Branch Of Biology

All human being and living creatures are made up of cell. It is the fundamental building blocks of life. Cells vary to form individual organisms to multi-cellular structures. Cells are made up of 90% fluid called cytoplasm which consists of free amino acid, proteins, carbohydrates, fats and numerous molecules. Cell environment affect gene expression/ regulation, and thus are very important aspects of inheritance. We understand that the function of cells has come from careful examination of cellular structure. For more than a century, light microscope has been used to study cells. Most cell biology students are familiar with the use of light microscope, having observed some cells in their biology courses. They used the microscope as a research tool to reveal cellular structure and to explore the properties and functions of the cells. Read the rest of this entry »

As a student we have encountered many science related topic which makes us more imaginative. One of which is microbiology, the branch of biology that deals with microorganisms and their effect on other living organisms. These organisms are primarily bacteria, yeast, molds and viruses. Microbiology also involves a collection of techniques to study and manipulate these small creatures. Because of their size, microscope and other methods had to be developed to allow the performance of interpretable experiments on microorganisms. These methods are not restricted to microbes alone, but have also found utility in working with populations of cells from higher organisms. Read the rest of this entry »

Yeast is a group of fungi. But the most familiar yeast is the single-celled hidden helper. The one which can turn sugar into alcohol and bubbly gases. Yeast also help us in baking the cakes and bread.If you observe yeast cell under the microscope, you will be fascinated how these organism works. Dissolve a half teaspoon of yeast into two tablespoon of warm water and add a half teaspoon of sugar.This is to feed the yeast cells. Stir the mixture well and leave it for ten minutes. After ten minutes, place a drop on a flat slide and carefully let down the cover slip on it.

The first thing you will notice as you try to peep them through microscope is the numerous bubbles which looks like surrounded by tiny glass beads. Do not be impatient if you think nothing extra ordinary transpire in your sample.Wait for a while until you notice a general streaming movement. Focus on the outer rim of an air bubble and switch to a higher magnification.You will see each yeast cells, looking like a millions of plump or transparent rice grains, surging and multiplying. Concentrate on one spot so you can observe buds forming on the parent cells, breaking off and floating away on their own.This how yeast cells reproduce.

Microbes live in a damp area in order for them to grow and reproduce. If the habitats of microbes get dry, their body has the tendency to get dry out too. Thus, microbes develop a hard coating and turn into an inactive dust. Although in this form, some of them could survive. However, as soon as microbes immersed in water again, their body rehydrate and begin on their new life cycle again.

Finding the Microbes

If you want to observe how microbes go on with their lives, you will have to provide these microorganisms some liquid place to live. With the use of a jar that has a screw top, get a sample preferably from stagnant puddles and ponds.It would be interesting if you added some bits of water plants and bottom mud. Fish tank and water from the flower vase would also be a good source of your sample. These two will give you some promising results.After you collect water from different sources, label the jars to help you remember where each sample came from.

The most important thing you need to do is to always wash your hands thoroughly after handling some water infected by microbes.Though some of the microbes are harmless, others are equally dangerous too. When preparing a slide, do not rub your eyes or touch your mouth and nose.And most of all, avoid eating while you are dealing with the specimen with microbes.

The Pollen

We are familiar with pollen grains. We know that they help the plants to reproduce. It is even called an agent of pollination. But how it really works closely? Pollen is a powdery-looking substance. It is often presents to the flowering plants. Pollen usually serves as a means of reproduction among the plants specifically those that are considered flowering plants. If you look at the center of a mature flower, you would always find its reproductive organ. The first thing you could see is the pistil (female organ). The one that surrounds it is the stamen (which is the male organ). At the end of the stamen, you will see is the anthers. It is like a bag that contains pollen. Touch the anthers and you will find some of the pollen sticking to your finger. Flowers, attractive as they are as a part of a plant, invite bees and insects to come and drink their nectar. As they come in contact with the flower, both their legs and furry bodies touch with the pollen. The result, pollen sticks to them. Now, what compose of pollen that it makes stick to any object that comes contact with it? If you examine the pollen under the microscope, you will understand why it sticks to every thing it touches. The surfaces of the grains are cleverly designed to make them cling. Some flower pollens have burrs; others may be ridged or spiked. Read the rest of this entry »

Algae are a diverse group of simple, plantlike organisms. They could be found in water from ponds or fish tanks. Algae do not have stems, roots or leaves but they contain chlorophyll or green pigment, which we could always found in plants. Algae range in size from single-celled forms smaller than some bacteria to seaweed many feet in length. Algae may even find joined together in colonies forming like a long ribbons or patterns like that of a flower. Algae could be green, yellow green, red, or brown. Read the rest of this entry »

Different environments breed different microbes. A particular H2O may contain small creatures such as slow-moving worms, whirling rotifers, or minute members of the shrimp or crab family. These tiny organisms are comparatively large, being composed of many cells. But mainly, you are likely to see the single celled organism called protozoa. Read the rest of this entry »

Bacteria are one-celled organism visible only through microscope. Bacteria live all around us and within us. The air is filled with bacteria, and they have even entered outer space in spacecraft. Bacteria live in the deepest parts of the ocean and deep within Earth. They are in the soil, in our food, and on plants and animals. Read the rest of this entry »

Plants are considered single-celled living thing. But even so, put them under the microscope, and you would be surprise that in a drop of water, they come in many shapes and varieties. Plants that are larger and huge expectedly compose of thousands of cells, of course having many different functions too. With the use of microscope, you can see the plant cells that make up the roots, stem, leaves, and even the reproductive parts of a plant. Read the rest of this entry »

even entered outer space in spacecraft. Bacteria live in the deepest parts of the ocean and deep within Earth. They are in the soil, in our food, and on plants and animals.Even our bodies are home to many different kinds of bacteria. Our lives are closely intertwined with theirs, and the health of our planet depends very much on their activities.

Bacteria inhabited Earth long before human beings or other living things appeared. The earliest bacteria that scientist have discovered, in fossil remains in rocks, probably lived around 3.5 billion years ago.These early bacteria inhabited a harsh world: It was extremely hot, with high levels of ultra violet radiation from the sun and with no oxygen to breathe.Before the development of the microscope, some people speculated that small, invisible particles caused diseases and fermentations. But not until the late 1600s did anyone actually see bacteria. In the 1670, Dutch lens maker Anton van Leeuwenhoek first saw what he called “wee animalcules” under his single-lens microscopes.

Leeuwenhoek noticed cells of different shapes within a variety of specimens, including scrapings from his teeth and rainwater from gutter. His findings laid the foundation of microbiology.The microscope was improved over the following centuries, but bacteria still appeared as tiny objects, even with magnifications at 1, 000 times. In the 1930s, the first electron microscopes were developed.Using beams of electrons instead of light, these microscopes could magnify objects at least 200 times more than light microscopes could. With magnifications of 200, 000 times actual size, it became possible to see structures within bacteria cells in detail.