StoryBoard: Gram
Storyboard Text
- Early 1880s, Berlin
- We finally devised the Gram Staining technique in Berlin - and, we did it by working together! - German Pathologist and Microbiologist, Carl Friedlander, early 1800s.
- Yes, we did! The System of Classification has led to over 30,000 formally-named species of investigated bacteria. How amazing is that?! We have helped so many individuals on this Earth.
- 1940
- Basically, it makes one pink, and one purple - in simple worlds. While it is prone to error, it is more likely to help people, rather than not - which is like everything in this world. There is always a chance. - everything has flaws.
- I warned this to myself when my work was published in 1884 - that the method is poorly controlled and lacks standardization.
- Differentiating bacteria into "Gram-Positive" or "Gram-Negative" is highly important to most bacterial identification systems. Though, how does it work? How does the coloring work?
- 1960
- So, why is this staining technique so important?
- The staining technique, known as Gram Staining, is critically important as it identifies Teixobactin. Teixobactin is significant as it acts on the “Gram-Positive” group of bacteria by focusing on a "lipid" on their cell walls, plus on other molecules.
- Hans Christian Gram is the pioneering biologist who helped investigate bacteria - he formed one of the most signifcant staining techniques used in Microbiology to identify and investigate bacteria under a microscope, also known as, "Gram Staining."
- Harvard Medical School, 1974
- What is Gram Staining?
- Gram Staining is the alternatives to the coloring of the bacteria Gram observes, which are as a result of the composition of the bacterial cell wall, occurring from firstly dripping substances (reagents) created to stimulate a chemical reaction onto lung tissue samples.
- In more complex words, some bacteria will either have a cell wall made up of Peptidoglycan (a polymer of sugar and amino acids) or not. Gram-Positive bacterial cells possess the color (stain) of crystal violet and iodine, plus Peptidoglycan, which appears dark (methylene) blue, but purple or brown under a microscope. When not containing Peptidoglycan, the bacteria is not stained, but appears red, which is referred to as Gram-Negative.
- Northwestern University, Boston, Massachusetts, 2015
- It is my pleasure! I am so happy I have been able to change the field of medical and science and to have created one of the most significant staining techniques used in Microbiology to identify bacteria under a microscope.
- If used correctly and accurately, Teixobactin could be a viable treatment option for bacterial diseases. Plus, safe from the threat of resistance for at least 30 years. In fact, Streptococcus Pneumoniae and Klebsiella Pneumoniae are the bacteria found in Teixobactin.
- Google Headquarters 2019
- Congratulations, Hans Christian Gram! As of September 13, 2019, you are the latest Google Doodle, in honor of your birthday on September 13, 1853.
- Pierce Gardner, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, wrote about the Gram Stain and its interpretation in 1974 on how it belongs in the "repertoire" of all physicians providing essential care for non-critical patients. Plus, that the Gram-Stained smear should be considered part of the physical examination of a patient with a non-critical bacterial infection.
- Recently, Gram Staining has been used to help identify new antibiotics, which are very essential when fighting against antimicrobial resistance.Examples: Teixobactin - an antibiotic released to the pharmaceutical market in 2015. It was identified by using a new method on a previous method of screening soil for bacteria that have evolved to kill off their competitors. The method will always be relevant and popular.
- A team at our School has screened over 50,000 types of soil-dwelling bacteria for antibiotics that have killed bugs because of you! Thank you!Examples of Bugs: the hospital acquired infection MRSA and the bacteria that causes multi-drug resistant TB.
- While Gram created something amazing and very helpful, there were some problems with his method, which have led to a search for other tests and multiple alternatives that claim to be improvements on the method. Though, the Gram Stain Method remains one of the most commonly performed tests in the Clinical Microbiology field and a foundational technique in treating bacterial infections and saving lives.
- Thank you! It is a true honor to have published the very defective and imperfect method. Hopefully, to other investigators, it will be useful.
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