Are you tired of the same old biology courses? Would you like to try something different?
If you pick up a handful of garden soil you will be holding hundreds, if not thousands, of different kinds of microbes. One single teaspoon of soil contains 1 billion bacteria, 120,000 fungi, and 25,000 algae.
There are 10 times more bacteria in the average human’s digestive system than there are cells in the entire body.
There are more microbes on one person’s hand than there are entire people on the planet.
Microbes generate at least half the oxygen we breathe.
Most microbes do not cause disease - less than 5%.
A study found that 30% of all people didn't wash their hands after using a public bathroom— although 90% claimed they do.
BIO111 Microbes and Society is the course for you! BIO111 fulfills the natural science SQ requirement and transfers to ASU, NAU, and U of A.
The world around us is full of organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye – bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae and protozoa.
These microbes live in a wide range of habitats from hot springs to the human body and the depths of the ocean. They affect each and every aspect of life on earth.
We can all think of a few microbes that make us ill – the viruses that cause colds and flu or food poisoning bacteria.
However there are many more microbes living harmlessly alongside us playing a vital role in the planet’s nutrient cycles, from fixing nitrogen and carbon dioxide at the beginning of the food chain right through to decomposing and recycling essential nutrients at the end of it. Microbes are also essential to production of many foods and medicines – imagine our diets without cheese, bread, yogurt or a world where the slightest bacterial infection or wound could prove fatal because there were no antibiotics or vaccines.
Microbes have always affected our health, food and environment and they will play an important role in the big issues that face us in the future: climate change, renewable energy resources, healthier lifestyles and controlling diseases.
Join us in BIO111 to find out more about the amazing role of microbes. Please visit http://drraymond.weebly.com/biology-111.html for more information.
|Microbes & Society BIO 111|
|Examination of the science of microbes and the impact of microbes on human affairs. Topics include principles of microbial diversity, cell structure, growth and reproduction, global processes, disease, and prevention of disease|
Course Attribute(s): General Education Designation: Natural Sciences (Quantitative) - [SQ]
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