ONE The Scientific Method Science is an intellectual activity where the scientist systematically investigates facts, patterns, or laws related to nature or the world. The purpose of scientific investigation is to develop a body of knowledge in the particular area of interest. Developing this body of knowledge frees humanity from misconceptions or superstition and provides a foundation for advancement. Microbiology is a good example of the development of a body of knowledge that led to later advance- ments. Ancient civilizations believed that infectious diseases were punishment by supernatural beings for wrongdoing. Through repeated observation of patients and their surroundings, ancient Greek, Roman, and Chinese doctors developed miasma theory. Miasma theory proposed that bad air, not gods and goddesses, caused infectious diseases. In 1546, Italian physician Girolamo Fracastoro sug- gested that seedlike particles shared among people in close proximity were the source of infection. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek’s invention of the microscope enabled scientists to create and confirm the germ theory of disease. Today, we have antibiotics, vaccinations, sterile surgical procedures, antiretroviral therapies, and infection control programs to prevent and limit infectious diseases. Thank- fully, we have moved past the idea that polio, smallpox, cholera, and typhoid are caused by angry gods or goddesses. Thus, science is not just an intellectual activ- ity. Science allows us to understand natural phenomenon, develop theories, and create tools that make lives better. Electricity, computers, cars, airplanes, sanita- tion, and medicine are all the result of scientific endeavors. Ultimately, science is a quest for the truth, truth about nature, truth about social behaviors, and truth about the universe. Scientific endeavors can be very time-consuming. Three hundred years passed between Fracastoro’s theory of seedlike particles and Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis’s suggestion that doctors wash their hands before examining pregnant women, and
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