Bacteria

A single-cell organism without a nuclei, bacteria are the simplest form of life on planet Earth. They live in almost every conceivable environment, from the deepest oceans to the tops of mountains and…

Microbiology is the scientific study of microorganisms, which are tiny living things such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. When working with microorganisms, the general consensus is to assume that…

Negative staining in transmission electron microscopy is a procedure useful in visualizing very fine structures in a specimen. It is generally used to examine macromolecules such as cellular proteins,…

Agar plates are petri dishes containing a layer of the growth medium. Students, scientists and medical professionals use them in science classrooms, hospitals, science laboratories and research…

Bacteria are essential for proper functioning of ecosystems. They decompose dead organisms and recycle organic material back into mineral nutrients. Isolating bacteria in a pure living culture helps…

Bacteria are any variety of single cell organisms. Bacteria are found in hot springs, water, soil and even the human body. Some bacteria can cause infection, while others are essential for organisms…

In preschool, children begin to learn valuable skills that encourage cognitive thinking and problem solving. One of these is sequencing, which teaches children to put things in order. They learn how…

Bacteria are single-celled organisms that survive in every environment on Earth. Various species can even survive without the presence of oxygen, but none can survive without an energy source. For…

Bacteria are a large, diverse group of single-celled organisms. They exist in every environment on Earth, including the human body. Most bacteria are too small to see with the naked eye, so scientists…

Colonies of bacteria occur when one single microbe multiplies and produces identical offspring. To identify bacteria in agar solution in a petri dish, look at the characteristics of the colony, or…

Organisms with a lipid capsule respond to lipid-soluble stain mixtures containing carbol-fuchsin and phenol in the presence of heat. On rinsing treated smears with a decolorizer, certain organisms do…

Bacteria science is one area that captures the interest of most children. Students can do a lab project with bacteria that shows them the difference between antibacterial and regular soaps by…

You can determine whether there are bacteria on a bottle or any surface in question. You use a sterile swab to rub across the bottle surface to inoculate a petri dish or broth tube containing nutrient…

Uncovering both the human and chimpanzee genome in 2001 and 2005 showed that more than 98 percent of DNA base pairs of humans and chimpanzees are the same, according to the Dennis O'Neill anthropology…

Chemotrophs are a class of organisms that obtain their energy through the oxidation of inorganic molecules, such as iron and magnesium. The most common type of chemotrophic organisms are prokaryotic…

Monera is the kingdom of life that is made up of prokaryotic (simple, single-celled) organisms. Recently, scientists have re-classified Monera into two kingdoms, Eubacteria and Archaea. Despite their…

The coccus bacteria (or "cocci") have a spherical or oval shape, sometimes slightly flattened when they are adjacent to one another. There are a number of bacteria in this category which are…

Primates come in many shapes and sizes. Monkeys are primates as are apes and prosimians, such as lemurs. These creatures have many differences, such as their habitat, diet and social behavior. These…

Most people think of disease when they think of bacteria. However, some bacteria serve a practical purpose, including helping in the making of food. The two species of bacteria that are in yogurt are…

The sources of infection remained a mystery for most of human history because of the fact that bacteria cannot be seen without the aid of a microscope. Because most bacteria are transparent,…

Just like on the surface, the oceans and seas are teeming with a near infinitive amount of bacteria. There are several different types of sea bacteria, including those that make their own food through…

Saponins are chemical compounds found in many plants, including soapworts (Saponaria), which were used to make soap in the past. While some saponins are toxic to some animals, others are harmless. In…

With an estimated 10 million or more biological manifestations of life on earth, humans have developed a system of categorizing each form of life according to its traits, from general information such…

French scientist Charles Sedillot created the term "microbe" to describe a living organism that requires magnification with a microscope to be visible. These organisms are not visible to the naked…

You can inoculate an agar plate with microorganisms that are swabbed from your hands, desk or the handle on the restroom door. Colonies develop as microorganisms multiply. These colonies are visible…

Pity the poor bacteria. They have a bad name as disease pathogens, when the vast majority are either benign or beneficial. That's because popular culture had named them "germs," then proceeded to tell…

Primates is an animal order that includes lemurs, tarsiers and monkeys, such as baboons, gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),…

Giraffes are among the most easily recognizable animals on the planet. They are noted for their long necks and height, which at birth can be as tall as six feet. A full-grown adult giraffe stands…

Bacteria and other microbes are often associated with illnesses, but they have an important role in the waste recycling process. They are responsible for the biodegradation of organic materials and…

Microbes are widely used in large-scale industrial processes, not only in the production of a variety of metabolites, such as ethanol, butanol, lactic acid and riboflavin, but also in the…

In the fourth century B.C., Aristotle started classifying organisms into two groups: plants and animals. He also classified animals as blood and bloodless and further categorized animals based on…

Politics can be a dirty game when one party skirts the truth and goes straight for the jugular with false accusations and below-the-belt punches. In the United States, the two prevailing parties,…

Microbes are organisms that can only be seen with a microscope, not the naked eye. Therefore, the existence of microbes is a rather difficult concept for most kids to grasp. There are seven groups…

Humankind's closest biological relatives are mammals known as primates, which include monkeys, gorillas, apes and chimpanzees. From a simple card game to hands-on activities, there are many ways to…

Preparing good bacterial and non-bacterial microscope slides can be a simple task. With a good slide a person is able to see some sample characteristics and have a good starting point for further…

When viewing a sample under a microscope, the image is magnified to a great extent, in order to make it easier for people to study the sample. One common sample prepared for a microscope study…

Traditionally, mankind has lived near rivers for water, food, transport and protection. However, flooding can transform a tranquil water course into a raging torrent that destroys property and food…

