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Tami Port's BlogPosted by Tami Port The Virtual Microbiology Classroom offers both free lecture and lab material from an introductory-level college microbiology course. Virtual Microbiology Lab exercises and PowerPoint topics include:
The site also provides free images of lab materials and procedures, including:
Posted by Tami Port There are now several articles in the Suite101 Microbiology collection that specifically address the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Here are the links so that you can easily find the cell biology information that you need. Cell Biology Article Series
Posted by Tami Port I have been slowly but steadily adding a number of microscopy articles to the Microbiology topic at Suite101. If you are a Cell Biology or Microbiology student first learning to use a scope of trying to re-familiarize yourself with the basic concepts of microscopy, the following articles should help get off to a good start: Suite101 Microscopy Articles
Posted by Tami Port There are many recognized virally-mediated exanthems. This article series covers some of those most commonly encountered during childhood, including those caused by DNA viruses (chickenpox, erythemia infectiosum, roseola) and those caused by RNA viruses (rubella and rubeola). Childhood Exanthem Article Links
Posted by Tami Port Each lecture topic listed has a main page that offers both practice test questions and review questions that are used in an actual college-level introductory cell biology classroom. The following link takes to to the main page. Virtual Cell Biology Classroom Topics Include:
Posted by Tami Port Selective media only grows certain types of microbes. Differential media exhibits a color change when microbes with certain metabolic capabilities are present. See the following articles for more information on both general and specialized bacterial growth media.
For additional information on microbiology see the SPO Virtual Microbiology Classroom and Todar’s Online Textbook of Bacteriology.
Posted by Tami Port There are several new articles in Suite101’s Microbiology topic related to procedures used in the identification of bacteria. This page provides links to help you find what you are looking for. Differential Stains Differential & Selective Media
Metabolic Tests for Specific Bacterial Identification More Microbiology Resources For more information on Microbiology, see the SPO Virtual Microbiology Classroom, or Todar’s Online Textbook of Bacteriology. Posted by Tami Port Each lecture topic listed has a main page that offers both practice test questions and review questions that are used in an actual college-level cell biology classroom. Virtual Cell Biology Classroom Topics Include:
Posted by Tami Port Differential Stains Gram, Acid-fast and Endospore stain don’t identify bacteria down to the species level, but each technique does provide specific information about structural aspects of the stained bacteria that are helpful in choosing appropriate microbial control measures to kill pathogens. The following links will take you to each article in the differential staining series: More Microbiology Resources For more infomration on Microbiology, see the SPO Virtual Microbiology Classroom, or Todar’s Online Textbook of Bacteriology. Posted by Tami Port Microbiology Review For students interested in finding review questions to help prepare for microbiology exams, see the Science Prof Online Virtual Microbiology Classroom. Each lecture topic listed has a main page that offers practice test questions, review questions and PowerPoint lecture presentations that are used in an actual college-level microbiology class. Topics Include:
Cell Biology Review For students looking for help reviewing cell biology topics, see the SPO Virtual Cell Biology Classroom. As with the Virtual Micro Classroom, each lecture topic listed has a main page that offers practice test questions, review questions and PowerPoint lecture presentations that are used in an actual college-level cell biology class. Topics Include:
Posted by Tami Port Antibiotics and Bacteria If you go to the doctor with a viral infection, you will generally not be sent home with a prescription for antibiotics. Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria, and should only be prescribed when a bacterial infection is suspected. Different antibiotics have different modes of action (MOA), each class very specifically targeting some aspect of the bacterium’s physiology or structure in a way that kills or disables the pathogen without harming out cells. There are vaccines to prevent some bacterial infections. Antivials and Viruses There are ways to fight viral infections. We can be vaccinated against some of the more serious viral infectious diseases. For a few others there are antiviral drugs that don’t cure, but do help slow down the virus or relieve our symptoms. Most common viral infections that are brief and not potentially life-threatening usually just have to run their course before our own immune system either suppresses or evicts them. See Suite101 Microbiology topic or SPO's Virtual Microbiology Classroom for more information on microbes and infectious disease. Posted by Tami Port For students interested in finding practice test questions to help prepare for microbiology exams, see the Virtual Microbiology Classroom. Each lecture topic listed has a main page that offers both practice test questions and review questions that are used in an actual college-level microbiology classroom. Topics Include:
