Education MICROBIOLOGY

MICROBIOLOGY Microbiology is the study of microscopic organisms, which are defined as any living organism that is either a single cell (unicellular), a cell cluster, or has no cells at all (acellular).This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes. Viruses and prions, though not strictly classed as living organisms, are also studied. Microbiology typically includes the study of the immune system, or immunology. Generally, immune systems interact with pathogenic microbes .Microbiology is a broad term which includes virology, mycology, parasitology, bacteriology, immunology and other branches. A microbiologist is a specialist in microbiology and these related topics. Microbiological procedures usually must be aseptic, and use a variety of tools such as light microscopes with a combination of stains and dyes.The most commonly used stains are called basic dyes, and are composed of positively charged molecules. Two types of basic dyes are simple stains and differential stains. Simple stains consist of one dye and identify the shape and multi cell arrangement of bacteria. Methylene blue, Carboniferous, sassafras, and crystal violet are some of the most commonly used stains. Differential stains on the other hand, use two or more dyes and help us to distinguish between two or more organisms or two or different parts of the organism. Types of differential stains are gram, Zilch-Nelsen acid fast, negative, flagella, and endosperm. Specific constraints apply to particular fields of microbiology, such as parasitology, which heavily utilizes the light microscopy, whereas microscopy's utility in bacteriology is limited due to the similarity is many cells physiology. Indeed, most means of differentiating bacteria is based on growth or biochemical reactions. Virology has very little need for light microscopes, relying on almost entirely molecular means. Mycology relies on all technologies the most evenly, from microscopy to molecular techniques. Microbiology is actively researched, and the field is advancing continuously. It is estimated that only about one percent of the microorganisms present in a given environmental sample are cultural and the number of bacterial cells and species on Earth is still not possible to be determined, recent estimates indicate that it can be extremely high . Although microbes were directly observed over three hundred years ago, the precise determination, quantization and description of its functions is far to be complete, given the overwhelming diversity detected by genetic and culture-independent means.

FOUR MAIN ASPECTS OF MICROBIOLOGY Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species.A person who studies bacteriology is a bacteriologist. Bacteriology and microbiology Because of the similarity of thinking and working with microorganisms other than bacteria, such as protozoa, fungi, and viruses, there has been a tendency for the field of bacteriology to extend as microbiology.The terms were formerly often used interchangeably. However, bacteriology can be classified as a distinct science. Medical microbiology is both a branch of medicine and microbiology which deals with the study of microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites which are of medical importance and are capable of causing infectious diseases in human being. It includes the study of microbial pathogenesis and epidemiology and is related to the study of disease pathology and immunology. This branch of microbiology is amongst the most widely studied and followed branches due to its great importance to medicine. Along with providing a deep knowledge and understanding of the nature of pathogens this line of study has also been applied in several immunological innovations in the field of medical science. Through the development of vaccines against invading organisms, deadly and debilitating diseases such as smallpox, polio, and tuberculosis have been either eradicated or are more treatable because of the efforts of scientists and researchers in the field of medical microbiology. Food microbiology is the study of the microorganisms that inhabit, create, or contaminate food. Of major importance is the study of microorganisms causing food spoilage. "Good" bacteria, however, such as probiotics, are becoming increasingly important in food science.In addition, microorganisms are essential for the production of foods such as cheese, yogurt, other fermented foods, bread, beer and wine. Food safety is a major focus of food microbiology. Pathogenic bacteria, viruses and toxins produced by microorganisms are all possible contaminants of food. However, microorganisms and their products can also be used to combat these pathogenic microbes. Pro biotic bacteria, including those that produce bactericides, can kill and inhibit pathogens. Alternatively, purified bacteriologist such as nisin can be added directly to food products. Finally, bacteriologist, viruses that only infect bacteria, can be used to kill bacterial pathogens. Thorough preparation of food, including proper cooking, eliminates most bacteria and viruses. However, toxins produced by contaminants may not be heat-labile, and some are not eliminated by cooking. Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit host cells for virus reproduction, their interaction with host organism physiology and immunity, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy. Virology is considered to be a subfield of microbiology or of medicine. AUTHOR INFORMATION Myself Shruthi from Mangalore have completed ma BE in computer science. For more info log on to www.bestcollegehunt.com