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First Recognition: Koch and Cohn, Page 1 of 2
< Previous page Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555818272/9781555811433_Chap06-1.gif /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555818272/9781555811433_Chap06-2.gifAbstract:
Ferdinand Cohn was one of the first botanists in Europe to teach from living plants rather than from dried and pressed specimens. In his early years, Cohn studied algae, but by the 1860s he had turned to a study of bacteria. From careful observation of bacteria, Cohn concluded that different species of bacteria existed and that a morphological classification was possible. Cohn discussed Davaine's work on anthrax and other work that suggested that bacteria might cause contagious diseases. Realizing that Koch's work was of great medical importance, Cohn sent to the Institute of Pathology for someone to come and see Koch's cultures and observations. It was a fateful and dramatic moment, as Cohnheim was the one medical researcher who could not only appreciate the beauty of Koch's work, but could publicize Koch himself. Cohn showed that his spore-forming organism, which he named Bacillus subtilis, was resistant to boiling when spores were present, an exceedingly important discovery for the development of reproducible sterilization techniques. As Cohn's Bacillus subtilis formed spores in the manner of Koch's Bacillus anthracis, it was important to show that the disease anthrax was linked to Koch's specific organism.