Posted by Tami Port New Resource for Quick Micro Answers Most people looking for information on the internet want to be able to quickly reach straightforward explanations that specifically address their question. This Microbiology blog will be frequently updated with answers to common cell and microbiology questions. What Is the Difference Between Bacteria and Viruses? Bacteria Bacteria are single-celled living prokaryotic organisms. Prokaryotes are evolutionarily ancient, simple cells. But simple and primitive certainly doesn’t mean unsuccessful. These microbes are found nearly everywhere. Some bacteria live independently, others exist in symbiotic relationships that can be beneficial to humans (such as the normal flora that exists in our GI tract and helps us digest food and produce vitamins). Other types of bacteria are pathogens which cause illness (such as Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA is a particularly virulent strain of this species). Viruses These infectious agents are not alive and all are parasites. Viruses are not considered a life form because they are not made of cells; they do not grow; they cannot reproduce on their own; and they don’t transform energy (metabolize nutrients). Viruses must infect a living cell in order to make more viruses. A viral particle is composed of at least genetic material (DNA or RNA) and a protective protein coat called a capsid. There are no viruses that are directly beneficial to us, although we have found ways to use viruses to our benefit, such as viral cancer therapy. See Suite101 Microbiology topic or SPO's Virtual Microbiology Classroom for more information on microbes and infectious disease. Posted by Tami Port How in the world do antibiotics kill bacteria without harming our cells? Why are there so many different types of antibiotics? What do these chemotherapeutics do to disable microbes? Find the answers to these and other questions in Suite101’s new article series exploring the mode of action of some of the main classes of antibiotics. Click on the following links to go to the article describing how each class of antibiotic exerts its effect:
Posted by Tami Port Viral Gene and Drug Therapy Viruses are parasites that specialize in getting their genetic material into living cells. And science is now finding a way to put the talents of viruses to good use. Dr. Myongsoo Lee and his team of researchers at Yonsei Univeristy, recently published an article in Angewandte Chemie in which they reported successfully using an artificial virus to transport genes and drugs into cancer cells. Natural & Artificial Viruses Naturally occurring viruses are good at moving genes into cells and have been used for gene therapy, but natural viruses can trigger the body’s immune response and some can even cause cancer. Artificial viruses don’t have these side effects, but have not been shown to be particularly effective so far because their size and shape (features vital to a viruses’ effectiveness) have been hard to control. It looks like Myongsoo Lee has developed a new strategy that allows the artificial viruses to maintain the shape the require in order to work in gene therapy. Moving Genes and Therapeutics into Cancer Cells Lee performed trials using human cancer cells and demonstrated that his artificial viruses could effectively transport RNA (a nucleic acid similar to DNA) into a cancer cell and block the expression of a target gene. These researchers were also able to attach other molecules to the artificial viruses that then transported these molecules into the nuclei (the genetic command center) of tumor cells, where many antitumor drugs exert their effects. Author of Study: Myongsoo Lee, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea) Title: Filamentous Artificial Virus from a Self-Assembled Discrete Nanoribbon Journal: Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2008, 47, No. 24, 4525 To learn more about viruses in general, see these Suite101 articles: Posted by Tami Port Three new studies just published in the May 2008 issue of the journal Nature Genetics may provide us with information that could ultimately lead to genetic screening that will help us assess our risk of skin cancer. Even without genetic screening most of us know that that people with fair complexions are more prone to sunburn than those with darker complexions. New research now links certain variations in the genes that control the color of our skin, hair and eyes with an increased risk of melanoma and carcinoma, two potentially deadly forms of skin