|
Fungi absorb nutrients from living or dead organic matter (plant or animal stuff) that they grow on. They absorb simple, easily dissolved nutrients, such as sugars, through their cell walls. They give off special digestive enzymes to break down complex nutrient... Read More
Algae also play an important role as the foundation for the aquatic food chain. All higher aquatic life forms depend either directly or indirectly on microscopic gardens of algae. Major development projects are taking place in oceans across the globe all the time, enterprises that will provide shelter and food for a vast number of fish, mussels, urchins, and other marine life.
The name protozoa means “first animals.” As the principal hunters and grazers of the microbial world, protozoa play a key role in maintaining the balance of bacterial, algal, and other microbial life. They also are themselves an important food source for larger creatures and the basis of many fo...
Read More
The Partnerships That Led to Higher LifeIf you could peer deep into one of the many cells in your body, you’d see little blobs, squiggles, and coils. These are the cel... Read More Microbes require nutrients to grow. These are supplied by either solid or liquid culture media. The standard solid medium is nutrient agar, a gelatinous substance derived from seaweed. The basic liquid medium is nutrient broth, typically a mix of water, meat extract peptone, and sodium chlori... Read More When microbiologists want to identify microbes in a sample or study microbes in-depth, they often try to culture, or grow, the microbial cells in their labs. The scientists can then manipulate the cells or their environments to see what effects these changes have on the organisms. Read More If a microbiologist is studying bacteria that bioremediate, or break down, toxic wastes and wants to know which specific genes are active when that bacterium is degrading, say, PCBs, he would likely use a tool called the DNA microarray. Microarrays enable scientists to monitor the act... Read More |
Podcasts
Getting Started with MicrobeWorld
More "How to" Videos:
Register | Profile | Submit
Interact | User Tools
MicrobeWorld App
Watch Live Events
Featured Image
Featured Video
Supporters
Read More 
Read More 
Read More 
Read More 
Read More 
Read More 
Read More 
Read More American Society for Microbiology
2012 1752 N Street, N.W. • Washington, DC 20036-2904 • (202) 737-3600
Copyright © American Center for Microbiology 2012. All Rights Reserved.
