Microbiology

What basic features distinguish bacteria and archaea from eukaryotic cells? How do bacteria obtain energy and nutrients in such a wide variety of environments? What roles do bacteria play in soil, oceans, and the human body? How do bacterial biofilms form, and why are they important in medicine and industry? How do scientists culture and study bacteria in the lab?

What makes viruses different from living cells, and why are they often called obligate parasites? How does a typical virus infect a host cell and make new virus particles? What are the main ways viruses spread between individuals and populations? What are prions, and how do they cause disease without containing DNA or RNA? How do new viral diseases emerge in humans from animal hosts?

What is the human microbiome, and where in the body is it found? How do gut microbes help with digestion and nutrient absorption? How does the microbiome influence the immune system and overall health? What can disrupt a healthy microbiome, and what are the consequences? How are scientists exploring the use of probiotics and microbiome-based therapies?

How do pathogenic microbes evade the body’s defenses and cause disease? How does the immune system detect and respond to invading microbes? What is the difference between innate and adaptive immunity? How do epidemiologists track and model the spread of infectious diseases? What public health measures are most effective in controlling outbreaks?

How do antibiotics kill or inhibit bacteria, and why don’t they work on viruses? How does antibiotic resistance evolve and spread among bacterial populations? What practices in medicine and agriculture contribute to antibiotic resistance? How do vaccines train the immune system to recognize specific pathogens? What strategies are being explored to fight infections in a world with rising resistance?