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Although much is now known in the field of microbiology, advances are being made regularly. In actual fact, the most common estimates suggest that we have studied only about 1% of all of the microbes in any given environment. Thus, despite the fact that over three hundred years have passed since the discovery of microbes, the field of microbiology is clearly in its infancy relative to other biological disciplines such as Zoology , Botany or even Entomology . HISTORY Bacteria were first observed by Anton Van Leeuwenhoek in 1676 using a single-lens microscope of his own design. The name "bacterium" was introduced much later, by Ehrenberg in 1828 , derived from the Greek Word βακτηριον meaning "small stick". While Antony Van Leeuwenhoek is often cited as the first microbiologist, the first recorded microbiological observation, that of the fruiting bodies of molds, was made earlier in 1665 by Robert Hooke . The field of bacteriology (later a subdiscipline of microbiology) is generally considered to have been founded by Ferdinand Cohn ( 1828 - 1898 ), a botanist whose studies on algae and photosynthetic bacteria led him to describe several bacteria including '' Bacillus '' and '' Beggiatoa ''. Cohn was also the first to formulate a scheme for the taxonomic classification of bacteria. Louis Pasteur ( 1822 - 1895 ) and Robert Koch ( 1843 - 1910 ) were contemporaries of Cohn’s and are often considered to be the founders of medical microbiology. Louis Pasteur is most famous for his series of experiments designed to disprove the then widely held Theory Of Spontaneous Generation , thereby solidifying microbiology’s identity as a biological science. Pasteur also designed methods for food preservation ( Pasteurization ) and vaccines against several diseases such as Anthrax , fowl cholera and Rabies . Robert Koch is best known for his contributions to the Germ Theory Of Disease , proving that specific diseases were caused specific pathogenic microorganisms by the application of what has become known as the Koch's Postulates . Koch was one of the first scientists to focus on the isolation of bacteria in Pure Culture resulting in his description of several novel bacteria including '' Mycobacterium Tuberculosis '', the causative agent of tuberculosis. While es and the development of Enrichment Culture techniques. While his work on the Tobacco Mosaic Virus established the basic principles of virology, it was his development of Enrichment Culturing that had the most immediate impact on microbiology by allowing for the cultivation of a wide range of microbes with wildly different physiologies. Sergei Winogradsky was the first to develop the concept of Chemolithotrophy and to thereby reveal the essential role played by microorganisms in geochemical processes. He was responsible for the first isolation and description of both nitrifying and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. TYPES OF MICROBIOLOGY The field of microbiology can be generally divided into several subdisciplines:
BENEFITS OF MICROBIOLOGY While microbes are often viewed negatively due to their association with many human illnesses, microbes are also responsible for many beneficial processes such as Industrial Fermentation (e.g. the production of Alcohol and Dairy Products ), Antibiotic production and as vehicles for cloning in higher organsisms such as plants. Scientists have also exploited their knowledge of microbes to produce biotechnologically important enzymes such as Taq Polymerase , Reporter Gene s for use in other genetic systems and novel molecular biology techniques such as the Yeast Two-hybrid System . REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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