BIOL-116 Intro Vocab

Alexander Fleming (1928)

observed mold growing on a bacteria culture, there was a ring of clearing about the mold where bacteria didn’t grow known as Penicillium that naturally secreted penicillin.

Algae

eukaryotic, photosynthetic organisms that live in water or moist environments and can be single-celled or multicellular.

Anthrax

a bacterial disease caused by Bacillus anthracis; the cause was discovered by isolating bacteria from dead animals, growing it in pure culture, and showing it could reproduce the disease when introduced into healthy animals.

Pure culture

a sample of microorganisms that contains only one type of species no other bacteria, fungi, or organisms mixed in.

Antibiotic

natural agents.

Antimicrobial agent

medicine to treat a microbial disease.

Antiseptic

a substance that kills or slows the growth of microorganisms on living tissue like skin, to prevent infection.

Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek (1673)

the first person to observe living cells with a simple microscope; described what we know today as bacteria.

Archaea

known as ancient “bacteria”; unicellular, simple cell structure (prokaryote), but has distinct metabolism allowing them to exist in extreme environments.

Arsenical

chemical compound containing arsenic, often used historically to treat infections or diseases caused by microbes.

Azotobacter vinelandii 12837

single-celled, Gram – soil bacterium that grows aerobically and fixes atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by plants; ATCC 12837 is a common lab strain used in research.

Bacteria

unicellular, prokaryote, found everywhere (old kingdom name – Monera).

Categories of Classification

bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoans, algae, viruses, and helminths.

Cell Theory

all living things are made of cells, cells are the basic unit of life, and all cells come from preexisting cells.

Cowpox

a viral disease of cows that is mild in humans and was used by Edward Jenner to develop the first smallpox vaccine.

Domains

the highest level of classification in biology, grouping all life into three major categories: bacteria, archaea, and eukarya.

E. coli 0157H7

a harmful serotype of the bacterium Escherichia coli that produces Shiga toxin (a potent toxin) and causes severe foodborne illness with bloody stool and possible kidney failure.

Edward Jenner (1700’s)

credited with the first vaccine by observing the impact cowpox had on milk maids.

Endopores

spores resistant to boiling.

Eukarya

unicellular to multicellular, complex and organized cells with nuclei and organelles (mitochondria).

Francesco Redi (1668)

opposed the theory of spontaneous generation using covered jars tot show that maggots came from flies.

Fungi

eukaryotic; yeast and molds.

Germ Theory of Disease

states that microorganisms cause disease (in people, animals and even plants).

Golden Age of Microbiology (1857-1914)

a period in the late 1800s when scientists like Pasteur and Koch discovered microbes cause disease, developed pure culture techniques and established the foundations of modern microbiology.

Gram - negative

destain and are counterstained pink or reddish color.

Gram + positive

stain violet.

Helminths

multicellular animal parasites; words.

Iwanowski (1892)

discovered that plant disease can be caused by organisms that were so small they passed through filters; Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV).

Jacob & Monod (1965)

researched RNA and protein synthesis in bacteria.

Joseph Lister (1860’s)

applied ideas of the germ theory to surgery; knew washing hands childbed fever was prevented; phenol would kill bacteria and reduce the cause of infection.

Kingdoms

the second highest level to categories of the Domain Eukarya; monera (bacteria), protista (protozoans), fungi, plantae, animalia.

Koch’s Postulates

technique for determining the actual microbial cause agent of a disease; isolate the microbe, grow in pure culture, reproduce in a healthy host, and re-isolate the same microbe.

Microbiology

the science that studies very small living things.

Mycoplasma

bacteria that lacks a cell wall.

Pasteur (1857)

focused on the spontaneous generation theory; designed curved necked flasks that prevented contaminated air from reaching boiled beef broth, the brother remained uncontaminated even though exposed to the air.

Pasteurization

heating of a substance to kill contaminated microbes; cured sick wine and today used to kill pathogens in milk.

Paul Ehrlich

wanted to find a magic bullet an agent that would kill the disease agent without hurting the patient.

Penicillin

an antibiotic.

Prions

infectious proteins that can cause neurodegenerative diseases by inducing folding of normal proteins in the brain.

Protozoans/Protists

single-celled eukaryotic organisms some animal-like, plant-like, fungus-like, that live in water or moist environments.

Robert Hooke (1665)

used a primitive compound microscope, reported that life’s smallest units were little boxes.

Robert Koch

proved that specific microorganisms cause specific diseases, developed pure culture techniques, and established Koch’s postulates.

Sabin (1963)

live Polio virus vaccine, attenuated – altered virus, OPV-oral polio vaccine.

Salk (1950’s)

polio vaccine, treated it with formalin (IPV) inactivated polio virus.

Salmonella typhi

pathogenic bacterium that causes typhoid fever in humans, transmitted through contaminated food or water.

Salvarsan

salvation from syphilis agent.

Serology

antibody – antigen reactions (like blood typing).

Sulfas

synthetic drugs are chemicals produced in labs.

Systematics

the discipline of identifying and classifying organisms.

T. pallidum

causes syphilis spirochete through adult contact.

Theory of Biogenesis

life comes from life.

Theory of Spontaneous Generation

the outdated idea that living organisms can arise spontaneously from nonliving matter; maggots come from rotten meat.

Tissue Culture

the growth of cells or tissues in an artificial, controlled environment outside the organism often used for research or medical purposes.

Tubercle Bacillus (Mycobacterium tuberculosis)

the bacterium that causes tuberculosis primarily infecting the lungs and forming small nodules called tubercles.

Vaccine/Vaccination

a preparation of weakened, dead, or part of a pathogen given to stimulate immunity and protect against disease.

Viroid

a tiny, infectious particle made of only RNA that can cause disease in plants, without a protein coat.

Viruses

a non-living infectious agent made of DNA and RNA enclosed in a protein coat that can replicate only inside a host cell.