NEW AND INSIGHTFUL II

PSYCHROPHILES:

These are microorganism that love cold temperatures and grow best at below 15 degrees census and below zero temperatures. Psychrophilic algae, fungi, archea, and bacteria live in snowfields, ice, and cold water. Due to the mesophilic environment of the human body, psychrophiles cannot survive in the human body.

 

GENOME AND GENOTYPE:

The genome of a cell or virus refers to its entire genetic components of both genes and nucleotide sequences that connect genes to each other. The genome of cells is composed only of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), while RNA viruses use ribonucleic acid.

Genotype of an organism is however the actual set of genes in its genome. Unlike the genome that include some nucleotides that are not part of the gene, the genotype is made up of all the series of DNA nucleotide that carry instructions for an organism’s life.

                                                                                                       

MUTATION:

It is a permanent change in the nucleotide base sequence of a genome, especially its genes. Mutation of genes is often always bad with a few instances where it improves an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce. Types of mutation are point, frameshift, silent, missense, and nonsense mutations.

REFERENCES:

Bauman RW. Microbiology with disease by Taxonomy. 3rd ed. San Francisco (CA): Pearson; 2011. Print.

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https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSH3XyHLOw8ehlXR_MgeH1tr0MLmyBLB56LAjQqXoP8Me6QWZtU

http://www.scq.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/molecular-machine.gif

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Going forward in microbiology

  My knowledge of the microbiology world have extensively increased from the last time i wrought on reflection. The more microbiology knowledge is  impacted on me, the harder it seems to get to retain all of the knowledge. The further into chapters we get, the more in connects to previous chapetrs and make it easier to understand. The thing learned was the trechnique and rationale for performing Gram stains which at the beginning of the semester i learned that it was discovered by a microbiologist named Christian Gram.

From Gram staining procedure gram positive bacteria will stain purple due to their thick peptidoglycan layer and Gram negative will stain pink due to their thin peptidoglycan layer. Another thing that i learnt in this class and that i was able to connect to previous knowledge of the first chapter is the diferent methods of isolating bactring and transferring them from one medium to another. This methods were first discovered by Robert Koch and his colleagues.


The above learned information however relate to my nursing career as the transport medium will help when transporting specimen and also the use of universal precautions. I have also discovered a new learning style that has helped me improved my grades. This learning techniques is visual and hands-on learning styles by practicing online quizzes. The two most confusing things still is DNA and RNA, but i however believe that with more studying and watching videos i should be ok. Another issue is learning a way to memorize different examples of different shapes of bacteria. Every time i watch television, browze the internet, or read the newspaper i always go to the science section to be able to connect the outside world to the knowledge acquired in class. I have learned about nosocomial infection in the health care sector. The journey thus continues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An encounter with beautiful and useful creatures

       Microorganisms and bacteria are known by all to be useful, beneficial, and at times pathogenic. These benefits of bacteria ranges from use in fermentation, probiotic use in food and beverages and use for creating household detergent agents to many other uses. However, we have or, more specifically i had estimated the use of bacteria to the human advantage. While reading the science column of the New York Times, i came across an article talking about different diverse uses of unwanted bacteria to beautify the environment and people. It is quite interesting to see that some people are bacterial lovers, which is different from the perception that people have about handling bacteria. The most mind blowing of all was that there are several examples of scientist creating light sources out of bacteria. The  following are some of those light sources and how the bacteria were handled in order to generate light;

Moss Table makes use of the small electrical charge produced when bacteria consume organic compounds released by moss; here, a battery supplements that power to light the lamp

Bacteripca, a chandelier designed by Petia Morozov, with petri dishes loaded with bacterial cultures nesting in a tangle of fiber optics. The pattern and color of the blooming bacteria which was ideally supplied by individual family members, including pets changes the quality of the light.

       The the above examples and others, it is clear that bacteria are not just meant to be stoke in conserved places or discarded, but can also be used to beautify our hopes and serve as energy sources. This article helps me reflects on the study of bacteria and their metabolism especially electron transportation and the creation of hydrogen gradient. 

   However, this article raises some questions on the validity and the universal control precautions in handling bacteria. How were the bacteria handled and isolated to prevent contamination? This is however another broad topic on itself.

REFERENCES:

Lasky, J. (2013, January 16). The beauty of bacteria. The New York Times, p. 1. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/garden/bio-design-in-the-home-the-beauty-of-bacteria.html?pagewanted=all

NEW AND INSIGHTFUL

GLYCOLISIS:

   Glycolysis also known as Embden-Meyerhof pathway is the first step in the catabolism of glucose through respiration and fermentation (Bauman Robert, 2012). It involves the dividing of a molecule containing 6-carbon glucose into two three-carbon sugar molecules. The end-product of glycolysis is 2 pyruvic acid and release of stored energy in ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). Glycolysis is an anaerobic process.

