germ theory of disease

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germ theory of disease

Tiny killers

when bacteria and viruses attack
2017
Invisible microbes cause sickness by invading our bodies and multiplying. But doctors didn't always know that sickness was caused by germs. Most people thought diseases came from smelly, damp air. But over time, those ideas changed. A Dutch scientist saw bacteria through his microscope. Doctors realized that when they washed their hands, fewer people died. And a doctor in London recognized that disease could spread through contaminated water. Because of these discoveries, people eventually learned that hygiene was the key to stopping disease. Hospitals used clean surgical instruments, and cities developed trash removal and sewage systems. Learn more about the discovery and defeat of bacteria!.
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The importance of germ theory

2016
Examines how scientists arrived at the theory that many diseases are caused by the invasion of the body by microscopic living organisms (germs), as well as what has resulted from the widespread acceptance of this theory.

Safety smart science with Bill Nye the science guy

2011
Demonstrates how hand-washing, eating nutritious foods, and getting enough exercise and sleep are important for the human body's health and well-being.

The doctors' plague

germs, childbed fever, and the strange story of Ignac Semmelweis
2004
Examines the work of Ignac Semmelweis, the doctor who discovered how childbed fever, an infection that killed one out of six pregnant mothers in the 1800s, was transmitted from doctor to patient but who wasn't taken seriously by the scientific community because of his abnormal personality and self-destructive habits.

Germs

2003
Bill Nye the Science Guy answers questions about germs, and conducts an activity in which bacteria is grown in a jar.

The discovery of the germ

twenty years that transformed the way we think about disease
2002
Examines a twenty year period in the history of medicine, from 1879 to 1900, during which germ theory came to be accepted as common knowledge which totally transformed the field.

Where the germs are

a scientific safari
2003
Explains where different kinds of microbes can be found, which ones are harmful, and how to live daily life in the most healthy way, providing surprising facts such as which room in the house is most likely to cause illness, and which kind of restaurant is the most contaminated.

Germs

2003
Explores how the discovery of germs impacted the science and medical fields, describes how people coped before the discovery, and discusses future research potential.

Germs

2005

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