25 Mind-Blowing Biology

Breakthroughs That Shaped

Our World!
Last Updated: Apr 23, 2023
25

Top Biology Discoveries: Biology is an incredibly diverse science. It

studies life from the most microscopic beings such
as viruses and bacteria to the megafauna of deep
history. Specialists in molecular biology can create a new life from
scratch and edit existing genomes.

However, to get to this point, several important inventions and

discoveries had been made, and several important theories formulated.

Table of Contents [show]

Top 25 Biology Discoveries

Here are the top 25 biology discoveries of all time.

1
First compound microscope.
Who When What

Hans and Zacharias Janssen 1590 First compound microscope

The father and son team from German

town Middleburg have placed two spectacle lenses into a tube, one above
the other and found out that such an instrument helps see microscopic
objects.
  Some of their microscopes even had three lenses and
considerable magnification, even if the images were unclear.
 Their invention significantly impacted the development of
science. Without the microscope, it would have been impossible
to study cells, small animals, or bacteria.

2
Blood circulation in animals.
Who When What

William Harvey 1628 The first description of blood circulation in animals

William Harvey was a British doctor. He

has performed multiple dissections on dogs.

 He also had demonstrated his experiments before the other

surgeons. Harvey has shown that the blood circulates in two
loops: pulmonary and systemic.
 He has also discovered valves in veins and determined that blood
can only move in specific directions in the body.
 He has published his findings in a book called “Anatomical
Study of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals“.
  Understanding how our blood vessels work was crucial for
medicine and physiology. It has impacted treatments of the
time and raised the interest in anatomy.

Suggested Readings:

 Top 25 Circulatory System Fun Facts

 14 Differences Between Plasma and Serum

3
The first description of cells.
Who When What

Robert Hooke 1665 The first description of cells published.

Robert Hooke was an accomplished

inventor and scientist, a member of the Royal Society of London.

 He has improved the microscope made by Janssens and was the

first person in history to describe cells in plant tissue.
 He has also depicted many other vital structures of plants,
insects, and other animals.
  Hooke’s discoveries have started a trend in using microscopes
for life studies, which have eventually led to multiple crucial
discoveries.
 He has also become an example of proper scientific inquiry and
high-quality scientific drawing.
 It would not have been possible to formulate the cell
theory without Hooke’s discovery either.

4
Discovery of Microorganisms.
Who When What

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 1676 Discovery of microorganisms.

Leeuwenhoek has built his own small

microscope and with its help has studied life histories of insects
and microscopic organisms, such as protozoa and bacteria.

 He was also the first to show that microscopic organisms, which

he has called animalcules, were present in water, on various
surfaces, as well as foodstuffs.
  His discoveries were the start of microbiology and
entomology. Without his work, people would not know that
microorganisms cause illnesses and contamination.

Suggested Reading: History of Microbiology

5
Classification of life.
Who When What

Karl Linnaeus 1758 A first universal classification system of living beings was proposed.

Karl Linnaeus, a Swedish scientist, has

proposed a universal system of classification of living beings.

 The new system was hierarchical, Latin-based, and allowed easy

communication between scientists.
 Each species was given a unique binomial name and belonged to
a particular genus, family, order, class, and kingdom.
 Linnaeus system has been modified several times since then, but
the initial idea still remains the same.
 The existence of the classification system has made the study of
life significantly easier and also allowed to
 study evolutionary relationships between organisms in later
centuries.

6
Bacteria are not a product of a spontaneous generation.
Who When What

Lazzaro Spallanzani 1768 The spontaneous generation theory is disproved.

The experiment carried out by an Italian

abbot and professor, Lazarro Spallanzani, has proven that microbes are
not created through non-living “life force”, but can only come from other
microorganisms.

 This experiment has helped people admit that all animals,

without exception descend from other animals of the same type,
overthrowing the previously popular “spontaneous generation”
theory.
 Spallanzani’s experiment has contributed to our understanding
of the role of microorganisms and where they come from.
 It was also the basis for the pasteurization method, later
developed by Pasteur.
 7
Cell theory.
Who When What

Theodor Schwann, Matthias Schleiden, Rudolf 1838 and The establishment of cell
Virchow 1858 theory.

Theodor Schleiden, an animal specialist,

and Matthias Schleiden, a botanist has come to the common conclusion:
all living beings consist of units with similar shape and structure – cells.

They have formulated the cell theory:

 All living beings are made of cells.

 Each cell is a functional unit and a building block.

Later in 1858, an outstanding German anatomist postulated a third

important rule to the cell theory: all cells descend from other cells. The
formulation of the cell theory was the start of cell biology as we know it.
Without it, we would not understand many processes and certainly
would not be able to fight such diseases as cancer.

Suggested Reading: History of Cell Biology

 8
Germ theory.
Who When What

Louis Pasteur 1861-1862 Microbes were proven to be responsible for illnesses.