Figure 1 Glycolysis

COMPETITIVE and NONCOMPETITIVE INHIBITORS:

Competitive inhibitors are inhibitory substances that block enzymatic activity by blocking active site. They fit on site and prevent the binding of substrate. These inhibitors can either bind permanently resulting in the loss of enzymatic activity or reversibly by increasing concentration of substrate which increases the likelihood of binning site being filled with substrate instead of inhibitors (Bauman Robert 2011).

Noncompetitive inhibitors also known as allosteric inhibitors bind to allosteric site on any part of the cell which changes the shape of the active site and making the substrate unable to bind. Excitatory allosteric inhibitors occur when an activator molecule binds to an allosteric site and changes the active site, thus capable of binning substrate (Bauman Robert 2011).

Figure 2 Competitive and noncompetitive inhibitors

ENZYME:

An enzyme is an organic catalyst. In order to understand enzymes one need to know the definition of a catalyst which is a chemical that increases the likelihood of a reaction but is not permanently changed. Enzymes acts on molecules called substrate. Enzymes can be classified into six categories based on their reaction types (Bauman Robert 2011).

Figure 3 Enzyme

REFERENCES:

Bauman RW. Microbiology with disease by Taxonomy. 3rd ed. San Francisco (CA): Pearson; 2011.

http://www.tutorialz360.com/inhibitors/ (FIGURE 3)

http://students.cis.uab.edu/clight/whatisenzyme.jpg (FIGURE 2)

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Microbiology Journey this far

REFLECTIONS

    First and foremost, before starting the Microbiology class, i was a little skeptical about the subject and what to expect. "Microbiology" sounded like a very complex word and i thought i will just learn about little creatures called microorganism without any real connection with my course as this subject seemed to be mainly for those doing scientific research. However, to my astonishment, i started learning about microorganisms and their uses and benefits to the human body. Although i always knew that some food i eats like yogurt had microorganisms, yet i did not know what makes those bacteria beneficial to the human well-being and i also tasted something new;


figure 1; Yogurt coated raisins.
This first day's introduction to microbiology sparked an interest in me. Next i learned about the founders of microbiology and how they uncovered certain mysteries that has helped humanity. One of these discoveries that really pattern to the field of nurses that applies to me was the importance of hand washing  aseptic techniques, and the contributions by Florence Nightingale who is the mother of nursing.

Figure2; Florence Nightingale (the lady with the lamp)

The acquired knowledge different, bacteria, their pathogenicity, their shapes, and composition have also helped in connecting the course to nursing as this knowledge provide the way forward in regard to treatment. This helps me understand why and how certain antimicrobial (antibiotic) treatments will work on certain bacteria and not on others. The information acquired and learned this far in microbiology have not conflicted with any course, but enhanced my understanding of Anatomy and Physiology in subjects like pathogens, antibodies, bacteria, etc..
Moreover, i have been challenged intellectually to use different learning styles and i will say that i am both a visual and practical learner. In this course all the learning styles are used as we learn in class, learn through animations, concept map, and hands-on practice in the laboratory and in class.
The two most important things that i have learned this far are related  mostly to bacteria. Firstly, living things and microorganisms can only grow from other microorganisms and that viruses are a different type of microorganism because they have no cell membrane and are obligate parasites. Also, bacteria are classified as Gram-positive and Gram-negative based in their composition and thus affect the way some pathogenic bacteria can be treated.
However, some things still remain abstract like the importance of studying bacterial shapes, how to really detect these shapes through the microscope, and if it is just for identification. These issues can be clarified by me seeing some examples of microscopic view of some bacteria and their shapes and names. This class has changed the way i listen to any information in my environment as i always think of any causative microorganism or pathogen when i hear of a certain disease or infection.  I have also learned to reinforced my aseptic techniques by effective hand washing and cross contamination.

REFERENCES
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Probiotic Yogurt use in the treatment of Vaginal Candida Albicans Infection

     Natural probiotic yogurt is considered to be an anti-infection agent due to the fact that it contains active live culture. Growing up, i just thought yogurt was just a very savoring snack that contained milk and sugar and was a little bit sour. In later years as a students in University i had an interesting conversation with a very insightful friend. She informed me that pro-biotic unsweetened yogurt could be used in the treatment of vaginal candida. Later on that year the fact that applying yogurt or eating yogurt treats vaginal candida was confirmed by my community Nursing professor. 
    It was however, in microbiology class that i learned that yogurt is considered beneficial and pro-biotic because it contains beneficial bacteria. According to some researches like that made by Cheryl Myers (2010), shows that over growth of yeast destroys vaginal flora and causes bacterial infection. This bacterial infections have been shown to respond better to treatment with probiotic yogurt containing  L. acidophilus than to other treatments like metronidazole an anti-fungal treatment. In an experiment on mice resistance developed with consistent use of the anti-fungal treatment, but did not develop with the use of yogurt and yogurt product. 
     So there you have it, yogurt is not only good for its digestive beneficial attributes but also for the fact that it treats infections like vaginal candida Albicans.

References:

 http://www.livestrong.com/article/325230-yogurt-vaginal-health/

http://www.fwhc.org/health/yeast.htm