Word: staphylococci
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Like sweat and urine, saliva contains urea, a nitrogen compound. Dr. Stephan found that two groups of antagonistic bacteria flourish in saliva: 1) the destructive lactobacilli; 2) harmless germs of the staphylococcus family. By brewing an enzyme called urease. the staphylococci split up urea in the saliva into an ammonium compound, which neutralizes the erosive acid. Dr. Stephan's conclusion: teeth may decay when the saliva does not contain enough urea, or when the staphylococci are sluggish...
...Emmet Kennard Knott, a Seattle physicist and X-ray dealer, began to experiment with the effect of ultraviolet rays on the blood of dogs. In a local veterinary hospital he infected dogs with streptococci and staphylococci, withdrew a large amount of blood from their veins, irradiated it under an ultraviolet lamp, and put it back in circulation. Theoretically, the rays should have killed the germs. Instead, they killed the dogs...