MICROBIOLOGY !!

    One can’t overemphasize the importance of microbiology.Society benefits from microorganisms in many ways. They are necessary for the production of bread,cheese, beer, antibiotics, vaccines, vitamins, enzymes, and many other important products. Indeed, modern biotechnology rests upon a microbiological foundation. Microorganisms are indispensable components of our ecosystem. They make possible the cycles of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur that take place in terrestrial and aquatic systems. They also are a source of nutrients at the base of all ecological food chains and webs.Of course microorganisms also have harmed humans and disrupted society over the millennia. Microbial diseases undoubtedly played a major role in historical events such as the decline of the Roman Empire and the conquest of the New World. In 1347 plague or black death struck Europe with brutal force. By 1351, only four years later, the plague had killed 1/3 of the population (about 25 million people). Over the next 80 years,the disease struck again and again, eventually wiping out 75% of the European population. Some historians believe that this disaster changed European culture and prepared the way for the Renaissance.Today the struggle by microbiologists and others against killers like AIDS and malaria continues. The biology of AIDS and its impact .In this introductory post the historical development of the science of microbiology is described, and its relationship to medicine and other areas of biology is considered. The nature of the microbial world is then surveyed to provide a general idea of the organisms and agents that microbiologists study. Finally, the scope,relevance, and future of modern microbiology are discussed.
        Microbiology often has been defined as the study of organisms and agents too small to be seen clearly by the unaided eye—that is, the study of microorganisms. Because objects less than about one millimeter in diameter cannot be seen clearly and must be examined with a microscope, microbiology is concerned primarily with organisms and agents this small and smaller. Its subjects are viruses, bacteria, many algae and fungi, and protozoa . Yet other members of these groups, particularly some of the algae and fungi, are larger and quite visible. For example, bread molds and filamentous algae are studied by microbiologists, yet are visible to the naked eye. Two bacteria that are visible without a microscope, Thiomargarita and Epulopiscium, also have been discovered.The difficulty in setting the boundaries of microbiology led Roger Stanier to suggest that the field be defined not only in terms of the size of its subjects but also in terms of its techniques. A microbiologist usually first isolates a specific microorganism from a population and then cultures it. Thus microbiology employs techniques—such as sterilization and the use of culture media—that are necessary for successful isolation and growth of microorganisms.The development of microbiology as a science is described in the following sections. The table 1.1 presents a summary of some of the major events in this process and their relationship to other historical landmarks.
TABLE1.1