Top Ten Zoological Discoveries

The Guardian has an article on the greatest discoveries in zoology:

At BBC Wildlife magazine, a panel of judges has been mulling over the question. Today, the results of their deliberations are published as the top 10 breakthroughs in zoology. The list in full is below, in descending order. How have they fared?

Leeuwenhoek places second, just below the discovery of the fossilised remains of Archaeopteryx:

The 17th century Dutch scientist Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek made some of the best microscopes of his time, using them to discover microorganisms, or “animalcules”. His work led to dramatic re-evaluations of the causes of disease and improvements in hygiene.

Read the complete article at the Guardian, and visit BBC Wildlife for the source.

Look out for We, Beasties…

A new blog called We, Beasties is joining ScienceBlogs. It is run byKevin Bonham who is in the immunology program at Harvard. He and other contributors will be covering the diverse world of microbes, and he pays tribute to Leeuwenhoek in his first post today:

In 1674, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek pointed a microscope at pond water and saw what he called “wee beasties” flitting about, kicking off the field of microbiology. Since then, scientists have discovered microorganisms living just about everywhere, in every kind of environment, from the crushing depths of the ocean in hydrothermal vents to the crypts of our own intestines.

Go to We, Beasties for more on microbes.