Louis Pasteur, a French microbiologist, and

chemist is considered the father of modern microbiology.

 His work was extremely extensive. His most notable

achievements are proving beyond doubt that bacteria caused
illnesses and the invention of pasteurization based on earlier
Spallanzani’s experiment.
 We rely on pasteurization up to this day to preserve our food.
Without vaccines and culture methods developed by Pasteur, we
would not have been able to fight diseases of cattle and humans.

9
Theory of Evolution.
Who When What

Charles Darwin And Alfred Wallace 1859 Evolution theory.

The British scientists Charles Darwin and

Alfred Wallace has independently formulated a theory that explained the
origins of life on Earth and mechanisms of evolution of species.

 Evolutionary theory has expanded dramatically since Darwin’s

time, but the existence of natural selection is virtually
undisputed up to this day.
 Darwin’s work has contributed significantly to our
understanding of life on Earth and the processes that are still
taking place today.

Suggested Reading: History of Evolution

10
The laws of heredity.
Who When What

Gregor Mendel 1866 Discovery of the mechanisms of heredity.

 Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, and a
mathematician have postulated the mechanisms of transferring inherited
traits from parents to offspring.

 He has used pea plants for his experiments and has discovered
the existence of dominant and recessive alleles.
 Mendelian genetics is only one aspect of the complex
mechanism of inheritance. However, it still plays a massive role
in breeding programs in agriculture and understanding human
disorders.
 Mendel also introduced statistics as a method of evaluating
results and drawing conclusions, which is now widely used in all
sciences.

Suggested Reading: History of Genetics

11
Phagocytosis.
Who When What

lya (Elie) Ilyich Mechnikov 1883 Discovery of phagocytosis.

 Ilya (Elie) Mechnikov has discovered the
existence of specialized cells in animals (both vertebrate and
invertebrate) that were responsible for eliminating pathogens and dead
cells.

 ‘Mechnikov’s discovery has started immunology – the science

devoted to the study of defense mechanisms against pathogens
inside the body.
 Immunology helps significantly in our fight against pathogens
and vaccine development.

Suggested Reading: Complete History of Immunology

12
Chromosomes and their role in fertilization.
Who When What

Edouard van Beneden 1883 Discovery of chromosomes.

 Edouard van Beneden, a Belgian
embryologist and cytologist, has published several papers since 1883,
describing chromosomes in the Ascaria worms eggs, as well the
processes of fertilization and mitosis.

Without his discoveries, the next breakthroughs in understanding

heredity in general and chromosome disorders, in particular, would have
been impossible.

Suggested Readings:

 Chromosomal Mutations
 Can Animals Have Down-Syndrome?
 Mitosis Vs. Meiosis

13
Tobacco mosaic virus.
Who When What

Dmitriy Ivanovsky 1892 The first description of tobacco mosaic virus.

The Russian scientist Dmitriy Ivanovsky

was studying tobacco plants that were affected by the illness
called tobacco mosaic.

 He has proven that the illness was caused by an agent far smaller
than regular bacteria.
 The actual term, “virus“, was coined later by Martinus Beijerinck
in 1898.
 Due to the elegant experiment carried out by Ivanovsky, the
scientific community has learned about viruses even though they
could not really see them until the invention of the electron
microscope.

14
Inheritance of alkaptonuria.
Who When What

Archibald Garrod 1902 Inheritance of alkaptonuria established.

 Archibald Garrod has studied family charts
of patients with a metabolic disorder – alkaptonuria and has figured out
that this illness is inherited according to Mendelian laws.

 It was the first description of an inheritable disease and the

additional proof of the universality of Mendelian laws.
 Due to Garrod’s discovery, specialists could better understand
the causes of diseases, such as hemophilia.

15
Bacterial transformation.
Who When What

Frederick Griffith 1928 Discovery of bacterial transformation.

 While experimenting with two bacterial
strains of Staphylococcus pneumonia, Griffith has discovered that the
traits from the dead bacteria can be transferred into living ones.

 This process was called transformation. Griffith’s discovery

helped establish the role of DNA in heredity.
 The discovery of transformation and bacterial plasmids has also
influenced the development of genetic engineering.
 Due to our knowledge of bacterial transformation, we can also
understand how antibiotic resistance is spread in bacterial
populations.

Suggested Reading: Pros and Cons of Genetic Testing

16
Antibiotic penicillin.
Who When What

Alexander Fleming 1928 Discovery of penicillin.

 Alexander Fleming was working at St.
Mary’s hospital in London, Great Britain.

 He has accidentally discovered that the presence of certain types

of molds in Petri dishes of bacterial cultures kills the bacteria.
 He has also purified the substance responsible for this effect.
Though penicillin was discovered in 1928, its production as a
drug had not started until the 1940s, when proper antibacterial
care was crucial for wounded soldiers.
 The discovery of penicillin was the start of the antibiotic era,
decreasing mortality from illnesses worldwide.

