This colloquium book review (occasioned by Andrew Scott's "Pirates of the Cell") contains seven selected readings from popular periodicals and research journals. It is designed to eliminate some of the mental barriers that many have to topics like molecular biology and virology. Included are: (1) "What Is A Virus?" (William D. Elliot); (2) "The…

This six-chapter handbook is concerned with the proper care and maintenance of microorganisms recovered from water and wastewater samples. These microorganisms must be cultured and identified to determine not only what kinds of cells were present in the original sample, but also what concentrations they appeared in. The skills covered are basic to…

This document is an instructional module package prepared in objective form for use by an instructor familiar with multiple tube and membrane filter techniques for determining fecal coliform concentrations in a wastewater sample. Included are objectives, instructor guides, student handouts and transparency masters. This module considers proper…

The Australian Science Education Project is producing materials designed for use in grades 7-10 of Australian schools. This is the first trial version of a unit investigating microbial action. One of the student booklets contains instructions for the activities demonstrating food decay which all students are expected to complete. The other student…

This document presents a report of medical microbiological research at the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Newcastle. The article further stresses the difficulties of the scientists as they face their three-fold responsibilities of teaching, diagnostic work and research. (HS)

This test measures the capability of a chemical substance to cause mutations in special strains of the bacterium Salmonella. It is quick, taking only forty-eight hours, inexpensive, and reliable. (BB)

This method of image enchancement and real-time imput of 3-D microscopic objects into an optical pattern recognition system is designed to identify and count diatoms as a means of water pollution assessment. The method consists of directing a low-power laser beam into a microscope to produce a coherent image of the specimen. (Author/BB)

Provided is a discussion of the use of soil organisms in land treatment of wastewater as a means of water pollution control. (MR)

Updates knowledge on nitrogen fixation, indicating that investigation of free-living nitrogen-fixing organisms is proving useful in understanding bacterial partners and is expected to lead to development of more effective symbioses. Specific areas considered include biochemistry/genetics, synthesis control, proteins and enzymes, symbiotic systems,…

Errors in determining the effectiveness of mouthwashes, disinfectants, and other household products as antibacterial agents may result from using broth cultures and/or irregularly shaped bits of filter paper. Presents procedures for a better technique and, for advanced students, two additional procedures for introducing quantitative analysis into…

Describes a computer program that students use to check their suggestions of possible lines of investigation during a microbiology exercise, the results of procedures, and the decisions made on the basis of experimental evidence. Effectiveness of the program and practical aspects of the investigation are considered. (DH)

Describes an exercise which uses a computer program (written for Commodore 64 microcomputers) that accepts data obtained from identifying bacteria, calculates similarity coefficients, and performs single linkage cluster analysis. Includes a program for simulating bacterial cultures for students who should not handle pathogenic microorganisms. (JN)