Saharan dust storms raise dust that is carried in the upper atmosphere across the Atlantic Ocean. That dust can land as far west as the Caribbean and the Americas. This dust can carry potentially hazardous bacteria and fungi.

Saharan dust storms raise dust that is carried in the upper atmosphere across the Atlantic Ocean. That dust can land as far west as the Caribbean and the Americas. This dust can carry potentially hazardous bacteria and fungi.

This site explores the formation of stars and planets and the quest for a habitable planet. Create a virtual a community of microorganisms. Try to build the perfect solar system. See how planets react with one another, and how some planets help keep our solar system stable. Look at images: see if you can recognize life.

The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) prepared this online handbook on foodborne pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and parasites) and natural toxins. Chapters are arranged under the following headings: Pathogenic Bacteria, Enterovirulent Escherichia Coli Group, Parasitic Protozoa and Worms, Viruses, Natural Toxins, Other Pathogenic Agents, and Appendices. The intent of each chapter is to provide basic facts regarding these organisms and toxins including their characteristics, habitat or source, associated foods, infective dose, characteristic disease symptoms, complications, recent and/or major outbreaks, and any susceptible populations. The chapters also contain minimal information on the analytical methods used to detect, isolate, and/or identify the pathogens or natural toxins.

This presentation examines the various biological agents that terrorists could use against food or water supplies.

In this video adapted from the Arctic Athabaskan Council, learn how warmer temperatures in the Arctic are transforming the landscape, triggering a host of effects such as permafrost thawing and insect infestations.

In this course we will explore the new emerging field of pathogen-induced chronic diseases. Work in this field has redefined the causes of some major disorders, such as ulcers. By reading the primary research literature we will learn about the molecular mechanisms through which pathogens cause disease. The diseases that we cover will be introduced with a short patient case study. We will discuss the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and gastric disease, HPV and cervical cancer, hepatitis C virus and liver disease, Epstein-Barr virus and lymphoma, Cytomegalovirus and atherosclerosis, as well as diabetes and multiple sclerosis. We will study technical advances in the fight against microbes and explore future directions for new treatment strategies of chronic infections and inflammation. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

You have been selected as a member of a group to interest fourth and fifth grade students in current science issues. As you searched for science topics to capture their attention, you came across this headline: Microbes Create Earth's Atmosphere. Although this seems like a tabloid heading, it is not. NASA researchers are studying bacteria, other microbes, and the gases they produce in microbial mat ecosystems to see how life formed on Earth. Early microbial ecosystems are also studied to help scientists discover life on other planets. This research is even being used in the quest for life on Mars. You wonder, how do you use earth's microbial ecosystems to look for life on other planets?

This College level Unit in Microbiology explores microbes on five levels, their architecture, ecology, physiology, lifecycles and pathology. Students will be given an interactive tour of the world of microbes and learn more about their impact on Humans, animals, plants and on the environment in general. They will become aware of pathogenic (harmful) and non-pathogenic (helpful) microbes and develop an understanding of how microbiologists devise methods to study microbes in order to understand their benefits and to help to minimize their deleterious effects.

In a class demonstration, students observe a simple water cycle model to better understand its role in pollutant transport. This activity shows one way in which pollution is affected by the water cycle; it simulates a point source of pollution in a lake and the resulting environmental consequences.

In this video adapted from KUAC-TV and the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, discover how warmer winters in Alaska may cause soil microbes to release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

Bacteria survive in almost all environments on Earth, including some considered extremely harsh. From the steaming hot springs of Yellowstone to the frozen tundra of the arctic to the barren deserts of Chile, microbes have been found thriving. Their tenacity to survive in such extreme and varied conditions allows them to play fundamental roles in global nutrient cycling. Microbes also cause a wide range of human diseases and can survive inhospitable conditions found in the human body. In this course, we will examine the molecular systems that bacteria use to adapt to changes in their environment. We will consider stresses commonly encountered, such as starvation, oxidative stress and heat shock, and also discuss how the adaptive responses affect the evolution of the bacteria. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

This textbook has evolved from online and live-in-person lectures presented in my bacteriology courses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its contents are suitable for reading or presentation in courses or course modules concerning general microbiology and medical bacteriology at the college and advanced high school levels of education. For teachers, instructional materials are available that accompany many chapters and topics. These include lecture outlines, notes, powerpoint presentations, and examination questions that compose a study guide