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Dmitry Ivanovsky (1864-1920) is the Russian microbiologist credited with the discovery of viruses. A virus is a subcellular organism that has to use another cell to carry out its life cycle. Its membrane is usually covered in protein "spikes" that penetrate host cells. It uses the host cell's genetic material to produce more viruses until the membrane of the host is dissolved and the new viruses are released In 1890 Ivanovsky was studying mosaic disease that had infected tobacco plants in Crimea; at the time mosaic disease was thought to be cause by bacteria. However, in filtering sap to isolate the bacteria, Ivanovsky found that the infected sap could cause healthy plants to become sick. After further research he concluded that an "exceedingly small parasitic microorganism" was responsible for the mosaic disease, rather than a regular bacterium.
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| Ivanovsky |
It is interesting to note that, despite the discovery of viruses being such a huge achievement, Ivanovsky abandoned his studies on them after defending his doctoral dissertation. Scientists at the time, including Ivanovsky, didn't realize the importance of his discovery for the future of medical treatment (the difference in giving antibiotics for bacterial infections and vaccines to prevent viruses). It turns out that Ivanovsky was also extremely modest, and never made public his discoveries. Many of his theories of virology have been confirmed in the modern study of it.
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