Living in the Microbial World: Readings

Online Readings

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• The Quorum Sensing Site. This website is home of the Quorum Sensing Research Group at the University of Nottingham and aims to be a "one stop shop" for quorum sensing (QS) research. The site..._{(more info)}
• Bacterial Symbionts Induce Host Organ Morphogenesis During Early Postembryonic Development of the Squid Euprymna scolopes. This journal abstract discusses the mutualistic association between the squid Euprymna scolopes and the bacterium Vibrio fischeri, an emerging experimental..._{(more info)}
• Fuligo septica, the Dog Vomit Slime Mold. This informational website features the slime mold Fuligo septica, Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for June 1999. It includes an audio pronunciation tool, educational... _{(more info)}
• Humongous Fungus. This 1992 online news article reports a 37acre fungus that has been discovered at the Wisconsin-Michigan border. It is 1500 years old, weighs between 100 and 1000 tons... _{(more info)}
• Communism in trees goes underground. This news article reports that some trees give their neighbors carbon that they have captured from the atmosphere. Scientists discovered that shade enhances..._{(more info)}
• Fungi Help Reduce Transplant Failures at the Roots. This news article reports that inoculating trees with mycorrhizal fungi prior to or at planting has revolutionized the reforestation of mined lands and... _{(more info)}
• Slime Mold: The Blob on the Lawn. This horticultural informational page discusses slime mold, including its description, life cycle, damage, control, and literature sources. _{(more info)}
• Introduction to the Slime Molds. This educational page introduces the three main groups of slime molds: plasmodial slime molds, cellular slime molds, and Labyrinthulomycota. It offers a description of each... _{(more info)}
• The Sciences: The Frontiers of Life. This 60-page special issue of The Sciences features articles written by leading researchers in the fields of astrobiology and evolution. Appropriately titled The... _{(more info)}
• Crucial crises in biology: life in the deep biosphere. This review article summarizes the three turning points in time that were crucial to evolution - biopoiesis (origin of life), ecopoiesis (origin of ecosystems), and... _{(more info)}
• Microscopy For Children: A Bibliography. This site is a bibliography of books, videotapes, CD-ROMs and websites on microscopy and related topics, for children, their teachers, and parents. Books include... _{(more info)}
• Martian Micromagnets. This astrobiology article reports another case for ancient life on Mars - a meteorite from Mars peppered with tiny magnetic crystals that on our planet are only made by... _{(more info)}

Non-web Readings

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• Microbial Communities. This 1986 journal article reports that most microbial communities have escaped description. The introduction discusses the various reasons for this gap in knowledge... _{(more info)}
• Ecology in a Jar. This journal article discusses incorporation of the Winogradsky Column into high school science classrooms to demonstrate nutrient cycles and inter-relatedness of... _{(more info)}
• The Life of Sergei Winogradsky. This journal article describes the life history of Sergei Winogradsky, the "Father of Soil Microbiology." It discusses the two phases of his scientific career... _{(more info)}
• Down in the Dirt Wonders Beckon This news article reports the use of DNA extraction, amplification, cloning, and screening to uncover the unknown microorganisms of the soil and sea by targeting..._{(more info)}
• The Importance of Microbiology in Improving Pre-College Science Education. This journal article discusses the importance of microbiology in the K-12 classroom. It addresses the impact of hands-on experiments and summarizes the... _{(more info)}
• Learning and Assessing Science Process Skills. This book is designed to help teachers know how to develop necessary science knowledge and skills in their students. The book is to be used individually or in groups by preservice and inservice..._{(more info)}
• Probing Biodiversity: Molecular Techniques Offer Powerful New Tools. This article introduces the molecular methods used to assess biological diversity. It begins by defining DNA and nucleotide sequencing. An illustration describes... _{(more info)}
• Post-Viking Microbiology: New Approaches, New Data, New Insights. This journal article, published in 1999, discusses the advances made in microbiology and microbial ecology in the 20 years since the Viking missions to Mars. The article... _{(more info)}
• Structure of a microbial mat at Great Sippewissett Marsh, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This journal article reports the findings from a study analyzing the microzonation of phototrophic bacteria in a flat laminated microbial mat at Great Sippewissett Salt... _{(more info)}
• The Microbial Basis of Life at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents. This article discusses the sampling and in situ experiments carried out by ALVIN at various hydrothermal vent sites as well as the microbes associated with these... _{(more info)}
• The Physiology of Vesicular-Arbuscular Endomycorrhizal Symbiosis. This review article discusses the physiology of vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal symbiosis in categories reflecting successive stages in its formation and... _{(more info)}
• The Genus Xenorhabdus: Entomopathogenic Bacteria for Use in Teaching General Microbiology. This paper presents a brief description of insect-pathogenic bacteria in Xenorhabdus and their life cycle, followed by a protocol that can be easily adapted for... _{(more info)}