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Microbiology
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Microbiology, the study of microorganisms, is a central discipline at the foundation of biomedical research, genomics and ecology. Microbes cause many diseases world wide, but ... catalyze the biogeochemical cycles that maintain Earth's biosphere. Microbes are important models for biochemical, genetics and genomics research, since they can be genetically modified, and their genomes are relatively small. Hundreds of microbial genomes are being sequenced, and there is a large database of microbial genes and genomes. Many new microorganisms and genes have yet to be discovered. There are many exciting new developments in microbiology.
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Microbiology is the study of a diverse group of microscopic organisms, or microorganisms: bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, and viruses. Bacteria are prokaryotes; the other microorganisms are eukaryotes. Prokaryote cells lack a nuclear membrane and membrane-bound organelles. Recently, bacteria have been divided into eubacteria and archaebacteria, with the latter more closely related to eukaryote cells. Bacteria are mostly unicellular and range in size from tiny mycoplasmas, 200 nanometers (that is, 200 billionths of a meter, or less than 1/100,000 of an inch) in diameter, to the recently discovered Thiomargarita namibiensis, at one millimeter (or about 1/25 of an inch). E. coli cells are one to two micrometers in length (about five to ten times the diameter of the mycoplasmas).
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Microbiology offers students an excellent education in the biology of microorganisms, namely bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Through learning about the biology of these microorganisms and viruses, students more fully understand the pivotal position they occupy in establishing and maintaining our biosphere, their effects on human, animal, and plant life, and how the biological properties of certain microbes are exploited for certain purposes. Microorganisms are important in drinking water, wastewater and sewage treatment, production and spoilage of foods, production of antibiotics, bioremediation of toxic compounds, and genetic engineering of organisms having unique characteristics. Students gain insight into strategies used by microorganisms and viruses to cause disease and the mechanisms used by their host to defend themselves.
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The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is hosting the 47th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), which will be held in Chicago, Illinois, September 17 - 20, 2007. More than 12,000 physicians, researchers and other healthcare professionals from around the globe gather each year at ICAAC to foster worldwide solutions to the challenges of infectious diseases.
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The Brigham & Women's Hospital Microbiology Laboratory is located on the second floor of the Amory Building, adjacent to the blood bank. The laboratory operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is staffed by 40 qualified technologists and technicians. Specialized areas within the laboratory include:
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Microbiology is not a single subject. It has many areas of specialisation. However it is a science based on the use of pure cultures - looking at one sort of organism at a time. Many of the techniques developed by microbiologists are now used in molecular and cell biology to provide the basis for studying higher organisms.
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Microbiology