It is likely that others beside Anton van Leeuwenhoek were using lenses to look at microorganisms. After all, Robert Hooke had developed and used the compound microscope in about 1665, and the first...

It is likely that others beside Anton van Leeuwenhoek were using lenses to look at microorganisms. After all, Robert Hooke had developed and used the compound microscope in about 1665, and the first letter from van Leeuwenhoek to the Royal Society of London was written in 1673. Why is it that we know about the observations of van Leeuwenhoek and not others? What reasons can you give for why it is important for scientists to publish the results of their research?