Microbiology
Microbiology (from Greek μῑκρος, mīkros, "small"; βίος, bios, "life"; and -λογία, -logia) is the study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, parasitology, mycology and bacteriology.
Eukaryotic microorganisms possess membrane-bound cell organelles and include fungi and protists, whereas prokaryotic organisms—all of which are microorganisms—are conventionally classified as lacking membrane-bound organelles and include Bacteria and Archaea. Microbiologists traditionally relied on culture, staining, and microscopy. However, less than 1% of the microorganisms present in common environments can be cultured in isolation using current means. Microbiologists often rely on molecular biology tools such as DNA sequence based identification, for example 16s rRNA gene sequence used for bacteria identification.
Viruses have been variably classified as organisms, as they have been considered either as very simple microorganisms or very complex molecules. Prions, never considered as microorganisms, have been investigated by virologists, however, as the clinical effects traced to them were originally presumed due to chronic viral infections, and virologists took search—discovering "infectious proteins".
The existence of microorganisms was predicted many centuries before they were first observed, for example by the Jains in India and by Marcus Terentius Varro in ancient Rome. The first recorded microscope observation was of the fruiting bodies of moulds, by Robert Hooke in 1666, but the Jesuit priest Athanasius Kircher was likely the first to see microbes, which he mentioned observing in milk and putrid material in 1658. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is considered a father of microbiology as he observed and experimented with microscopic organisms in 1676, using simple microscopes of his own design. Scientific microbiology developed in the 19th century through the work of Louis Pasteur and in medical microbiology Robert Koch.
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Matching Microbiology Colleges
Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Four or more years; Public; $26,660 average out-state tuition; $9,152 average in-state tuition |
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
Four or more years; Public; $3,960 average out-state tuition; $1,938 average in-state tuition |
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Four or more years; Public; $34,473 average out-state tuition; $9,909 average in-state tuition |
University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo
Four or more years; Public; $3,960 average out-state tuition; $1,938 average in-state tuition |
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Four or more years; Public; $33,523 average out-state tuition; $9,273 average in-state tuition |
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Four or more years; Public; $33,096 average out-state tuition; $15,030 average in-state tuition |
Oregon State University
Four or more years; Public; $27,735 average out-state tuition; $9,075 average in-state tuition |
Scholarships for Microbiology Majors
Edith Nourse Rogers STEM ScholarshipU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs |
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award Up to $30,000 |
deadline Varies |
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Jewel Scholars Program - Mount Mary CollegeMount Mary College |
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award $26,000 |
deadline Varies |
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Lumpkins Family Merit Scholarship in the College of ScienceUniversity of Notre Dame |
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award $25,000 |
deadline January 01, 2024 |
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Quantitative Biology Research Community (QBReC) FellowshipBrandeis University |
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award Up to $20,500 |
deadline January 01, 2024 |
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Science Post Graduate Scholarship FundNative Forward Scholars Fund |
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award Up to $30,000 |
deadline June 01, 2023 |
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UCF Astronaut ScholarshipUniversity of Central Florida (UCF) |
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award Up to $15,000 |
deadline May 31, 2023 |
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Alice P. Gast STEM ScholarshipLehigh University |
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award $12,500 |
deadline January 15, 2024 |
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FIRST Scholarship - Bay Atlantic UniversityFIRST |
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award $11,000 |
deadline August 15, 2023 |
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SOLV Energy Women in Solar ScholarshipSolar Energy International (SEI) |
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award $10,000 |
deadline Varies |
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Joseph P. and Helen T. Cribbins ScholarshipAssociation of the United States Army |
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award $10,000 |
deadline May 31, 2023 |
Microbiology Related Majors
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences
- Biochemistry
- Biomedical Sciences
- Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
- Zoology/Animal Biology
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Neuroscience
- Physiology
- Wildlife Biology
- Pharmacology
- Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology
- Biotechnology
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
- Biology
- Anatomy
- Neurobiology and Neurosciences
- Cell Biology and Anatomy
- Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
- Human/Medical Genetics