micro

• Carolus Linnaeus is known as the Father of Taxonomy
• Binomial nomenclature classifies organisms according to their genus and species name
• Genus name is capitalized and species name is the specific epithet, both are italicized
• Salmonella enterica is a bacterium that honors public health microbiologist Daniel Salmon and is found in the intestines
• Streptococcus pyogenes is a bacterium that appears in chains and forms pus
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a yeast that is a fungus and makes beer
• Penicillium chrysogenum is a fungus that has a tuftlike appearance microscopically and produces a yellow pigment
• Trypanosoma cruzi is a protozoan that has a corkscrew appearance and honors epidemiologist Oswaldo Cruz
• Bacteria are simple, single-celled prokaryotes that can be classified based on their general shape such as coccus, bacillus, spirillum, spirochete, and vibrio
• Archaea are unicellular prokaryotes with cell walls lacking peptidoglycan, including methanogens, extreme halophiles, and extreme thermophiles
• Protists are a group of eukaryotes that are not plants, animals, or fungi, including algae and protozoa
• Algae can be unicellular or multicellular, have cell walls made of cellulose, and are photosynthetic organisms
• Protozoa make up the backbone of many food webs, have cilia/flagella and pseudopods, and some are pathogens
• Fungi are eukaryotes that can be unicellular yeasts or molds with visible masses called mycelia
• Viruses are acellular, very simple organisms with a core made of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat, and they reproduce using the cellular machinery of other organisms
• Helminths are multicellular parasitic worms, including flatworms and roundworms
• The skin has microbes like Propionibacterium, Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, and others, with a resistant barrier of keratin and low pH inhibiting many microbes
• The eyes have microbes like Staphylococcus epidermis, S. aureus, and others, with tears and blinking helping eliminate or inhibit microbes
• The mouth has diverse microbial populations including Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Actinomyces, and others, with biting, chewing, and salivary flow dislodging microbes
• The large intestine contains a large number of microbiota, including Escherichia coli, Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, and others, with antimicrobial chemicals produced by the mucosa
• The urinary and reproductive systems have resident populations in the lower urethra, with urine flow and acidity inhibiting or killing microbes
• Microbiota in newborns can originate from the mother's reproductive tract during vaginal birth or from maternal skin biota during a Caesarean section
• Endemic diseases are constantly present in a population within a particular region
• Epidemic diseases occur in a short time within a geographic region, often caused by changes in the environment or population
• Pandemic diseases occur on a worldwide scale
• The chain of infection includes a reservoir where germs can live, a portal of exit, mode of transmission (direct or indirect), portal of entry, and a susceptible host
• The stages of diseases include the incubation period, prodromal period, period of illness, period of decline, and period of convalescence
• Microbes play a role in human welfare through recycling vital elements, sewage treatment, bioremediation, insect pest control, and biotechnology including gene therapy and recombinant DNA technology
• Microorganisms, also known as "microbes," are tiny living things that are too small to be seen by the naked eye
• Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, with "micro" meaning small, "bio" meaning life, and "logos" meaning study
• Early notions of disease, contagion, and containment:

  • In the Bible, there was a practice of quarantining people with leprosy and other diseases
  • Ancient Greeks attributed diseases to bad air, known as "miasmatic odors"
  • Romans followed the miasma hypothesis and created a complex sanitation infrastructure to deal with sewage
• Hippocrates is considered the father of Western medicine and believed that diseases had natural, not supernatural causes
• Thucydides, known as the father of Scientific history, advocated for evidence-based analysis and had an early understanding of the concept of immunity
• Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman writer, proposed the concept that things we cannot see can cause disease in his work "Res Rusticae" (On Farming)
• Antony van Leeuwenhoek is known as the "Father of Microbiology" and first observed microbes as "Little Animalcules," providing the first sketch of bacteria
• Robert Hooke developed the first practical compound microscope, laying the foundation for the cell theory that states all living things are composed of cells, with Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann proposing the Unified Cell Theory
• Louis Joblot described protozoa and supported the Spontaneous Generation Theory, which proposed that living things came from non-living things
• John Needham supported the Spontaneous Generation Theory, while Lazaro Spallanzani opposed it, and Francesco Redi experimentally showed that maggots did not arise from decaying meat
• Louis Pasteur, along with Koch, led the Golden age of Microbiology, developed the process of pasteurization, proposed the "Germ Theory of Disease," and created vaccines for cholera, anthrax, chicken pox, and rabies
• Edward Jenner developed the vaccine against smallpox