Microbiology quiz1

Give a thorough definition of "microbiology.”

The study of living things (and non-living biological things) that are too small to see with the naked eye (i.e. without a microscope).

List the 8 categories of microbes that are considered a part of microbiology.

Bacteria, Archaea, Fungi, Protozoa, Algae, Viruses, Parasitic Helminths(worms), Prions.

Tell the beliefs and medical treatments related to disease before microbiology existed.

Before the advent of microbiology, diseases were often attributed to imbalances in bodily humors, supernatural forces, or miasmas (bad air). Treatments included bloodletting, herbal remedies, and prayers, focusing more on symptoms rather than underlying microbial causes.

Define Spontaneous Generation Theory and give the three examples of spontaneous generation that were believed to be true.

Spontaneous Generation Theory is the belief that living organisms can arise from non-living matter without the intervention of parent organisms. Three examples include the idea that maggots could arise from decaying meat, fleas from dust, and microorganisms from broth.

Tell that Spontaneous Generation Theory is false and why it is false.

Spontaneous Generation Theory is considered false due to experiments demonstrating that microorganisms arise from existing microbes rather than from non-living matter. Notably, Louis Pasteur's experiment with sterilized broth showed that no microbial life developed if the broth was protected from airborne contaminants.

Explain the experiments that disproved Spontaneous Generation Theory, the names of the scientists who did those experiments, and interpret the results of those experiments.

Experiments by Louis Pasteur demonstrated that life does not originate from non-living matter. Pasteur's swan-neck flask experiment showed that sterilized broth remained free of microbes when protected from air, confirming that microorganisms come from other microbes, not spontaneous generation.

Define what the Theory of Biogenesis is

Life comes from life

Cell Theory

• All cells come from  other cells  

• Cells are the basic unit/structure of life 

• All living things are composed of one or more  cells 

Define "antibiotic.”

Chemicals that kill bacteria

Tell what the first antibiotic was and where it came from.

Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming

• mold killing bacteria in a petri dish

Robert Hooke

• Published a book of microscopic drawings of living things

• First person to use the word “cell”

Antony van Leeuwenhoek

• First person to see microorganisms (bacteria and protozoa)

• Invented stronger microscopes capable of seeing microbes

Lazzaro Spallanzani

• Covered and uncovered sterile broth to debunk spontaneous generation of microorganisms

• Cells come from other cells

Louis Pasteur

• Debunked spontaneous generation of microorganisms with swan-neck flask

• Developed vaccines for rabies and anthrax

• Discovered that microorganisms are responsible for creating alcohol through fermentation

• food safe

John Tyndall

• Developed method to completely sterilize a liquid broth (hear, rest, heat, rest, heat, rest)

• Discovered endospores

Onesimus

• An enslaved man

• Shared a method for protecting against smallpox before “first” vaccine recognized

Edward Jenner

• Person credited as creating the first vaccine

• Experimented on a boy to develop a vaccine for small pox

Joseph Lister

• Developed published method for protecting against infection after surgery

• Worked greatly reduced the chances of death from infection after surgery

Alexander Fleming

• Discovered penicillin

• Discovered the first antibiotic

Jamie Ferrán

• Protected people from getting cholera

• Vaccinated 50,000 people to protect them from cholera

Suniti Solomon

• Pioneered AIDS research in India

• An Indian physician and microbiologist

Eugenio Espejo

• Identified that living things in the air can cause disease

• A scientist and writer from Ecuador

Oyewale Tomori

• A Nigerian virologist and professor

• Identified viral outbreaks in African countries

People of Uganda

• Developed method to prevent infection during surgery before published methods

• Largely unrecognized for their use of antiseptic techniques in surgery