Using binocular lenses allows a person to view an object with greater clarity and to make more accurate depth assumptions. Binocular lenses are usually found on compound light microscopes, which…

Nitrogen is an element found in all proteins, and is essential for plant and animal life. Gaseous nitrogen in the air has to be fixed into compounds, either by lightning or by soil-dwelling bacteria,…

Cells are very small and difficult to differentiate from one another; it is also difficult to differentiate certain cell components, such as a cell wall or nucleus. Cell staining is a technique that…

Agar is a gelatinous material used as a medium for growing bacteria cultures. Agar plates refer to this gelatinous material in addition to other nutrients. (Examples of nutrient agars, according to…

Marine microbiology is the study of microorganisms living in the sea. Among marine microorganisms are bacteria, protozoa, algae, yeasts and molds. Marine bacteria are an important part of marine…

Multocida toxin (PMT) comes from Pasturella multocida, a bacteria that causes several serious diseases in animals that can be transmitted to humans. Many mammals and birds can harbor this bacteria in…

Learning to identify bacteria is a common activity in many biology classes, where students use observational techniques and Petri dishes. Several more advanced methods of determining types of…

Bacteria are microscopic organisms that grow and live everywhere, from the human mouth to the surfaces we touch. Humans carry bacteria, some of which are harmless and some that can cause serious…

Bacteria are some of the most abundantly found organisms in soil, with the bacterial soil population exceeding the population of all other varieties of soil life. A single gram of soil contains more…

Lactobacillus sporogenes, also called Bacillus coagulans, is a type of bacteria that gives canned food a sour, flat taste. It is a lactic-acid-producing, beneficial bacterium that is marketed as a…

Carnivorous plants have evolved in ways that allow them to trap and digest prey. According to Barry Rice of the International Carnivorous Plant Society, there are three types of adaptations present in…

Bacteria, like all living cells, require energy and nutrients to build proteins and structural membranes and drive biochemical processes. Bacteria require sources of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous,…

Living organisms are placed in different groups according to how closely they are related. Closely related organisms are defined as individual species that belong to the same genus. Different physical…

Monera is one of the five biological kingdoms, the others being animals, plants, protists and fungi. All organisms that fall into the Moneran kingdom are considered prokaryotes, the most simple and…

A multiple sequence alignment (MSA) is a bioinformatic method used by biologists and computational biologists to analyze huge amounts of gene sequencing information from many different species (e.g.,…

Major types of bacteria were traditionally classified by physical features or reactions to different types of staining. The advent of molecular genetics has allowed a more-careful division of the…

Yogurt is produced from the fermentation of milk and is high in energy, carbohydrates, sugars, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B2 and calcium. It is associated with numerous health benefits, including…

According to the World Health Organization, or WHO, approximately five billion people suffer from tooth decay worldwide. Harmful oral bacteria causes most tooth decay. The mouth is home to many types…

Bacteria are a large group of microorganisms that are found in various habitats. Oral bacteria are those that exist in the mouth of living animals, including humans. They can be predators, mutalists…

Predatory bacteria attack and feed on other harmful pathogens and bacterial contaminants. They neutralize and kill harmful infection- and disease-causing bugs. Predatory bacteria live in various…

Agar plates are used in cell and molecular biology by scientists to carry out research experiments. They are plastic petri dishes filled with agar mixed with nutrients that support the growth of a…

Bacteria are a large group of microscopic, unicellular organisms that exist either independently or as parasites. Some bacteria are capable of forming spores around themselves, which allow the…

Sterilization is the process by which microorganisms are eliminated to create a completely pure environment. This is a necessary procedure in any science laboratory, which includes classroom labs.…

To identify the various fungi, yeasts and molds in patient or environmental samples, you need an appropriate growth medium. Sabouraud dextrose agar is a common choice in the battery of media used to…

An agar plate is a standard consumable used in most biological or medical laboratories to culture up a range of microorganisms on or within a solidified growth broth. For example, generic media such…

Nutrient agar is a nutrition substrate used in laboratories for the culturing of live bacteria and may sustain the microbial colony for a longer duration than needed. To prevent safety risks and…

Just as cheese and yogurt involve bacterial growth for nutrition, natto is a food made with bacterial benefits in mind. From natto comes nattokinase, an enzyme with medicinal potential for…

The process of staining allows bacteria to be identified by color. Organisms stain different colors based on the makeup of their cell wall and the staining process used. The acid-fast staining process…

Cells are extremely small, but have complex structures and functions. Cells can be divided into two categories: prokaryotic and eukaryotic. These different types of cells make up all living…

A microscope is any device that allows you to see objects too small to view with the unaided eye. An optical microscope consists of a series of magnifying glasses and is commonly used for viewing…

White blood cells, also known as leukocytes, are a key component of the immune system for their role in fighting infections. Derived from the hematopoietic stem cells of bone marrow, white blood cells…

A genotype is the sequence of DNA for a particular individual. This could apply to the entire sequence in theory, but in practice it typically covers only a small fraction of a person's total DNA.…

Our stomachs secrete acid for a variety of purposes. Stomach acid is helpful in the digestion of foods and in keeping harmful bacteria from causing damage. While stomach acid is helpful,…

Bacteria can be found in almost every environment. They are one-celled organisms that reproduce by using cell division. This reproduction takes energy, meaning that the bacteria need to feed. Their…

Understanding the basic characteristics of viruses and bacteria can go a long way in helping you understand their behavior, as well as the proper treatment for their removal. The two terms are used…

Staining is the main way in which organisms can be scientifically observed and classified under a microscope. To properly prepare a slide for staining in a microbiology laboratory, follow the easy…