The metabolic versatility of bacteria is a source of learning difficulty for students in classical microbiology courses. To facilitate the learning process, the authors developed an advance organizer. It consists of a set of six diagrams of metabolic pathways describing the basic living requirements of several types of bacteria: energy, carbon…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur in the U.S. each year; 5,000 are fatal. Most of these illnesses are caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites and the remaining are poisonings triggered by harmful toxins or chemicals. To Jack Guzewich, a foodborne disease…

In this article, the author reviews material that deals with the infection pathways taken by three different animal viruses. The comparative study would be useful for discussions involving intermediate and advanced undergraduates. Before discussing the videos, the author first describes the method he followed in selecting these research records.…

In this article, the author presents a poem on the distribution and adaptation of blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria). The poem describes some of the diverse habitats of cyanobacteria including examples from extreme and unique environments such as hot springs, and polar bear hair. The poem also describes some of the adaptations of cyanobacteria…

Taking into account the historic transitions and progressions in agricultural science, this article examines the emergence of the phenomenon of agricultural biotechnology. It identifies pivotal sites of tension between agricultural biotechnology and alternative approaches to agriculture. The article identifies two distinct sources of contemporary…

This paper describes a microbiology course that utilizes writing to facilitate learning of complex concepts, for communicating experimental results, and as a diagnostic tool for the instructor in monitoring the students' understanding of material on an on-going basis. In-class writing assignments that summarize subject units are accompanied by a…

States the procedure for isolating actinomycetes from soil and testing for antibiotic growth. (LS)

A workshop on plant viruses and mycoplasmas brought together scientists and researchers working on these microorganisms in the countries of eastern Asia, and enabled them to discuss their studies, to exchange ideas, and to become familiar with their counterparts These proceedings of the workshop contain papers which include country reports,…

This report presents the results of an extensive literature survey undertaken to establish optimum sampling, sample handling and long-term storage techniques for a wide variety of environmental samples to retain sample integrity. The components of interest are trace elements, organics, pesticides, radionuclides and microbiologicals. A bibliography…