Microbiology 100   The Microbial World
Spring Semester 2010

University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Explore Biology as a Major
• Fulfill L&S Natural Science Requirement
• No prerequisites; No required textbook
• Learn through traditional lectures and group learning activities
• Taught by Dr. Ken Todar and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Teaching Fellows - Department of Bacteriology
• Meets MWF 1:20 in the Microbial Science Building

You will learn
• How to read and interpret scientific media
• How scientific experiments are designed and conducted
• How contemporary microbiology impacts our lives
• What microbial cells are and how they work
• How microbial life originated 4 Billion years ago and has evolved since
• How microbes grow and reproduce, and how to prevent their growth
• About essential microbial associations between microbes and plants and animals
• About the role of microbes in global warming and the world ecosystem
• About probiotics and friendly bacteria that live on our bodies that help prevent disease
• About E. coli and salmonella amd other microbes that cause food-borne disease
• About harmful bacteria and viruses that cause disease ranging from tooth decay and Lyme disease to influenza and AIDS
• How we defend ourselves against microbial diseases
• About vaccines, including HPV, Flu, H1N1, meningitis and pneumonia
• About MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant microbes, and when you should and should not take antibiotics
• About microbes such as plague, anthrax and smallpox that may be used as agents of bioterrorism and agroterrorism
• How microbes are used to produce foods such as beer, wine, cheese and yogurt
• How microbes are genetically-engineered for applications in medicine and agriculture and bioenergy
• How microbes may be used to clean up oil spills, pesticides, plastics and other pollutants in the environment