WHAT ARE MICROORGANISMS?
A microorganism is a living organism that is microscopic. It may be either unicellular or multicellular. Microorganisms are diverse and include bacteria and archaea and almost all the protozoa. they also include some fungi , algae and some animals e.g. rotifers. Some microbiologists classify virus as microorganisms but the other scientists classify them as nonliving things.
Microorganisms live in every part of the biosphere, microorganisms under certain test conditions have been seen to survive in the vacuum of outer space.
IMPORTANCE OF MICROGANISMS TO HUMAN KIND
• HUMAN HEALTH – The human body contains ten times more microorganisms than the body cells. The microorganisms are beneficial and they perform various body
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Scientists successfully developed human insulin, growth hormones, and other useful components of the body. It also use microorganisms for drug delivery in vectors and plasmid forms. Microorganisms also play an important part in recombinant DNA technology and genetic engineering. Important tools of biotechnology are microbial cells, microbial genes and microbial organisms. Microorganisms have also provided many beneficial things to agriculture by increasing the soil fertility which makes the production of plants increase and as a result of this strengthens the economy.
• TERRORISM AND WARFARE- Microorganisms can be used as warfare weapons, historical records have shown that armies used infected corpses against their enemies as far back as the sixth century B.C. by throwing them into wells and poisoning the water, catapulting or shooting them into the cities of their opponents to cause an outbreak of disease. The colonization of the Americas included many incidents of Europeans using virus like small pox against the native population. All this occurred before scientists fully understood how microorganisms cause
Bacteria are living things that have only one cell. Under a microscope, they look like balls, rods, or spirals. Many are helpful. Some bacteria help to digest food, destroy disease-causing cells, and give the body needed vitamins. Bacteria are also used in making healthy foods like yogurt.
The author starts by explaining the human microbiome and the research on it. For many years, biologists thought that the human body was able to perform all of its important functions by itself. However, in the past decade, they have found that the human body contains trillions of microorganisms that help with these important processes. In fact, they outnumber human cell 10 to one. At first, microbe research was only focused on harmful pathogens, but recently, biologists have figured out what the most common bacteria in the human body are, and have been trying to figure out the specific functions of theses microorganisms.
Although microscopic single-celled organisms inhabited earth long before humans evolved from their primate ancestors, they continue to coexist and coevolve with humans today, flourishing as both harmless and deadly companions. Within her literary work Deadly Companions: How Microbes Shaped Our History, microbiologist Dorothy Crawford begins with a dramatic account of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the first pandemic of the twenty-first century. Crawford travels back in time four billion years ago to the origin of microbes, recounting the evolutionary history of microbes, showing how microbes spread and cause epidemics, and revealing how coevolution yields host resistance. Furthermore, Crawford explores the intertwining history of microbes and humans, with the purpose to reveal the link between the emergence of microbes and the cultural development of man.
Microbe: Are We Ready for the Next Plague? By: Alan P. Zelicoff and Michael Bellomo Microbe, by Alan P. Zelicoff and Michael Bellomo, describes the way our public health systems react to outbreaks of disease. It shows many different real life situations, including the 2003 SARS outbreak in China, and describes the way that national health organizations responded to the threats. Using the situations that occurred in the past, Microbe presents two different hypothetical outbreaks - a natural outbreak of bird flu in California, and a bioterrorism attack in Denver.
In the first four chapters of Deadly Companions author Crawford takes us on a journey on how microbes shaped our history. Starting with when microbes first appeared on planet Earth to Darwinian evolution of single celled organism. In chapter two “Our Microbial Inheritance” she discussed the relationship of microbes with hunter-gatherers and early settlements; and their relationship to disease. She looks at the impact of microbes on the lives of individuals and the population as a whole. Hunter-gatherers were small groups of people that hunted for food, moving from place to place.
The yeast menace is known by several different terms, candidosis, yeast infection,monilia and thrush. Symptoms of yeast infections are vast, however there are some that are more obvious, these include chronic tiredness, cystitis and thrush that continues to come back even after you have treated it. Some other symptoms which are not as obvious include, anxiety,mood swings, fluid retention ,allergies,depression,inability to loose weight,constipation, diahorrea, PMS, acne and dermatitis as well as hypoglycaemia. With a list as exhaustive as this, it's easy to see why it's deemed one of the most debilitating immune deficiencies and nutritional disorders of our time, As with any infection, one or many of the symptoms may exist, however, advanced
Being able to identify unknown microbes from systematic testing is what makes the field of microbiology so important, especially in infectious disease control. Using the testing procedure laid out by the microbiology field we are able to identify unknown bacteria present in our everyday lives, and along the way learn a lot about their characteristics that separate them from other types of bacteria. Being able to do this is vital in order for us to understand why microbes are present in certain places, how they are able to grow and what restricts their growth, that way they can be combatted if necessary. These techniques for determining unknowns are also important for isolating and testing infectious disease microbes in order to prevent spreading. Another important aspect of being able to identify unknown microbes is the
The particular weapon or better yet biological microorganism that I have chosen to outline this week is that of a particularly nasty strain of disease which has wiped out an unknown multitude of people throughout history. This infectious disease, known as the genus Orthopoxvirus, from the the family Poxviridae and subfamily of chordopoxvirinae, is potentially believed to have laid to waste whole civilizations of people. It also goes by the name “Red Plague”, or in more common parlance, “The Smallpox Virus.” Historically, this virus made its way to Europe sometime between the 5th and 7th centuries. According to Reidel (2005), “It was frequently epidemic during the Middle Ages.
1. A viruses is a non-living infection agent and can be found anywhere. it has no cell organelles. They are eliminated by the immune system. Viruses are the smallest in size of all the microbes.
INTRODUCTION Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) is one of the most important agents in the prevention of hospital acquired infections or what we termed nosocomial infections. IPC channels every member of the hospital, which includes, healthcare providers (HCP), patients and the hospitals perse. It is important to practice IPC commandment to every hospital as well as community. The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) adopted the national IPC protocol.
Not only does this help you get the nutrients you need, it can also play the significant role in battling malnutrition in the developing world. In the early 1990s, a plant biologist was busy making genetically modified plants (often called GMOs for genetically modified organisms) as part of the research that led to his PH.D. Into these plants we were putting DNA from various foreign organisms.such as viruses and bacteria. Another reason was that we hardly imagined That GMOs like ours would be grown or eaten. Engineering can also eliminate seeds and produce a longer shelf life, which allows for the”safe” transport to people in countries.
DNA in Forensic Science DNA is the carrier of genetic information in humans and other living organisms. It has become a very useful tool in forensic science since it was discovered. In forensic science, DNA testing is used to compare the genetic structure of two individuals to establish whether there is a genetic relationship between them. One example of the use of DNA in forensic science that is important in biology today is comparing a suspect’s DNA profile to DNA that was discovered at a crime scene.
Microbes were the first organism to occupy the Earth. They are a group of the smallest organisms and are single cellular organisms. Microbes are becoming important in areas such as biochemistry, genetics, agriculture and medicine. They are also important decomposers. One example, of a microbial life is the prokaryotes called bacteria.
INTRODUCTION: Quick look at your hands do you see them. (attention) Do I see what you might be asking? Well the millions of bacteria that are currently hanging out on your hands.
I. There are numerous amounts of diseases all over the world. In the present time, these diseases are cured or contained by vaccines. A couple centuries ago, doctor Edward Jenner developed the first vaccine in 1796. He discovered this vaccine by observing his ambiance. Jenner realized that milkmaids (tend to cattle) frequently contracted cowpox, but after they convalesced they were immune to the deadlier disease smallpox.