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Selman Waksman
(22 Jul 1888 - 16 Aug 1973)
Ukrainian-American microbiologist and biochemist.
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Science Quotes by Selman Waksman (1 quote)
It is usually not recognized that for every injurious or parasitic microbe there are dozens of beneficial ones. Without the latter, there would be no bread to eat nor wine to drink, no fertile soils and no potable waters, no clothing and no sanitation. One can visualize no form of higher life without the existence of the microbes. They are the universal scavengers. They keep in constant circulation the chemical elements which are so essential to the continuation of plant and animal life.
— Selman Waksman
In My Life With the Microbes (1954), 4.
See also:
- 22 Jul - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of Waksman's birth.
- The antibiotic era: A history of the antibiotics..., by Selman Abraham Waksman. - book suggestion.
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
(1987) -- 
