microbiology

Who is a Microbiologist?
Microbiologists investigate the fascinating world of organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye. Although known by many different titles, a microbiologist is a scientist who studies living organisms and infectious agents many of which can only be seen with a microscope.

hey also study the interaction of microorganisms with people. Everyday microbiologists around the world explore, investigate and discover how these organisms, called microbes exist and affect our lives.
Read four online profiles of microbiologists on the MicrobeWorld website

Career Profiles
Anyone with an interest in science and the desire to explore the mysteries of life can become a microbiologist. You can, too. How To Become a Microbiologist

If you're interested in microbiology, talk to your parents and your science teacher. They can help you follow this interest and learn more about the sciences and microscopic life.
Find books on life sciences and microbiology in your library.

Visit a science museum. Find out if your school or community has a science club, science fairs or other activities you could get involved in. Try out the experiments on this web site and ask your science teacher if she or he can help you find others.

ontact the for a great brochure called "A Million and One" all about careers in microbiology. You can get a free copy (up to 25 of them if you'd like) by emailing or by faxing your request to 202-942-9329. Remember to give your full mailing address so they know where to send your brochure.
In high school, you should plan on taking biology, chemistry, physics, computer science and math. English courses are also important because microbiologists spend much of their time writing articles or papers and giving speeches. Foreign languages are helpful for exchanging

information with scientists around the world.
You may try to get a job or internship in a research lab of a university or science-related company during the summer to gain hands-on experience. You may wish to talk with microbiologists in companies or universities to learn more about careers in this field

what Microbiologists Do
Microbiologists work in almost every industry—from food, agriculture and pollution control to biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and health. They also work in government agencies and labs, such as the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, water treatment facilities, and hospitals.

And they work in education as teachers and researchers.
Because there are so many different species of microbes out there and they do such very different things, no one microbiologist can study everything! That's why people who become microbiologists usually focus on a particular microbe or research area. Here are a few examples:

Some microbiologists focus on bacteria and how they help or hurt us. These scientists are called bacteriologists (back-tear-ee-ahl-oh-gists).
Some specialize in viruses and how they infect cells. These scientists are called virologists (vir-ahl-oh-gists).
Some study fungi in particular and are called mycologists (mike-ahl-oh-gists).

Some microbiologists track down outbreaks of disease to learn what caused them and if we're facing a deadly new microbe. They are called epidemiologists (ep-ih-deem-ee-ahl-oh-gists).
Some study how the body defends itself against microbial invaders. They are called immunologists (ih-mew-nawl-oh-gists).

This is only a partial listing of the many different things microbiologists do. If you really want to get a good sense of what microbiologists do, you should talk to some of them. You might start with your science teacher or scientists in youHow Microbes Do Some of the Amazing Things They Do?

as you read the pages of this Web site, you might have come across things that made you pause and say, "now how do they do that?" Well, here's where you can find out at least some of the answers. Click on the links below to find out how microbes manage to do some of the amazing things they do.r area (your teacher or parents may be able to help you find some and set up interviews). Or you could read the we've posted on this site.

Here's your chance to see what some microbiologists have to say about their work, why they do it and how they came to be scientists. Reading their profiles, you can get a sense of what it's like to be a microbiologist and maybe pick up some tips on how you can pursue a science career.

Then, the rubbery cell membrane that surrounds the bacterial cell fluid begins pinching inward around this chromosome copy, until there’s a little cell within the larger bacterial cell. This little cell is called the "daughter cell" and the bigger, original one, what starts out as the "vegetative cell" in this illustration, is now called the "mother cell."

Next, the membrane of the mother cell surrounds and swallows up the smaller cell, so that now two membrane layers surround the daughter cell. Between these two membranes a thick wall forms made out of stuff called peptidoglycan , the same stuff found in bacteria’s rigid cell walls. Finally, a tough outer coating made up of a bunch of proteins forms around all this, closing off the entire daughter cell, which is now a spore.

As the mother cell withers away or gets blasted by all kinds of environmental damage, the spore lies dormant, enduring it all, just waiting for things to get better.
Not all bacteria can form spores. But several types that live in the soil can. Bacteria in the Bacillus and Clostridium groups are spore-formers. Their spores are called endospores.
Another group of bacteria called Methylosinus produces spores called exospores. The difference between endospores and exospores is mainly in how they form. Endospores form inside the original bacterial cell, as described above.

Exospores form outside by growing or budding out from one end of the cell. Exospores also don’t have all the same building blocks as endospores, but they’re similarly durable.
Members of the Azotobacter , Bdellovibrio , Myxococcus and Cyanobacteria groups form protective structures called cysts .

Cysts are thick-walled structures that, like spores, protect bacteria from harm, but they’re somewhat less durable than endospores and exospores.
Bacteria aren’t the only microbes that can form protective spores, however. Some protists can, too. For example, a group of parasitic protozoa called Microsporidia encase themselves in protective spores when they infect their hosts. Microsporidia are found mainly in the guts of insects and the skin and muscles of fish, although a few species can cause illness in people.