Microbiology Lecture Notes - Chapter 1: The Main Themes of Microbiology

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the key concepts, branches, and historical foundations of microbiology as presented in Chapter 1.

Microbiology

The study of organisms too small to be seen without magnification.

Microorganisms

A group of microscopic organisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, algae, and helminths (worms).

Medical Microbiology

A branch of microbiology that studies the effects of microorganisms on human beings.

Epidemiology

The field that monitors and controls the spread of diseases in communities, supported by institutions like the USPHS and CDC.

Biotechnology

The branch of microbiology focusing on the natural abilities of microbes to derive a desired product.

Genetic engineering

The deliberate alteration of the genetic makeup of organisms to create novel microbes, plants, and animals with unique behaviors and physiology.

Industrial microbiology

The science of scaling up microbial processes to produce large quantities of a desired product.

Immunology

The study of the complex web of protective substances and reactions caused by invading microbes and other harmful entities, including blood testing and vaccination.

Prokaryotes

Simple cells that lack nuclei and membrane-bound organelles; bacteria-like organisms that have existed for about $3.5 \text{ billion years}$.

Eukaryotes

Complex unicellular or multicellular organisms that contain a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.

Viruses

Acellular, parasitic particles composed of a nucleic acid and protein.

Photosynthesis

Light fueled conversion of carbon dioxide to organic material.

Decomposition

The breakdown of dead matter and wastes into simple compounds.

Bioremediation

The use of living organisms to remedy an environmental problem.

Parasites

Organisms that live on or in the body of another organism called the host and damage the host.

Pathogens

Microbes that do harm manually; nearly $1,500$ different microbes cause human diseases.

Spontaneous Generation

An early belief that some forms of life could arise from vital forces present in nonliving or decomposing matter.

Theory of Biogenesis

The concept disproved by Louis Pasteur that living things can only arise from other living things.

Hypothesis

A tentative explanation for a natural phenomenon that can be supported or refuted using a deductive approach.

Theory

A viable explanation of why things happen, supported by extensive data, which is yet to be disproved by scientific methods.

Bacterial endospores

Heat-resistant forms of microbes discovered by Ferdinand Cohn.

Sterility

The requirement for the elimination of all life forms, including endospores, viruses, and prions.

Aseptic techniques

Procedures introduced by Joseph Lister involving the disinfection of hands with chemicals and the use of heat for sterilization to prevent wound infections.

Germ Theory of Disease

The theory that diseases are caused by the growth of microbes in the body, contributed to significantly by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch.

Taxonomy

The formal system for organizing, classifying, and naming living things, originated by Carl von Linné.

Nomenclature

The taxonomic process of assigning names to organisms.

Binomial nomenclature

The two-name system for giving each organism a capitalized Genus and a lowercase species name, both of which are italicized or underlined.

Phylogeny

The study of the natural relatedness between groups of organisms.

Archaea

A domain of odd bacteria that live in extreme environments such as high salt or heat.

Eukarya

The domain of life consisting of organisms that have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.