Microbiology Flashcards

Flashcards for Microbiology Review

What is Microbiology?

The study of things too small to see with the naked eye; microorganisms, microbes, germs.

Name the types of Microorganisms.

Bacteria, Algae, Protozoans, Microorganisms, Fungus (Mold, Yeast), Helminthes (parasitic worms), Viruses.

Describe Viruses.

Viruses infect any cell type and are non-living, non-cellular entities that require a host cell for replication and are not killed by antibiotics.

What are the two basic cell types?

Eukaryotic (nucleus, organelles, bigger) and Prokaryotic (no nucleus, no organelles, smaller); Only bacteria are prokaryotic.

How do microbes affect the planet's ecology?

Some bacteria recycle nutrients (decomposers); some bacteria and protozoans use the sun to make food (oxygen producers); microbes produce gases (CO2, NO, CH3) to regulate Earth's temperature.

What are some historical uses of microbes by humans?

Bread production, alcohol, cheese, antibiotics, contamination cleanup, mining precious metals.

What is Biotechnology?

Using microbes (bacteria, yeast) in an industrial setting; examples include cloning, GMO foods, and medicine production.

What is Bioremediation?

Using microbes to clean up the environment, such as with heavy metals, radiation, and toxic waste.

What are Pathogens?

Microbes that cause disease.

List new and emerging diseases.

AIDS, Hep. C, Mad Cow, West Nile, Zika, COVID-19, MERS, SARS, Drug Resistant Bacteria, Super Bugs, H1N1

What did Robert Hooke discover?

Discovered the 'Cell'.

What did Anton Van Leeuwenhoek do?

Made his own lenses, observed pond water, and described microorganisms as “Animalcules.”

What is the Miasma Theory?

The belief that sick/dying people exude a miasma that can be transmitted.

What is Spontaneous Generation?

The belief that non-living things can give rise to living things.

What were Louis Pasteur's major contributions?

Discovered fermentation, invented pasteurization, proposed the Germ Theory of Disease, invented the swan-necked flask, and created vaccines.

What were Robert Koch's major contributions?

Proved Bacillus anthracis caused anthrax, developed Koch’s Postulates, proved the Germ Theory of Disease, invented heat fixed slides and simple stain technique, found diphtheria, TB, typhoid fever bacterium.

What technique did Joseph Lister pioneer?

Aseptic Technique in surgery.

What practice did Ignaz Semmelweis promote?

Hand Washing before surgery.

What is Taxonomy?

The science of categorizing and naming unknown organisms, using the binomial system (Genus species).