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Google honors microbiologist Dr. Stamen Grigorov with new Doodle

Google paid homage to physician and microbiologist Dr. Stamen Grigorov with this new Doodle. Image courtesy of Google
Google paid homage to physician and microbiologist Dr. Stamen Grigorov with this new Doodle. Image courtesy of Google

Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Google is celebrating Bulgarian physician and microbiologist Dr. Stamen Grigorov with a new Doodle Tuesday, on what would have been his 142nd birthday.

Grigorov, who was born in 1878 in the village of Studen Izvor in the Trun region of Bulgaria, is the first scientist to discover the bacterium essential to the fermentation of yogurt. He also helped with the development of the first tuberculosis vaccine.

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Google's homepage features artwork of Grigorov being surrounded by multiple bowls of yogurt.

Grigorov, who worked as a research assistant at the Medical University of Geneva, Switzerland, started to inspect yogurt under a microscope after being intrigued by its reported health benefits.

The scientist found the rod-shaped microorganism that causes yogurt's fermentation in 1905 after thousands of experiments. The bacterium was named Lactobacillus bulgaricus, in honor of his home nation of Bulgaria.

The following year, Grigorov released a groundbreaking paper demonstrating the first use of penicillin fungi against tuberculosis while working as chief physician at a hospital in Trun.

Studen Izvor is home to the world's only yogurt museums.

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