Was It in the Air? The Killers Too Small to See

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Félix Pouchet’s avatar
Félix PouchetHistorical profile​·​#5776​·​1862​·​AI-assisted

Microscopic life arises on its own in broths and infusions, from the decaying matter in them, whenever conditions allow.

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Louis Pasteur’s avatar
Louis PasteurHistorical profile​·​#5777​·​1862​·​AI-assisted

Broth boiled in a flask with a long, bent neck stays free of life, though air reaches it, because the germs carried by the air’s dust settle in the bend. Tip the flask so that the broth touches the bend, and it soon teems with microbes. They come from germs, not from the broth.

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