I was disappointed I was not able to attend Dr. Alber’s lecture on Pasteur. I was looking forward to it after seeing the movie on Pasteur the previous day. I found the movie intriguing as it gave character to Pasteur and still gave the facts about his work with germ theory and vaccines. The most interesting part of the movie for me was when they did the experiment with the sheep between those that were vaccinated and those that were not. I think I found the topic so interesting because there are still many people today that refuse to vaccinate based on various reasons. I think the experiment, although found in the movie, still has relevant topics in today’s world and could benefit anyone willing to watch the film.
Because I was unable to attend the lecture portion, I read the article Pasteur and the art of chirality. I am still confused as to what chirality is but gained a deeper understanding of the topic ad how it relates to Pasteur. Chirality was one of Pasteur’s first discoveries as a young recent PhD graduate. He noticed how two different substances had similar molecules, but where mirror reflections of each other, thus leading to different characteristics. The article explains how Pasteur’s predecessors had missed this and what may have contributed to his discovery. One of the contributions mentioned is simply that he picked two substances that could be compared in the right way. Another influence was that of Sir John Frederick William Herschel who believed their was asymmetry in the universe. Finally, the paper discussed how Pasteur’s artistic abilities and his sense of realism in art contributed in his ability to notice the mirror images in the crystals. I found it interesting to learn about Pasteur’s other discoveries as well as his other hobbies that helped him achieve his discoveries.