Hans Christian Gram – Google Doodle Celebrates Danish Microbiologist’ 166th Birthday

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates the Danish microbiologist Hans Christian Gram’ 166th Birthday, who is known for his development of the Gram stain. The Google Doodle has been delineated by Danish artist Mikkel Sommer, and it portrays Hans Christian Gram’s work on the Gram stain.

Who is Hans Christian Gram?

Hans Christian Joachim Gram was a Danish bacteriologist noted for his development of the Gram stain. Born to Frederik Terkel Julius Gram (a professor of jurisprudence) and Louise Christiane Roulund on September 13, 1853. Hans Christian Gram is best known for pioneering the strategy for the Gram stain to recognize bacteria.

Hans Christian Gram earned his B.A. at the Copenhagen Metropolitan School and worked as an associate in botany at a zoo. This is likewise when he became interested in medicine. Furthermore, Hans Christian Gram earned his MD from the University of Copenhagen in 1878. He then went through Europe between 1883 to 1885 studying pharmacology and bacteriology.

It was in 1884, while working in the lab of German microbiologist Karl Friedländer in Berlin, that Hans Christian Gram concocted his well-known staining method that is currently still used to identify and classify various kinds of bacteria. He followed the strategy for Paul Ehrlich, utilizing aniline-water and gentian violet solution.

While working at a microbiologist’s lab in Berlin during this period, Hans Christian Gram saw that treating a warmth fixed smear of bacteria with a crystal violet stain, trailed by an iodine solution and an organic solvent, uncovered contrasts in the structure and biochemical function of different samples.

Hans Christian Gram published his discoveries in a journal in 1884 which prompted the coining of the terms “Gram-positive” and “Gram-negative”. Gram-positive bacteria seem purple under a microscope, in light of the fact that their cell walls are thick to the solvent cannot penetrate can’t penetrate them, while Gram-negative bacteria have more slender cell walls that enable the solvent to wash away the stain.

Gram-positive bacteria stayed purple since they have a single thick cell wall that isn’t easily penetrated by the solvent. While gram-negative bacteria decolorized in light of the fact that they have cell walls with a lot of thinner layers that permit evacuation of the dye by the solvent.

Hans Christian Gram’s revelation not just helps in the identification and classification of bacteria, it additionally helps decide the treatment of bacterial diseases. For instance, the antibiotic penicillin is active just against Gram-positive bacteria. Like the cell walls of Gram-negative bacteria won’t take up the Gram’s stain, it won’t take up penicillin either. Pneumococci, which can cause numerous diseases, are delegated Gram-positive.

Hans Christian Gram published these discoveries that year in a scholarly journal and incorporated a modest disclaimer that his discoveries are defective and imperfect however he trusted things being what they are to be valuable in the hands of future specialists.

Over a century later, Gram’s simple staining technique, named after its inventor, is still generally utilized.

“I have therefore published the method, although I am aware that as yet it is very defective and imperfect; but it is hoped that also in the hands of other investigators it will turn out to be useful,” Hans Christian Gram had eminently included as a modest disclaimer in his publication.

The test, be that as it may, demonstrated to be widely applicable and his staining technique keeps on being utilized even today, over a century later.

Marvel what Hans Christian Gram would say to the way that microbiologists in all walks of life still use it, in excess of a hundred years since it was authored by him. Gram demonstrated a keen interest in the clinical education of students all through his career. He retired from his medicinal practice in 1923. Hans Christian Gram died at 85 years old on 4 November 1938.