How to Use germ theory in a Sentence
germ theory
noun-
The framework dates back to the embrace of germ theory in the late 19th century.
—Meghan O'Rourke, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2021
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Or that Louis Pasteur, the chemist who proved the germ theory of disease, also busted the myth of life on Mars?
—Annalee Newitz, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
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This explanation for the source of cholera became one of the foundations of germ theory.
—Maryn McKenna, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2020
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Scientists had yet to discover germ theory, so no one knew what a virus was.
—Hannah Seo, Discover Magazine, 31 Aug. 2022
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The fact that Mills survived his battlefield wounds in an era before germ theory is matched by the miracle that the shirt survived the next century and a half.
—Star Tribune, 3 July 2021
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Tetanus and gangrene were serious threats as germ theory was only in its infant stages.
—Katie Nodjimbadem, Smithsonian, 4 Apr. 2017
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His suggestion of a pathogen without a cell conflicted with early germ theory and was radical for the time.
—Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Mar. 2020
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Pasteur’s work proved that germ theory was true, and that disease was the result of microorganisms attacking.
—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 22 Oct. 2021
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By the time the wife of painter Abbott Thayer succumbed to the disease in 1891, germ theory was widely accepted and would have been familiar to the artist, who was the son of a physician and public health expert.
—Elizabeth Lee, The Conversation, 31 July 2020
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The move ended the outbreak, and the investigation became one of the earliest studies to support the germ theory of disease.
—Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, 8 Aug. 2021
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With the development of germ theory, sunlight and fresh air had new purposes.
—Jeanne Kisacky, Smithsonian, 14 June 2017
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But germ theory did not immediately do away with the importance of fresh air.
—Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2021
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This viewpoint fell by the wayside after germ theory became mainstream in the late 19th century.
—Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2020
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More significantly, these were the first pandemics to coincide with the germ theory of disease.
—New York Times, 14 June 2019
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The rise of germ theory in the 19th century further cemented the ethos that broad police powers were justified in the face of infectious disease.
—Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Mar. 2020
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This is right at the beginning of his development of antisepsis, and a lot of surgeons aren’t accepting germ theory at this point.
—Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 22 Oct. 2017
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The emergence of formula, along with an understanding of germ theory, made feeding such infants simpler and safer.
—Alice Callahan, Smithsonian, 25 Oct. 2019
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The development of antiseptic techniques, along with the acceptance of germ theory in the final decades of the 19th century, engendered new hope for the future of breast surgery.
—Lindsey Fitzharris, WSJ, 1 Dec. 2022
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This debate reminds me somewhat of the historical argument over the germ theory of disease.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 14 Oct. 2017
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Even the richest Romans could not escape the terrors of a world without germ theory, refrigeration, or clean water.
—Edward Watts, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2020
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That was before people understood germ theory: the idea that bacteria and viruses cause disease.
—Anna Rothschild, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2019
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The argument being that denial of global warming is a form of denialism no different than denial of the Holocaust, evolution, the HIV virus, and germ theory.
—Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 25 Nov. 2010
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At this time the germ theory of disease was still controversial, and scientists were 20 years away from identifying viruses.
—Ernest Freeberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Dec. 2020
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Snow’s realization came years before the confirmation of germ theory, which explains the existence of pathogens.
—Robin Marantz Henig, National Geographic, 13 Oct. 2020
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At that point, new microscopy technology and the germ theory of disease had revolutionized medicine.
—Hillary Waterman, Discover Magazine, 1 Sep. 2016
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The germ theory of disease pioneered by Frenchman Louis Pasteur and others wouldn’t influence the full medical profession for years after the war ended.
—baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 8 Aug. 2020
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By 1918, the use of masks in medical settings was widespread as more doctors subscribed to germ theory and saw the need to maintain sterile conditions in operating rooms, according to Navarro.
—Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, CNN, 16 Aug. 2020
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Once germ theory was understood, scientists started making vaccines in the lab for diseases such as diphtheria and polio.
—Anna Rothschild, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2019
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However, Pasteur's incomplete knowledge of germ theory still allowed him to develop vaccines for anthrax and rabies, saving many lives in the process.
—Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 13 June 2017
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There wasn’t an understanding of contagion or germ theory.
—The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2021
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'germ theory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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