Google selected Dec. 10 because it marks the same day Dr. Koch was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1905 for his research on infectious disease bacteria.
“[Dr.] Koch understood that sometimes the keys to solving big problems lay in their microcosms. He dedicated his life to studying germs — some of the tiniest of living organisms on Earth — and how they cause infectious diseases,” according to the blog post.
“[But Dr.] Koch’s legacy doesn’t end there. By developing many of the basic principles and techniques of modern bacteriology, he inspired a new generation of scientists and ‘microbe-hunters,’ ushering in a Golden Age of bacteriology. During this Golden Age, scientists discovered the microorganisms responsible for causing twenty-one different diseases,” the post continued.
The Google Doodle honoring Dr. Koch comprised potato slices — the original medium he used to isolate pure bacterial cells — and a Petri dish, which was invented by Dr. Koch’s assistant, Julius Petri, MD.
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