This book transforms a difficult subject into ideas that every attentive student can understand. Important topics covered include: the microbial world, cellular chemistry, observing microbes through a microscope, microbial growth and reproduction, microbial genetics, bacteria, fungi and protozoa, viruses, the disease process, epidemiology, antimicrobial drugs, practical applications of immunology, infectious diseases, and many others. Also featured are helpful review questions with answers. Barron's E-Z Series books are updated, and re-formatted editions of Barron's older and perennially popular Easy Way books. Titles in the new E-Z Series feature extensive two-color treatment, a fresh, modern typeface, and more graphic material than ever. All are self-teaching manuals that cover a wide variety of practical and academic subjects, written on levels that range from senior high school to college-101 standards.

Microbiology For Dummies (9781119544425) was previously published as Microbiology For Dummies (9781118871188). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product. Microbiology is the study of life itself, down to the smallest particle Microbiology is a fascinating field that explores life down to the tiniest level. Did you know that your body contains more bacteria cells than human cells? It's true. Microbes are essential to our everyday lives, from the food we eat to the very internal systems that keep us alive. These microbes include bacteria, algae, fungi, viruses, and nematodes. Without microbes, life on Earth would not survive. It's amazing to think that all life is so dependent on these microscopic creatures, but their impact on our future is even more astonishing. Microbes are the tools that allow us to engineer hardier crops, create better medicines, and fuel our technology in sustainable ways. Microbes may just help us save the world. Microbiology For Dummies is your guide to understanding the fundamentals of this enormously-encompassing field. Whether your career plans include microbiology or another science or health specialty, you need to understand life at the cellular level before you can understand anything on the macro scale. Explore the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells Understand the basics of cell function and metabolism Discover the differences between pathogenic and symbiotic relationships Study the mechanisms that keep different organisms active and alive You need to know how cells work, how they get nutrients, and how they die. You need to know the effects different microbes have on different systems, and how certain microbes are integral to ecosystem health. Microbes are literally the foundation of all life, and they are everywhere. Microbiology For Dummies will help you understand them, appreciate them, and use them.

Master the Fundamentals of Microbiology with This Concise Learning Guide Covered in the Microbiology Made Easy guide are the following areas: - The common characteristics of microorganisms. - How microbes are different from one another. - The processes quintessential to microbial life. - The diversity of microbial life. - The ways in which microbes impact our lives. - How microbes are identified and classified. - The clinical manifestations, diagnostics, and virulence factors of clinically significant microbes. - How diseases caused by microbes are treated. - The types, structure, and replication of viruses. - The functioning of the different parasites and the diseases they cause. - The types of fungi and their implications for humans and plants. - And much more! The ultimate aim of this book is to kick-start your understanding of microbial life. It is tailored toward the lifelong learner and explorer. It can also be used by students dipping into the subject, along with their core microbiology text - or as a convenient review tool! Kickstart Your Microbiology Mastery Now!

This book, a compilation of 21 chapters, includes research findings and review articles contributed by scientists and researchers in different areas of microbiology. It contains review articles on bacterial pheromones, biosensors, various microbial enzymes, industrial biocatalysis, chaperones and proteases, present scenario of tuberculosis, diagnostic techniques for indoor dust enumeration including the human papilloma virus. In a nutshell, it contains useful information about the current hot spots of microbiology, enlisting the latest techniques. For all those involved in the pursuit of microbial ecology, medical microbiology, industrial microbiology, environmental microbiology and microbial physiology, this volume will prove to be immensely useful and stimulating.

From genetics to ecology — the easy way to score higher in biology Are you a student baffled by biology? You're not alone. With the help of Biology Workbook For Dummies you'll quickly and painlessly get a grip on complex biology concepts and unlock the mysteries of this fascinating and ever-evolving field of study. Whether used as a complement to Biology For Dummies or on its own, Biology Workbook For Dummies aids you in grasping the fundamental aspects of Biology. In plain English, it helps you understand the concepts you'll come across in your biology class, such as physiology, ecology, evolution, genetics, cell biology, and more. Throughout the book, you get plenty of practice exercises to reinforce learning and help you on your goal of scoring higher in biology. Grasp the fundamental concepts of biology Step-by-step answer sets clearly identify where you went wrong (or right) with a problem Hundreds of study questions and exercises give you the skills and confidence to ace your biology course If you're intimidated by biology, utilize the friendly, hands-on information and activities in Biology Workbook For Dummies to build your skills in and out of the science lab.

Bacteria in various habitats are subject to continuously changing environmental conditions, such as nutrient deprivation, heat and cold stress, UV radiation, oxidative stress, dessication, acid stress, nitrosative stress, cell envelope stress, heavy metal exposure, osmotic stress, and others. In order to survive, they have to respond to these conditions by adapting their physiology through sometimes drastic changes in gene expression. In addition they may adapt by changing their morphology, forming biofilms, fruiting bodies or spores, filaments, Viable But Not Culturable (VBNC) cells or moving away from stress compounds via chemotaxis. Changes in gene expression constitute the main component of the bacterial response to stress and environmental changes, and involve a myriad of different mechanisms, including (alternative) sigma factors, bi- or tri-component regulatory systems, small non-coding RNA’s, chaperones, CHRIS-Cas systems, DNA repair, toxin-antitoxin systems, the stringent response, efflux pumps, alarmones, and modulation of the cell envelope or membranes, to name a few. Many regulatory elements are conserved in different bacteria; however there are endless variations on the theme and novel elements of gene regulation in bacteria inhabiting particular environments are constantly being discovered. Especially in (pathogenic) bacteria colonizing the human body a plethora of bacterial responses to innate stresses such as pH, reactive nitrogen and oxygen species and antibiotic stress are being described. An attempt is made to not only cover model systems but give a broad overview of the stress-responsive regulatory systems in a variety of bacteria, including medically important bacteria, where elucidation of certain aspects of these systems could lead to treatment strategies of the pathogens. Many of the regulatory systems being uncovered are specific, but there is also considerable “cross-talk” between different circuits. Stress and Environmental Regulation of Gene Expression and Adaptation in Bacteria is a comprehensive two-volume work bringing together both review and original research articles on key topics in stress and environmental control of gene expression in bacteria. Volume One contains key overview chapters, as well as content on one/two/three component regulatory systems and stress responses, sigma factors and stress responses, small non-coding RNAs and stress responses, toxin-antitoxin systems and stress responses, stringent response to stress, responses to UV irradiation, SOS and double stranded systems repair systems and stress, adaptation to both oxidative and osmotic stress, and desiccation tolerance and drought stress. Volume Two covers heat shock responses, chaperonins and stress, cold shock responses, adaptation to acid stress, nitrosative stress, and envelope stress, as well as iron homeostasis, metal resistance, quorum sensing, chemotaxis and biofilm formation, and viable but not culturable (VBNC) cells. Covering the full breadth of current stress and environmental control of gene expression studies and expanding it towards future advances in the field, these two volumes are a one-stop reference for (non) medical molecular geneticists interested in gene regulation under stress.