in our own California, Luther Burbank, by careful hybridizing, is making lasting fame with his new and useful hybrid plants.

REFERENCES

Conn, _Biology_. Silver, Burdett & Co.

Darwin, _Life and Letters of Charles Darwin_. Appletons.

Galton, _Hereditary Genius_. London (1892).

Thompson, _Heredity_. John Murray, London England.

Wasmann, _Problem of Evolution_. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., London, E. C.

APPENDIX

A SUGGESTED OUTLINE FOR BIOLOGY BEGINNING IN THE FALL

LIST OF TOPICS

FIRST TERM

First week. WHY STUDY BIOLOGY? Relation to human health, hygiene. Relations existing between plants and animals. Relation of bacteria to man. Uses of plants and animals. Conservation of plants and animals. Relation to life of citizen in the city. Plants and animals in relation to their environment.

What is the environment; light, heat, water, soil, food, etc. What plants take out of the environment. What animals take out of the environment.

Dependence of plants and animals upon the factors of the environment.

_Laboratory_: Study of a plant or an animal in the school or at home to determine what it takes from its environment.

Second week. SOME RELATIONS EXISTING BETWEEN PLANTS (GREEN) AND ANIMALS.

Field trip planned to show that insects feed upon plants; make their homes upon plants. That flowers are pollinated by insects. Insects lay eggs upon certain food plants. Green plants make food for animals. Other relations.

(Time allotment. One day trip, collecting, etc.; two days' discussion of trip in all its relations.) Make a careful study of the locality you wish to visit, have a plan that the pupils know about beforehand. Review and hygiene of pupil's environment, 2 days.

Third week. STUDY OF A FLOWER, PARTS ESSENTIAL TO POLLINATION NAMED.

Adaptations for insect pollination worked out in laboratory. Study of bee or b.u.t.terfly as an insect carrier of pollen. Names of parts of insect learned. Elementary knowledge of groups of insects seen on field trip.

Bees, b.u.t.terflies, gra.s.shoppers, beetles, possibly flies and bugs. Drawing of a flower, parts labeled. Drawing of an insect, outline only, parts labeled. Careful study of some fall flower fitted for insect pollination with an insect as pollinating agent. Some examples of cross-pollination explained. Practical value of cross-pollination.

Fourth week. LIVING PLANTS AND ANIMALS COMPARED. Parts of plants, functions; organs, tissues, cells. Demonstration cells of onion or elodea.

How cells form others. What living matter can do. Reproduction. Growth of pollen tube, fertilization. Development of ovule into seed. Fruits, how formed. Uses, to man.

Fifth week. WHAT MAKES A SEED GROW. Bean seed, a baby plant, and food supply. Food, what is it? Organic nutrients, tests for starch, protein, oil. Show their presence in seeds.

Sixth week. NEED FOR FOODS. Germination of bean due to (_a_) presence of foods, (_b_) outside factors. What is done with the food. Release of energy. Examples of engine, plants, human body. Oxidation in body. Proof by experiment. Test for presence of CO{2}. Oxidation in growing plant, experiment. Respiration a general need for both plants and animals.

Seventh week. NEED FOR DIGESTION. The corn grain. Parts, growth, food supply outside body of plant, how does it get inside. Digestion, need for.

Test for grape sugar. Enzymes, their function. Action of diastase on starch.

Eighth week. WHAT PLANTS TAKE FROM THE SOIL, HOW THEY DO THIS. Use of root.

Influence of gravity and water. Why? Absorption a function. Root hairs.

Demonstration. Pocket gardens, optional home work, but each pupil must work on root hairs from actual specimen. How root absorbs. Osmosis; what substances will osmose. Experiments to demonstrate this.

Ninth week. COMPOSITION OF SOIL. What root hairs take out of soil. Plant needs mineral matter to make living matter. Why? Nitrogen necessary.