Slime moulds are eukaryotic organisms that have fungus-like features as well as some animal- or protists-like features. Slime moulds were previously classified as fungi because of some characteristics which both organisms share. Slime moulds like fungi produce spores and fruiting bodies; and these features warranted there earlier classification as fungi but this is no longer […]
Mankind has harnessed the power of microorganisms to produce countless number of products such as bread, drugs, vaccines, cheese, fuel/energy, probiotics, beer and wine to mention but a few; and many other grounds are being explored and developed using the resourceful nature of microbial cells. Microorganisms are invisible forms of life with tremendous applications in
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General Microbiology, Biotechnology, Industrial Microbiology
Antigen is any substance or molecule that can trigger an immune response in an animal. An antigen is basically anything that is foreign to the body and which can react specifically with an antibody. An understanding of the basic characteristics of antigens and/or pathogens that spark immunological response in the body is vital for us
Magnification is the enlargement of a specimen or an object seen through a microscope. It is a function performed solely by two parts of a microscope i.e. the eye piece (ocular) lenses and the objective lenses. The final image of a specimen under a microscope is seen by the ocular lens after being received from
Though they are known to cause plethora of infectious diseases in man, plants and animals; viruses are very useful tools that can be exploited to the benefit of mankind. References Acheson N.H (2011). Fundamentals of Molecular Virology. Second edition. John Wiley and Sons Limited, West Sussex, United Kingdom. Alan J. Cann (2005). Principles of Molecular
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Virology
Inoculation is a microbiology technique which is used to introduce or place specimens and microbial cultures on or into a culture medium. The organism to be transferred into or onto the surface of the culture media (inclusive of solid and liquid or broth media) is known as inoculum. Inoculation is performed in the microbiology laboratory
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Bacteriology, Techniques in Microbiology Lab
DNA replication is simply defined as the genetic process of duplicating the genome of a cell. It is an important process that goes on in the cell of every organism each time the organism undergoes reproduction; and DNA replication is a cellular process that occurs in a number of steps. DNA replication generally coordinates the
To establish an infectious disease, a disease agent (including bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa) must first come in contact with a susceptible human host. This phase is called contact or encounter. Humans first encounter with microorganisms starts immediately after birth (period in which the newborn begin to build up its own normal flora) but as
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Bacteriology
The phrase fermentation is derived from the Latin word “fevere” – which means “to boil”. It was first coined and used by Louis Pasteur – who used it to describe the bubbling of sugar solutions especially due to the microbial activity occurring in them. The bubbling action of the sugar (a substrate) was due to
Bunsen burner is practically a tube or hosepipe that is connected directly to a steady supply of flammable gas contained in a gas cylinder. It is primarily used to achieve aseptic technique in the microbiology laboratory. Usually, a blue flame from the Bunsen burner is used to sterilize the mouth of glass wares, needles, inoculating
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Techniques in Microbiology Lab