Microbes are ubiquitous; your own body contains
ten times as many microbial cells as human cells. Many species inhabit
environments which humans consider "extreme," such as superheated sulfuric
acid in deep-sea thermal vents, or alkaline salt-saturated soda lakes.
- Microbes make history. From
wine and cheese, through tuberculosis
and AIDS, our microbial companions have shaped human destiny.
Who first saw single microbes? Who learned to grow them in culture?
How have the classic Koch's postulates been adapted to molecular pathology?
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Genetic regulation. In natural
environments, microbes survive extreme changes in their environment.
We study current research on genetic response, and what these mechanisms
can tell us about microbes inside the human environment.
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Extreme environments. How did microbes
evolve to live in habitats as diverse as a cow's rumen, or soil two miles
down, or (possibly) the crust of Mars?
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Microbial machines. Bacterial structures,
such as DNA replication, ATPase, and cell division, are understood at the
molecular level. Can these structures tell us how to build nanomachines?
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Bacterial biochemistry.
Some bacterial species can "eat" rock; "breathe" uranium; or photosynthesize
on beef broth. Understanding their bizarre chemistry helps us better
understand human biochemistry--and improve scores on MCAT or GRE.
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Microbes in ecosystems. Bacteria
and fungi perform unique and critical functions in our biosphere, particularly
in the nitrogen cycle and in decomposition. Yet less than 0.1% of
all bacterial species have yet been identified.
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Evolution. The first living organisms
to evolve were microbes. How did the first living cells give rise
to bacteria, eukaryotes, and archaea? Were the first cells built
of RNA? What RNA "fossils" remain within our own cells?
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Pathology. How do bacteria coexist
with the human host? How and why do some species cause disease?
We focus on respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted
diseases such as Chlamidia and Hepatitis
C.
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Viruses. How do viruses take over
a cell's genetics and physiology? Every kind of cell can be parasitized
by viruses--including microbial cells.
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Emerging pathogens. Escherichia
coli 0157, Listeria, Pfisteria. Why and how
do new diseases appear? How do epidemics and pandemics shape human
population?
Send comments to professor:
slonczewski@kenyon.edu
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