Biology

Fungi, like most plants, are immobile and so to reach any new habitat they must either grow into new areas, often too costly a method, or find a way to disperse seeds so that they can find their way into…
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How do fungi get to where they need to go? Fungi, according to botany.edu, get to various host sites in a number of ways. Most of these dispersal mechanisms are as yet unknown but there is speculative ongoing experimentation. Fungi…
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Trichinella spiralis is a parasitic infection caused by a microscopic organism known as a nematode.  This type of parasite will infect both humans and other animals who consume raw meat that is already infected with this nematode.  The types of…
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A look at bacteriology The current science of bacteriology includes the study of prokaryotic cells. Bacteria are a group of single-cell microorganisms with a prokaryotic’ cellular structure, which primarily refers to its genetic material and the fact that it is…
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Bacteriology is the subdivision of microbiology that deals with the identification, classification, and characterization of bacteria. It also finds ways to make efficient use of bacteria in industry and medicine, to fight bacteria that are dangerous to human life or…
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Rainforests are such diverse ecosystems that it is surprising to learn that most are growing on thin, poor soils that contain few nutrients. The key to the luxurient growth of the rainforest is dependent not on new nutrients but instead…
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Symbiosis is a mutually beneficial relationship between two organisms that are completely unrelated. There are numerous examples of symbiosis in nature and many of them involve unicellular plants, called algae, living in cooperation with a wide variety of animals and…
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Giardia is the most prevalent protozoal infection in the human intestines.   By its nature, it aggressively causes an infection in about 75 % of those exposed. It manifests itself with abdominal bloating, flatulence, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. It has been estimated…
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I thought that this would be a simple question to answer but I soon got bogged down in definitions. A saprophyte is a kind of decomposer isn’t it? It turns out that the answer is anything but simple. Saprophytes are…
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Although the actual study of microbiology did not officially begin until the mid 1800’s people, unofficially, recognized that some small entity caused diseases and acted accordingly. Microbiology in Ancient Times People living in ancient times recognized the diseases were spread…
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