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Microbes are Ubiquitous! In the late 1600’s a Dutch merchant named Antony van Leeuwenhoek began making observations about a new world. This world was found through the lenses of his primitive microscopes. Leeuwenhoek was the first ever to see algae, protists, nematodes, and bacteria. He had discovered the microbial world! Today we often think of microbes as “germs” and associate them with diseases like food poisoning, strep throat, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. But there is so much more to the microbial world than a few bad bugs, in fact the vast majority of microbes are helpful and make life possible for us. What is the true scope of microbiology? Bacteria were likely some of the first organisms on Earth. You have more bacterial cells living in and on you than you have of your own cells-we are symbiotic organisms! The fields of molecular biology and biotechnology have risen out of the field of microbiology. Our very existence on Earth is dependent on the biogeochemical cycles-the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, etc. These cycles are really run by bacteria. Think about food, antibiotics, oil spill clean-up and bioremediation, new energy sources, agriculture, immunology, disease and public health, bioterrorism, industrial products, recombinant technology, biofilms, emerging diseases, marine ecosystems, astrobiology…the list of how microbes impact our lives could go on and on. In addition, it is estimated that we may have only discovered and identified 10% of the microbes out there. Where are they? In your gut, in a termite’s gut, in hot acid springs, in thermal vents, in lakes and swimming pools, in the air, in the dirt, in a glacier, in an amoeba. Current metagenomic research is producing so much information about new organisms that we aren’t even able to keep up with the data! Today we are even looking for microbes on Mars. So welcome to the amazing and wonderful (and sometimes creepy) world of Microbiology! We want to help you fulfill your educational goals and to that end, our main objectives in Microbiology are to help you understand the nature, role and significance of microorganisms and master basic microbiological procedures. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like more information on Microbiology or the Biology Department. We hope that you enjoy your adventure as this new world opens up before you here in the Biology Department at College of the Canyons. |
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