Click on the links below to download syllabi:
The
following clip requires QuickTime 3.0 or later. If you do do not
already have QuickTime installed, you may get the installer from
Apple
|
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Click
the play button to the left to view a 35
second clip from CNN's The Apocalypse Bug,
1996. |
Society
is both benefited from, and harmed by microorganisms. Microbes
are necessary for production of many important products such
as bread, cheese, antibiotics, vaccines, and enzymes and they
are indispensable components of our ecosystem. Microbial diseases
have disrupted society over the millenia.
We will look at the basic biology and ecological activities of microorganisms,
using bacteria and viruses as the predominant examples. Microorganisms
are a large, diverse group of microscopic organisms that exist
in a variety of environments as single cells, as cell clusters,
or as non-cellular viruses. We will discuss the experimental
basis of microbiology, the diversity of microorganisms, their
biochemical processes, and the genetic basis of microbial growth
and evolution. Applied microbiology will also be studied: microbial
disease processes and the roles of microorganisms in food, agriculture,
and biotechnology.
