Hans Christian Gram

Hans Christian Gram 

The man who made the bacteria colorful 

Bacterial diseases help antibiotics - logically. But how did you succeed in making the pathogen of pneumonia visible? That's where Hans Christian Gram comes into play

The beard bearer is Hans Christian Gram. 166 years ago, the bacteriologist was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Google honored him with a doodle for the occasion. But what exactly should the drawing represent? And why do Gram's findings still have relevance today? In his statement, Google refers to a series of experiments that Gram conducted between 1883 and 1885 in Berlin. They helped to make certain pathogens visible - and in this way the healing - and to increase prevention possibilities drastically.

In simple terms, Gram has succeeded in dividing bacteria into two groups by a novel staining method: Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The difference lies primarily in the way the cell walls are constructed. In gram-positive bacteria, the envelope is multi-layered and comparatively thick. In the gram-negative it is correspondingly thin.

The test is still used today - under Gram's name

The researcher Gram proved this property by first decolonizing and then decolonizing bacteria in the laboratory. He observed how much dye the bacteria released again. The gram-positive bacteria were comparatively rich in color. Later, the method was developed by other scientists, but it is still used today as a Gram stain. Crucial to the everyday life of many of Gram's contemporaries was that his discovery made it easier, among other things, to fight against the cause of pneumonia. Pneumococci can cause serious infections and are still a feared pathogen today. Gram's research, however, has been instrumental in the development of antibiotics, and has helped save countless lives around the world.