PREFACE The purpose of this course is to introduce the college-level student to the science of living things on a small scale or the field of microbiology. Microbiology touches on many related topics, including the biochemistry of living things, the different features of cells, pathogens, and the immune system. It is important to understand the biochemistry involved in living structures and to know how organic molecules combine to make living things. Molecular genetics involves the structure and function of DNA and RNA, as well as how they are made and participate in protein synthesis. Pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungal organisms, cause human diseases and activate the immune system, which is also covered in detail during this course. Chapter one in the course introduces microbiology by first covering the different types of microorganism you might uncover in your quest to understand the fundamentals of this subject. In the laboratory setting, you may have to learn the different staining techniques involved in the identification of microbes so this is discussed in the chapter. There are different types of microscopy used to study pathogens and other microorganisms, including light microscopy, dark field microscopy, and electron microscopy—each of which is covered as part of the chapter. Chapter two opens up with a discussion of the origins of cell theory as well as the different historical aspects of how cells are viewed today. The two types of cells are introduced in chapter one and are further expanded upon in this chapter. Features that make prokaryotic cells unique and things that define what results in a cell being called eukaryotic are also covered in this chapter. Chapter three in the course involves the study of acellular pathogens, which mainly involves viruses. Viruses may or may not be pathogenic and do not have the capability of surviving outside of a cell. There are viruses that can infect all forms of life. The life cycle of viruses is discussed in the chapter along with the ways that viruses are cultured and isolated. There are other acellular pathogens less complex than viruses that are talked about in the chapter, including viroids, virusoids, and prions.
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