17
DNA methylation.
Who When What

Rollin Hotchkiss 1948 Discovery of DNA methylation.

 When Hotchkiss was studying a
preparation of calf thymus, he has discovered that one of the
DNA Nucleotides, cytosine, had an additional methyl group –
was methylated.

 Later, it was found that other nucleotides could be methylated,

too.
 DNA methylation is one of the most common mechanisms of
regulation of gene activity.
 We now know that this type of regulation called epigenetic
regulation is crucial for our development and well-being.

18
Protein structure.
Who When What

Linus Pauling 1950 Protein structure discovered.

 Using the data obtained from X-Ray crystallography
and paper models, Linus Pauling has discerned how amino acids fit
together to form proteins.

 He described the first structure as the protein alpha helix.

Proteins play major roles in the functioning of cells and complex
organisms, and determining their formation was the first step to
understanding their activity.
 Pauling’s method has also influenced Watson and Crick and
helped establish the DNA structure.
 Pauling’s discovery is now considered the start of molecular
biology. Pauling was awarded a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1954.

19
Mobile genetic elements.
Who When What

Barbara McClintock 1950 Discovery of mobile genetic elements.

 An American scientist, Barbara
McClintock, was studying plants. Her particular area of interest was the
mechanism of breaks in the chromosomes of the maize plants.

 She has discovered that there are areas in the chromosomes that
can break away and re-insert themselves in other regions.
 This was one of the most astonishing discoveries of the 20th
century, upending the scientist’s understanding of how the
genome works and how mutations are generated.
 In later decades, it was found that mobile genetic elements
(transposons) can be present in all living organisms, from
viruses to mammals.

20
DNA structure.
Who When What

James Watson and Francis Crick 1953 Discovery of the DNA structure.
 Based on data on the ratio of nucleotides
and X-ray images made by another scientist, Rosalind Franklin, Watson
and Crick have figured the DNA structure.

 They have shown that DNA is a double spiral with hydrogen

bonds between complementary purine and pyrimidine bases.
 The discovery of DNA structure helped determine the
mechanisms of replication, translation, and the DNA code itself.

21
DNA sequencing method by Frederick Sanger.
Who When What

Frederick Sanger 1977 Sanger sequencing method.

 Frederick Sanger has developed a method that
allows determination of the exact sequence of nucleotides in the genome
using DNA polymerase, pre-made primers, and radioactive nucleotides.

His method was significantly more straightforward and quicker than

previous ones and helped substantially speed up DNA sequencing in
bacteria, viruses, and later humans.

22
The new kingdom of life.
Who When What

Carl Woese 1977 The new kingdom of life discovered.

 Carl Woese was sequencing a specific type
of nucleic acid – ribonucleic RNA.

 He has discovered unicellular organisms without a nucleus with

a completely different type of ribosomal RNA than bacteria and
eukaryotes.
 He has shown that those organisms belonged to a completely
separate kingdom of life. They were called archaea.
 modern scientific thought leans towards the idea that eukaryotes
actually descended from Archaea through endosymbiosis.

23
p53 protein.
Who When What

Kress et al. 1979 P53 protein discovered.

 While studying how SV40 virus causes the
development of the cancer tumors, Kress and his colleagues discovered a
novel protein that was actively produced in the nuclei of cancer cells and
was also associated with one of the viral antigens.

 Later research has uncovered that this protein was crucial in two
critical processes: cancer development and programmed cell
death – apoptosis.
 Among other things, p53 was then found to be involved in the
cancerogenic effects of smoking.

Suggested Readings:

 Types of Antibodies
 Antigen Vs. Antibody

24
Genes controlling autophagy.
Who When What

Yoshinori Ohsumi 1992 Discovery of autophagy genes.

Autophagy is a process of self-destruction

and recycling in the cell in response to stress.

 Ohsumi has developed a method to study this process

in yeast and has managed to find several genes responsible for
this process.
 His work has contributed both to science and medicine, as
autophagy was found to play a significant role in
neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Ohsumi was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2016 for his work.

25
Cas9/CRISPR system in bacteria.
Who When What

R. Barrangou et al. 2007 Discovery of Cas9/CRISPR system in bacteria.

 The team of scientists led by R. Barrangou has
discovered that bacteria use special enzymes to cut out pieces of infecting
virus that are lately inserted into the bacterial genome.

 This system helps bacteria recognize viruses in time. Later, the

scientists realized that those bacterial enzymes can be used for
editing the genomes of other organisms.
 This discovery was crucial for cancer research and other fields.
First, gene editing in humans was also performed using this
technique.

Suggested Reading: Pros and Cons of Designer Babies

The history of biology is full of small and big discoveries that have
greatly influenced our lives. These discoveries helped us understand life
better and make incredible improvements in medicine.

This biology discoveries list only describes a few that have impacted the
development of biology the most.