science · 20 March 1950 · 75 years ago
death
Died 20 Mar 1950 at age 72 (born 22 Oct 1877).
English bacteriologist who, working with George Ingram, was the first to publish (1912) a method for isolating and culturing the extremely fastidious Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, the bacterium that causes Johne's disease, or chronic dysentery of cattle. He was the first to publish a report (1915) on what were called bacteriophage (viruses that prey upon bacteria) when Félix d'Hérelle independently made the discovery two years later. Twort's somewhat accidental discovery happened when he noticed that the bacteria infecting his plates became transparent. Thinking the virus to be a primitive life form, thereafter he tried to grow viruses in artificial media, but had difficulty funding the research.
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