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Additionally the development of recombinant DNA technology through the use of bacteria has led to the birth of modern genetic engineering and biotechnology. [ 9 ] Using microbes, protocols were developed to insert genes into bacterial plasmids , taking advantage of their fast reproduction, to make biofactories for the gene of interest.
This rapid evolution is important in medicine, as it has led to the development of multidrug resistant pathogenic bacteria, superbugs, that are resistant to antibiotics. [ 39 ] A possible transitional form of microorganism between a prokaryote and a eukaryote was discovered in 2012 by Japanese scientists.
Human interactions with microbes include both practical and symbolic uses of microbes, and negative interactions in the form of human, domestic animal, and crop diseases. Practical use of microbes began in ancient times with fermentation in food processing ; bread , beer and wine have been produced by yeasts from the dawn of civilisation, such ...
Consequently, the need to identify human pathogens was a major impetus for the development of techniques to identify bacteria. [ 173 ] The Gram stain , developed in 1884 by Hans Christian Gram , characterises bacteria based on the structural characteristics of their cell walls.
Microbiology (from Ancient Greek μῑκρος (mīkros) 'small' βίος (bíos) 'life' and -λογία () 'study of') is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular (single-celled), multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or acellular (lacking cells).
Epidemiology, the study of the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in populations, is an important part of medical microbiology, although the clinical aspect of the field primarily focuses on the presence and growth of microbial infections in individuals, their effects on the human body, and the methods of treating ...
Scanning electron micrograph of Escherichia coli, a common human pathogen and research organism.. Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them.
A 2006 study of pathogenic bacteria in hospitals found that their ability to survive varied by the type, with some surviving for only a few days while others survived for months. [70] The lifespan of microbes in the home varies similarly. Generally bacteria and viruses require a wet environment with a humidity of over 10 percent. [71]