Van Leeuwenhoek revolutionized the microscope. Through his
work, in the 17th century, he was the first to discover the
existence of bacteria, blood cells, sperm cells and more.
His most notable experiment uncovered a mystery that has not
yet been answered. He took a sample of stagnant water and
observed many little creatures through his microscope. Next
he collected a sample of clean rainwater and saw nothing in
it. He sealed the samples in sterilized pipettes and
continued to view them through his microscope. Day after day
he saw nothing. Finally, on day four, he observed that the
same creatures that he had seen in the stagnant water had
made their way into his sealed containers. He was the first
person to ever witness spontaneous generation. He had
witnessed the creation of life without a mommy and daddy.
The obvious question is, where did these germs come from.
This question has never been answered to this day, although
the experiment is easily recreated.
It was in the 19th century that the "germ theory" was
developed by Louis Pasteur. It hypothesizes that all
infections and contageous disorders are caused by germs.
This theory presupposes that the blood is sterile until
invaded. This theory is still held by modern-day
bacteriologists.
Another 19th century biologist named Antoine Beauchamps,
challenged Pasteurs theory by putting forth one of his
own. He called it the "pleomorphic theory". He discovered
that the blood was not sterile, but that it contained
microbes that he named "microzymas". If an individual
became sick, these microbes would alter their state.
Although Pasteur expressed a firm belief that the blood
was sterile in healthy people, it was easily seen that
microzymas existed in healthy people. Beauchamps believed
that disease came from within the body. The environment or
"terrain" of the body, not the germ itselfr, dictated
whether or not we got sick.
Pasteur successfully promoted his "germ theory" while
discrediting Beauchamps "pleomorphic theory". This was the
fork in the road. The "germ theory" became accepted and has
been passionately defended by those people who have chosen
to tie their credibility to it. Forty years after the
development of his "germ theory" Pasteur recanted with the
words, "the microbe is nothing, the terrain is everything."
It was too late, allopathic medicine has been entrenched
ever since.