Microbiology studies microscopic organisms and needs ways to distinguish different types visually. Microbiologists use staining procedures that add color to different types of organisms. These stains are chemicals that are of different colors, but these chemicals do not themselves stick to the organisms. Thus, a microbiologists adds a mordant to the stain. A mordant…
A new study by researchers at UCLA has revealed two key findings for people with irritable bowel syndrome about the relationship between the microorganisms that live in the gut and the brain. For people with IBS research shows for the first time that there is an association between the gut microbiota and the brain regions involved in the processing of sensory information…
Eukaryotic Viruses Viruses are submicroscopic infectious agents, which can replicate only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses are composed of a nucleic acid genome surrounded by a protein coat, also known as capsid. The capsids of most eukaryotic viruses consist of a number of different proteins. Viruses can infect both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms…
Viruses are not plants, animals, or bacteria, but they are the quintessential parasites of the living kingdoms. Although they may seem like living organisms because of their prodigious reproductive abilities, viruses are not living organisms in the strict sense of the word. Without a host cell, viruses cannot carry out their life-sustaining functions or reproduce…
Plant diseases can be difficult to diagnose. So often, they display the same symptoms as plants that are perfectly healthy, except for stresses imposed upon them by our poor cultural practices. When a plant is diseased, it is because of a bacteria, fungus, or virus. A better understanding of each will help you diagnose and treat the problem if possible. Bacteria Not…
To isolate plasmid DNA, you crack your cells open and perform a miniprep, trying hard to avoid contaminating genomic DNA. For genomic DNA, you crack your cells open in a different way and try to isolate as much of the contents as possible. So what’s the difference in the protocols? In this article, we will look at plasmid and genomic DNA extraction, and the ways in…
All animals and plants are made of cells. Animal cells and plant cells have features in common, such as a nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, mitochondria and ribosomes. Plant cells also have a cell wall, and often have chloroplasts and a permanent vacuole. Note that cells may be specialised to carry out a particular function. Dissolved substances pass into and out…
Typically, water suppliers add disinfectants, such as chlorine, to drinking water in an effort to help control disease-causing microbes. However, disinfection may be difficult as certain microbes are exceedingly resistant to conventional disinfection practices. Microorganisms may contaminate water through human and animal fecal waste. Adya products remove and reduce…
Prokaryotic Cells Prokaryotic cells are the simplest systems that exhibit all of the signs of life. They are the smallest types of cell, averaging 2-5 m in length, which makes them just visible under the light microscope. Despite their small size, inside each cell there is the complete chemical and biochemical machinery necessary for growth, reproduction and the acquisition…
Illnesses have a tendency to clump together. An attack of the flu can bring on bacterial lung infections; in the USA almost half of all cases of bacterial sepsis occur following viral infections in the lungs. This is a problem at the best of times as it means that patients spend longer in hospitals, but in times of a viral pandemic it becomes incredibly deadly. One…
Mechanical Structure (a) Defines / encloses the Cell A cell membrane encloses and defines the cell. There are different ways to express this, e.g. The cell membrane maintains the physical integrity of the cell. It s most obvious in the cases of animal cells (because they don t have cell walls) that the cell membrane holds the cell together by enclosing the cytoplasm…
Prokaryotic Cell Parts, Functions & Diagrams of Prokaryotes Single-celled prokaryotes are microbes that include bacteria and their bacteria-like cousins Archaea. Prokaryotic cells are much simpler than the more evolutionarily advanced Whereas eukaryotic cells have many different functional compartments, divided by membranes, prokaryotes only have one membrane…
Clusters of a toxic bacterial protein have a surprising structure, differing from similar clumps associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in humans, scientists report in the Feb. 24 Science . These clusters, called amyloids, are defined in part by their structure: straight regions of protein chains called beta strands, folded accordion-style into flat beta sheets…
The argument claims that the use of a flagellum to swim requires many parts. Therefore, if something did not have those parts, it would gain no survival advantage from a flagellum. There’s a serious gap here! Evidence: ~MP → ~UFS Conclusion: ~MP → ~SA Gap: ~UFS → ~SA (key: MP = many parts, UFS = use a flagellum to swim, SA = survival advantage) Back into English…
