Microbiology: The Infectious Diseases Research Paper

Microbiology
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Microbiology
Microbiology is the study specifically associated with living organisms in the microscopic range such as the bacteria, algae, viruses, protozoa and fungi. The study is focused on their form, reproduction, metabolism, classification and structure. While some of the microbes are healthy, others are quite infectious and deadly. Over the years the human body has become a fortified pillar against most of the disease causing agents. There are defenses such as stomach acid, skin, nasal hairs and a highly advanced antibody system. However, despite all the defense mechanisms of the body, there are times that the body succumbs to the microbe, developing illnesses associated with bacterial infections, fungal infections, parasitic infections and viral infections (Alsenvironmental.co.uk, 2016). Over the years, scientists have been put to task of staying ahead of the ever changing microbial organisms and related infections, in search of better ways to prevent, diagnose and even treat the infections where possible.
The discovery of the microscope in the 16th century brought to life the study of microbes. With the invention by Zacharias Janssen, when he added one more lens to the telescope to come up with the first prototype of the compound microscope, that is present today (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). Galileo also came up with one of the historical microscopes that were used in the study of compound eyes in the insects. The first time, however, that microbes were estimated to have been sighted on a microscope, were in 1665, by an Englishman named Robert Hooke, who viewed the cellular structures of fungi and plants, bringing knowledge to the science that organisms are made of cells (Asm.org, 2016).
Before 1865, there was not much information available on the elements of existence bacteria and other microbes. However, the period that followed right up to 1882, which is largely referred to as the golden era, there were quite a number pioneers in the field of microbiology such as Robert Koch, Lister and Louis Pasteur among others, who made some quite significant steps in the study of microbiology. For example, in the year of 1880, Louis Pasteur comes up with the method of attenuating virulent pathogens which caused chicken cholera as a means of immunizing against the same (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016).In the years that followed, Koch came up with solidified culture media(Microbeworld.org, 2016). In the same year Paul Ehrlich comes up with a means to use dye methylene blue for bacteriological staining of the tubercular bacillus. After the golden era, then came the modern era, which is the period after golden era to date. This is a period that experienced massive and significant developments tied to the accumulation of knowledge from technological and research developments (Asm.org, 2016).
Microbes have had a significant impact on the society relative to the fact that, they constantly bring about infectious diseases. The infectious diseases have largely had massive impacts on the human population. Until the 1930s, infectious diseases caused havoc in the millions, sometimes wiping entire family generations. During this age, infant mortality was roughly 50%. This is to mean that, over half of the infants that were born around this time did not make it to adulthood (Microbeworld.org, 2016). However, after the understanding brought on by scientific research on the various ways that the pathogens were leading to the infections; vaccines antibiotics and education on sanitation helped reduce the chances of the infections. Some of the most common infectious pathogens at the time included but not limited to West Nile Virus and Influenza (Asm.org, 2016). Relative to the advances in technology and research in the developed nations, most of the infections have gone down, with very few outbreaks claiming many lives or even leading to a single mortality case. In the developing nations, however, there is a very alarming rate of death associated with infectious diseases, most of which have vaccination and medicine to control. In the recent years, there have been cases of infections that have ravaged the human population claiming massive number of the patients with Ebola, Zika, HIV/ AIDS, hepatitis C, malaria and SARS among others. Most of these infections are still under research and therefore have not been contained properly, especially in the developing nations. One of the main elements that is associated with the development of the information based on the infections, relates to the fact that most of the diseases that were associated with behavioral elements have been found to be caused by microorganisms. With the development in the level of technological application in the field of microbiology studies, there has been a rise in the sequestration of the genomes of most of the microorganisms that are free living (Microbiologytext.com, 2016). This means that their genotype is established for purposes of identification. There has also been some rise in the technological changes relative to clinical microbiology with reference to the aspects of applied microbiology (Alsenvironmental.co.uk, 2016).The future is bound to be tied to studies of more than the 99% of the microbes on earth that have not been cultured. This is a large biological resource and one that is bound to bring about some crucial information in the field.
Article
Most of the people rarely think about infection until they are infected, people close to them are, read about it or see it in the news. Infections impact on the health defense system of a person, rendering them weak and liable to complications in their normal body functions. Ideally, the human body is a fortress, which has been developed over the years. There are defense systems that span from nasal hairs, the skin and antibodies in the blood stream among others. Some of the defense mechanisms have been developed over the years of genetic mixing and purification (Asm.org, 2016). Such that, as one generation is exposed to certain pathogens, they develop resistance to the same and pass it on to the next generation. As such, the coming generations tend to be immune to the pathogen and the related ailments. Some of the immunity characteristics in the human population have been developed over the years, using the various vaccinations and medicine for the same. As such, microbiology has played a significant role.
Ideally, microbiology, is a field that can be defined as the study of microscopic living organisms which include algae, viruses, protozoa and fungi (Boundless, 2015). The study aims at unearthing the various forms of the organisms, their physiology, metabolism classification and their various structures. These are the characteristics that can help identify the various microorganisms by revealing the various differences and how this impact the way that they thrive as disease causing organisms. It is important to note that there are some organisms in the microscopic range that are beneficial, such as the ones that are found in the digestive system, which play a crucial role in the defense mechanism as they kill infectious microorganisms (Thombre, 2016).
The study of microorganisms is directly related to the advent of the microscope. Before the invention of the microscope, much of the information that existed on the microorganisms was speculative and most of it was inaccurate and unverifiable. There are three main periods that are associated with the development of microbiology as a study and science (Tarsitani&Mazzocco, 2016). Before the 1865 period, there was a slow accumulation of facts that related to the microbes such as bacteria among others and their existence. This was relative to young and undeveloped level of microbiology (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). This period was later on followed up by the Golden Era, which came between 1865 and 1882. This was a period that brought to life some of the main developments that took place in the field, and set the precedent for the rest of the developments that are seen today (Boundless, 2015). The Golden Era dominated by some of the key figures in the field of microbiology, such as Robert Koch, Louis Pasteur and Lister among many others. These are some of the k...