cancer. See the new Suite101 article ‘Genetics of Pigment & Skin Cancer’ to read a summary of these new research findings or go to the source, Nature Genetics to find the studies themselves. Posted by Tami Port Here’s a new collection of Suite101 articles that explain what mutations are and how these changes to the DNA code impact the evolution of life. What Is a Genetic DNA Mutation? A mutation is a rare change in a gene's DNA sequence that can result in a defective cellular protein. This article covers the basics of genetic mutation. Hereditary & Somatic DNA Mutations There are two main categories of genetic mutation based on the type of cell they occur in. Changes to a person's DNA can be inherited or acquired after fertilization. A mutation is an alteration of a gene's DNA sequence. Mutations are usually bad news, but those rare changes that benefit an organism are the raw material of evolution. This article describes types if small mutations involving a change in one, or just a few nucleotides; covers point mutations, insertions, deletions and frameshift mutations. Posted by Tami Port There is great deal of potentially confusing terminology associated with chromosomes and their number. For example, duplicated chromosomes are called 'sister chromatids' as long as they are attached, but as soon as they separate, they become 'daughter chromosomes.' And a pair of copied or replicated chromosomes are not the same as a pair of homologous chromosomes. The following articles will help you brush up on DNA lingo and detangle these and other genetic technical terms. Articles on Chromosomes & Their Number Ploidy - Diplod and Haploid: Chromosome Number of Somatic and Sex Cells DNA - Duplicated and Homologues: Difference between Homologous and Replicated Chromosomes Chromosomes & Sister Chromatids: Terms Used to Describe DNA during Cell Division Posted by Tami Port Stem Cells Hematopoietic adult stem cells have been used in transplants for decades. There is ongoing controversy surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells. However stem cells can also be easily collected and stored from umbilical cord blood. Stem Cell Banks Cord blood banking is not cheap. Who should be saving their child’s umbilical cord blood? When does the likelihood of need justify the initial expense of collection and ongoing cost of storage? Are cord blood banks largely preying on the fears parents have about the potential for future health issues of their children? See the following article to explore these questions and learn more about stem cell storage: Posted by Tami Port Genetics & Evolution now has a collection of new and recent articles exploring the theory of evolution and Charles Darwin' discovery of natural selection. People typically associate the name Charles Darwin with the concept of evolution, but Darwin was certainly not the first to understand that populations of organisms change over time. His groundbreaking contribution came in discovering how evolution occurred, its mechanisms of action – natural selection. The link Darwin, Evolution and Natural Selection will take you to a collection of articles on the history of evolutionary thinking, what lead Darwin to his pivotal discovery as well as explain how natural selection works as a shaper of traits. Posted by Tami Port Blood tests were used in the past, but blood type (A, B, AB & O) can only eliminate a man from consideration as the possible biological father of a child. The genetic techology of DNA fingerprinting now enables us to easily, specifically and reliably look at the relatedness of individals. See the following new Genetics & Evolution articles for more information on paternity testing and DNA fingerprinting: 1. DNA Fingerprinting Paternity Test Posted by Tami Port Nucleotides are important and versatile organic molecules of living organisms. Depending on the specific type, they can:
The latest piece in this Nucleic Acid Article Series provides a summary of, and link to, each of the specific articles, which range from explaining gene recognition to defining ATP, RNA and DNA. Take a look and beef up on your molecular genetics! Posted by Tami Port It is easy to become confused when it comes to the terminology associated with chromosomes and chromosome number. What are homologous chromosomes? What are duplicated chromosomes? What are chromatids? How do all of these terms differ and how do they relate to each other? The following article series can help sort out the lingo. Quick Links to Articles on Chromosome Number Posted by Tami Port New Article Series If the terms mitosis and meiosis bring back unpleasant flashbacks of confusion during time spent in an introductory biology course, there is help available. A new collection of articles explores these processes and how they relate to asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction and the human life cycle. Here is a list of quick links to articles that explain these processes clearly, it easy to grasp terms. Cell Division Quick Links |
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