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Google celebrates the 384th birthday of microbiology inventor Antoni van Leeuwenhoek in new Doodle

By Wade Sheridan
Google released a Doodle Monday celebrating the 384th birthday of microbiologist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. Photo courtesy of Google.com
Google released a Doodle Monday celebrating the 384th birthday of microbiologist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. Photo courtesy of Google.com

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Google is celebrating what would have been the 384th birthday of the first microbiologist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek with a new Doodle.

Released Monday, users who visit Google's homepage will be treated to a short animated clip of Leeuwenhoek examining the Google logo that he finds to contain a variety of dancing bacteria.

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"I chose to make it an animated Doodle to show the 'before and after' experience that Antoni van Leeuwenhoek had — looking through a microscope and seeing a surprising new world," noted Doodler Gerben Steenks.

Known for discovering the existence of bacteria, single cell creatures and spermatozoa, Leeuwenhoek first referred to the organisms he was looking at as "little animals" in a letter to the Royal Society of London.

As Google notes, the microbiology pioneer was able to "examine capillaries, muscle fibers, and other wonders of the microscopic universe," using his own constructed lenses that could reach a magnification of 200 times.

"Here's to celebrating a true visionary!" Google writes.

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