The field of virology (inclusive of medical virology, plant virology and veterinary virology) blossomed following […]
Author: DrChika
STAINING TECHNIQUE
Staining is any microbiological process which increases the contrast of organisms when certain dyes or […]
MICROBIAL GROWTH PHASE
Microbial growth is a fundamental biological process that governs the proliferation of microbial cells in […]
Overview of Molecular Biology
Molecular biology is the study of the genetic makeup of organisms at the level of […]
OVERVIEW OF BACTERIA
Bacteria (singular: Bacterium) is one of the two important members of the prokaryotes (i.e. cells […]
Characteristics of Microorganisms Used in Industrial Microbiology
Microorganisms—including bacteria (e.g. Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis), fungi (yeasts like Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris, […]
INOCULATING LOOP
Inoculating loop or wire loop is a general purpose piece of instrument that allows microbiologist […]
MICROBIOLOGY KEYWORDS A-Z GLOSSARY OF MICROBIOLOGY YOU NEED TO KNOW
Master these microbiology keywords, terms and definitions with this A-Z Glossary of Microbiology! In this […]
GERM THEORY OF DISEASE
Germ theory of disease is the theory that human infectious diseases are caused by specific […]
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION (ABIOGENESIS)
Spontaneous generation (abiogenesis) is the mistaken hypothesis that living organisms are capable of being generated […]
Milestones in Microbiology
Other landmarks and discoveries in the field of microbiology are summarized in Table 1. Table […]
JAMES WATSON
Born on the 6th of April, 1928, James Watson is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, […]
FRANCIS CRICK (1916-2004)
Francis Crick was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He co-discovered the molecular structure […]
FREDERICK GRIFFITH (1879-1941)
Frederick Griffith was a British bacteriologist who performed transformation experiments that suggested that DNA was […]
SERGEI WINOGRADSKY (1856-1953)
Sergei Winogradsky was a Ukrainian-Russian microbiologist, ecologist and soil scientist who was among the first […]
MARTINUS BEIJERINCK (1851-1931)
Martinus Beijerinck was a Dutch microbiologist and botanists who like Sergei Winogradsky began examining the […]
GERHARD DOMAGK (1895-1964)
Gerhard Domagk was a German pathologist and bacteriologist who reported in 1935 that prontosil (a […]
PAUL EHRLICH (1854-1915)
Systematic work on antimicrobial drugs was first initiated by the Germanphysician Paul Ehrlich. Ehrlich worked […]
DMITRI IWANOVSKI (1864-1920)
Dmitri Iwanovski was a Russian botanist, and one of the discoverer of filterable nature of […]
JOSEPH LISTER (1827-1912)
Joseph Lister, an English surgeon is the father of antiseptic surgery. He was aware of […]
IGNAZ SEMMELWEIS (1818-1865)
Ignaz Semmelweisis regarded as the father of infection control because of his discovery of the […]
ELIE METCHNIKOFF (1845-1916)
Elie Metchnikoff was a Russian biologist, zoologist and protozoologist who is best remembered for his […]
ABBE LAZZARO SPALLANZANI (1729-1799)
Lazzaro, an Italian naturalist criticized John Needham’s work on spontaneous generation. In 1769, he performed […]
GIROLAMO FRACASTORO (1478-1553)
While the issue of spontaneous generation lasted as at the time, some other scientist like […]
FRANCESCO REDI (1626-1697)
Francesco Redi, an Italian scientist was the first scientist to challenge the theory of spontaneous […]
NICOLAS APPERT (1749-1841)
Nicolas Appert, a French chef and a confectioner is the “father of canning”, and was […]
FERDINAND J. COHN (1828-1898)
Ferdinand Cohn, a German biologist was born in Breslau (now in Poland). Cohn was the […]
EDWARD JENNER (1749-1823)
Edward Jenner was the pioneer of the dreaded smallpox vaccination and also the father of […]
LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-1895)
Louis Pasteur, a French scientist was the first to report the role of microorganisms in […]
JOHN TYNDALL (1820-1883)
One of the traditional arguments against abiogenesis was the claim that the heat used to […]
ALEXANDER FLEMMING (1881-1955)
Alexander Flemming, a Scottish born physician who spent most of his time studying bacteria discovered […]
AVERY OSWALD (1877-1955)
Avery Oswald was a Canadian-born American physician and medical researcher who provided the molecular explanation […]
HANS CHRISTIAN JOACHIM GRAM (1853-1938)
Hans Gram developed a microbiological technique which is still used today in clinical microbiology practice […]
ROBERT HOOKE (1635-1703)
Robert Hooke was the first scientist to study and record living cells using the microscope. […]
JOHN NEEDHAM (1713-1781)
John Needham is the English scientist who performed experiments on spontaneous generation or abiogenesis in […]
ANTHONY VAN LEEUWENHOEK (1632-1723)
Anthony Van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch scientist and tradesman who did a part time job […]
ROBERT KOCH (1843-1910)
Robert Koch, a German scientist was the first medical microbiologist. Koch was also the first […]
Historical Perspectives of Microbiology
Microbiology as a field in the biological sciences saw the light of the day because […]
SIGNIFICANCE OF BIODETERIORATION/BIODEGRADATION
Microorganisms are ubiquitous and they play several roles in the degradation of recalcitrant organic and […]
MICROBIAL DISEASES TRANSMISSIBLE THROUGH THE SOIL
Microorganisms are ubiquitous and are thus found everywhere including the soil. The soil no doubt […]
HOST-PARASITE RELATIONSHIPS (MICROBIAL ASSOCIATIONS)
A host-parasite relationship is an association that exists between two organisms known as the host […]
Environmental Microbiology
Environmental microbiology is the study of microbial processes in the environment, microbial communities and microbial […]
OUTPUT OF ANTIMICROBIAL DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING
The output of an antimicrobial drug susceptibility test is often expressed as raw data which […]
Overview of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) / Antibiogram
When a pathogenic microorganism is isolated from the specimen of a patient, the clinical microbiology […]
CEPHALOSPORINS
Cephalosporins are beta-lactam antibiotics that are penicillinase-resistant, and with related mode of action to the […]
PENICILLINS
Penicillins are beta-lactam drugs that inhibit the cross-linking of N-acetyl glucosamine (NAG) and N-acetyl muramic […]
CLASSIFICATION OF ANTIBIOTICS BASED ON SPECTRUM AND MECHANISM OF ACTION
Antibiotics can also be classified into different categories depending on their mode of action and/or […]
ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS
Antibacterial agents are specifically chemical agents that kill or inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria. […]
SPECTRUM OF ACTIVITY OF ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS
The growth of pathogenic microorganisms is usually accompanied by the synthesis of new molecules including […]
Overview of antimicrobial agents (antibiotics)
Ever since their discovery some decadesago, antimicrobial agents particularly antibiotics have saved mankind from the […]
