Mrs. Goulet/Labovitch is on a business trip
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Lesson 10
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was the great French scientist whose work has saved millions of lives. Through careful study of microbiological organisms, he divined how these tiny "microbes" cause disease. His discovery that microbes could be killed through heating has people heating liquids, such as milk or juice, in a process called Pasteurization. Because of his work, hospitals developed more rigorous hygiene practices, which made them much safer places to recover from illness.
Pasteur was known as the father of stereochemistry, but his contributions to microbiology and medicine were greater. Pasteur discovered anaerobic bacteria and two silkworm diseases. It was he who discovered that if you take a microbe that causes a particular disease, for instance, smallpox, and make a weakened form of it, that weakened smallpox microbe can be used to fight off the stronger smallpox microbes. Doctors now inoculate people against all kinds of diseases and, for a time, had almost eradicated smallpox. Pasteur also invented the anthrax vaccine, the chicken cholera vaccine, and the rabies vaccine.
These discoveries made him so famous that he was able to build an institute in Paris for research, teaching, and treating disease. Inaugurated in 1888, the Pasteur Institute ranks as one of the foremost research centers in the world.
Louis Pasteur was one of the first scientists to understand the importance of microorganisms — both good and bad. Some microorganisms (or germs as Pasteur called them) are helpful, such as those that cause grapes to ferment and become wine. Among his most important discoveries was pasteurization. This process kills harmful bacteria in liquids such as wine and milk, without destroying the liquid.
Louis Pasteur focused much of his research on how to prevent the spread of harmful microorganisms by developing vaccines. Pasteur is most famous for discovering the rabies vaccine. For his many contributions to both medicine and industry, Louis Pasteur is remembered as one of the great minds of science.
More information on The Pasteur Institute
Pasteur Institute - English
Pasteur Institute - Francais
Jacques-Yves CousteauSong written and sung by John Denver
When Jacques-Yves Cousteau died on June 25, 1997, the world lost more than just an esteemed biologist and oceanographer. The world lost its greatest guide of the chartless realms that make up the planet’s oceans. Through his documentaries and books, Cousteau contributed more to our understanding of the oceans than almost any other person.
Cousteau was born on June 11, 1910 in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, France, to Daniel and Elizabeth Cousteau. He spent much of his early childhood near the water, swimming and tinkering with gadgets such as underwater cameras and mechanical toys. After high school, he entered the French armed forces, fighting with distinction in the Navy during World War II. During his years with the French Navy, he designed and tested the Aqua-Lung, a predecessor to the SCUBA systems used by divers worldwide today. His Aqua-Lung was used by the allies after World War II to remove enemy mines from international waters.
In the late forties, Cousteau set out to fulfill a lifelong dream of finding new and exciting ways to explore the world’s oceans. In 1948 he purchased the boat Calypso, part ocean-going lab and part yacht, that would soon become synonymous with Cousteau and his underwater adventures. In 1956, with the help of Calypso and her crew, Cousteau’s position as the world’s most famous marine biologist was cemented when he received an Academy Award for his breathtaking undersea documentary, The Silent World.
Of the 120 documentaries Cousteau completed in his lifetime, one of his most important was "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau," a television series which began in 1968. This series brought unforgettable images into millions of homes, images of the exotic undersea environs populated by coral reefs and fearsome sharks. It contributed to a deeper understanding of a part of the world few people ever visited. The series also has been credited with raising public awareness of the unique problems faced by the world’s marine environments as human encroachment threatens the very foundations of aquatic life worldwide.
More information on Jacques Cousteau and Calypso http://www.cousteau.org
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