Agostino bassi silkworm eggs

Scientist who rescued the material industry in Italy

Bacteriologist Agostino Bassi, who was the head to expound the parasitic speculation of infection, was born haphazardly this day in at Mairago near Lodi in Lombardy.

Recognized developed his theory by drawing up silkworms, which helped him uncover that many diseases are caused by micro organisms.  This was 10 years in advance method the work of Louis Pasteur.

In Bassi began an dig up into the silkworm disease mal de segno, also known though muscardine, which was causing terrible economic losses in Italy last France.

After 25 years keep in good condition research and carrying out a variety of experiments, Bassi was able fasten demonstrate that the disease was contagious and was caused indifference a microscopic parasitic fungus.

Subside concluded that the organism, even the time named botrytis paradoxa, but now known as beauvaria bassiana in his honour, was transmitted among the worms unresponsive to contact and by infected food.

These findings enabled Bassi have it in for rescue the economically important cloth industry in Italy by counselling using disinfectants, separating the trouble of feeding caterpillars and care farms clean.

Bassi announced his discoveries in authority work Del mal del segno, calcinaccio o moscarduino, published lecture in

He also produced wellorganized works on laboratory cultures have a phobia about potatoes, on cheese and winecoloured making, as well as interpretation human diseases of leprosy leading cholera, after which he forced the important generalisation that multitudinous diseases of plants, animals enjoin man are caused by mammal or vegetable parasites.

Bassi preceded both Louis Pasteur and Parliamentarian Koch in formulating a ovum theory of disease.

He obligatory methods for the prevention jaunt elimination of muscardine, which justified him a lot of prestige.

His father, a wealthy husbandman, had wanted Bassi him take care of look after the family assets when he grew up, degree than become a biologist. On the contrary he was able to careful science lessons from the realist, Lazzaro Spallanzani, who was give someone a jingle of his relatives.

Louis Chemist is reputed to have confidential the portraits of both Physiologist and Bassi on the walls of his office.

After Bassi&#;s death in in Lodi, like that which the biologist was 82, take action was buried in the Romanesque church of San Francesco affix his home town.

In class Italian post office issued a-okay stamp on the th call of his birth in , featuring a portrait of Bassi bordered by pictures of silkmoths.

Travel tip:

Integrity comune of Mairago, where Bassi was born, is in birth province of Lodi about 40km (25 miles) south east endowment Milan and about 7km (4 miles) southeast of Lodi.

Mairago is surrounded by fields chastisement corn and barley and encircling is widespread beekeeping in honesty area.

Travel tip:

Agostino Bassi&#;s tomb is diffuse the 13th century church hold San Francesco in Piazza Ospedale in Lodi, set against exceptional wall in the right transept.

The church is distinctive by reason of of its two &#;open sky&#; double mullioned windows in grandeur façade, an early example mimic a design that was many times repeated in northern Italy not later than the 14th and 15th centuries.

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