Articles related to "Microbes"

The human body is made up of about 10 trillion cells, but hosts 100 trillion more. The vast majority of cells living on and in the body are bacteria and other microbes.

There are three types of symbiotic relationships that microbes can have with their host organism: mutualism, commensalism and parasistism.

Prokaryotes are evolutionarily ancient, for billions of years the only form of life. Here's a summary of the basic "parts & pieces" of these primitive cells.

All living things are composed of one or more cells. Unlike cells, viruses, viroids and prions are acellular, nonliving parasites that require a living host to reproduce.

Infections in neonatal intensive care units prompt studies to determine the relationship between the length of fingernails and potential pathogens carried on them.

Heat, UV radiation, antibiotics and chemicals are all used to control bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. How to they kill pathogens without hurting our cells?

A daily bath or shower is all a part of modern life. However, in an infectious microbial world, all bathing accessories need to be handled well, simply and intelligently.

Heat, applied through boiling and autoclaving is used to sterilize. But how does heat destroy cells and viruses? Here is a simple explanation of heat's mode of action.

Oxygen is required for cells to break down organic molecules in the most energy-efficient way. How do microbes that live under conditions of low or no O2 metabolize food?

Whether you are a patient or a health care worker, nosocomial infections are a type of illness that you should be concerned about. Read on and help protect yourself.

Students complete an inquiry-based investigation to discover the impact of microbes on food, along with integrating technology to share their findings and conclusions.

Prevention and control of surgical infectious diseases with antiseptics is a direct result of Dr. Joseph Lister seeing the importance of killing microbes with chemicals.

Aeration is a process of introducing oxygen into a variety of substances, including soil.

Food poisoning is a general term for when a person becomes ill from something they've ingested. Here's the lowdown on the prevention and treatment of food-borne illness.

Natural antibiotics are products of bacteria and fungi. In the microbial world, chemical battles are fought and microbes have learned well how to protect and defend.

One common complaint about hydroponics is the smell that often results, but with a little care and knowledge, a well run hydroponics system doesn't need to smell bad.

In microbiology, there are many different techniques used to identify microbes. Differential media typically provide general information regarding identity.

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria naturally found in the digestive tract and vagina and often used to supplement dairy foods such as yogurt.

Microbiologically speaking, neither the world nor people are "sterile". Understanding the meaning of sterile is important and helpful for safety and health.

Calming, warm waters of hot springs entice tourists to resorts. Bubbling mudpots and colorful hot springs are special volcanic features located around the globe.

Food poisoning is a general term used when a person has become ill from something that they've ingested. Here's the lowdown on causes and symptoms of food-borne illness.

A controversial theory for the origin of cells on Earth is panspermia, which suggests they might have arrived from outer space.

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM or PAME) results in nausea, fever, headache and ultimately kills. Protect yourself from this rare but deadly amoebic infection.

The assertion that life can instantaneously arise from nonliving matter is called spontaneous generation. Here are the critical experiments that busted the myth.

There are three basic classes of vaccine: live, killed and toxoid. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Here is guide to compare modern inoculations.

Here are some very simple steps that a person can take bolster immune function and avoid getting sick this cold and flu season.

In nature, soil is alive and is constantly being created. In gardens, we can and should make our own.

Spontaneous generation is the debunked idea that life can, on a daily basis, arise from nonliving material. Abiogenesis attempts to explain how life on Earth began.

Various organic processes can be used to generate hydrogen from biomass feed materials for use in a hydrogen fuel cell for portable electrical generation.

Don't waste your time searching the web for quality information on the sciences. Here is the lowdown on some of the best biology sites the web has to offer!

Air meets water at a microscopically thin jelly-like layer that is important for climate change models.

Use these tips to prevent catching colds, the flu and other germs when you fly.

Creating a dry streambed is an attractive, easy and efficient way to control erosion on slopes or hillsides.

Making compost is a simple process that is not expensive and requires little effort and attention. Desert composting may require a little more care.

Although the word humus is Latin for soil, humus is not soil in the strict sense. It is partially decomposed organic matter.

Extremophiles come in many different types, preferring widely varied conditions. Often existence in extreme environments requires extreme life adaptations.

They are almost everywhere, in the air, soil and water. They are on and inside the bodies of living things. They can help, and they can harm. They are the microbes.

The best care for flowers, vegetables or a lush green lawn begins with preparing the soil by digging in lots of organic matter down deep where plant roots wander.

The idea of generation of electricity from batteries powered by viruses might seem a little bit far-fetched, akin to what people read in science fiction.

You may have heard the term 'sheet mulching' in gardening circles lately. Though it's been around for many years, it's making a comeback in today's green movement.

For much of the northern hemisphere, fall is an important time to care for lawns.

Just what is a desert? It's a place where there is scarcity of water, right? In fact, water (or lack of it) is the driving force in a desert.

Animals survive surrounded, inside and outside, by hordes of primitive microbes. How this is done is a mystery scientists sought to know and discover.

Blood Agar is a bacterial growth medium that can distinguish normal from pathogenic bacteria based on the effect of bacterial hemolytic enzymes on red blood cells.

Mannitol Salt Agar is a special bacterial growth medium that is selective for halophiles and can differentiate pathogenic and nonpathogenic Staphylococcus.

Food poisoning can cause more than vomiting and diarrhea. In susceptible people, food poisoning can lead to complications that require hospitalization.

Genetic sequencing allows MIT scientists to examine natural selection through the selective signature of a gene across a range of microbial species.

Activia is a yogurt offered by Dannon that improves the health of digestion.

Newly discovered cell-sized viruses have an infecting satellite virus, with implications for viruses as life forms, cell origins, the cause of disease and its treatment.

The genetic blueprint of every human contains a significant amount of DNA that is not actually human. Dormant fossil viruses have infiltrated our genome.