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Microorganisms surround us and play major roles in everyday life. The course provides a broad overview of those microbes that humans encounter knowingly or unknowingly every day. Emphasis will be on the importance of microbes to daily life. The usefulness of microbes in food and alcoholic beverage production, cleanup of toxic wastes, recovery of oil and minerals, and of making agriculture possible is explored. Harmful microbes such as those causing food poisoning and human and plant diseases will also be discussed. The importance of microbes in the survival of the world ecosystem, such as their role in global warming, as well as the role of microbes in biotechnology and careers in the biotechnology industry is featured. The class features daily participatory demonstrations as well as field trips so as to topics easier to relate to. The class is highly recommended for students who are looking for a science elective course and for those simply interested in exploring biology. The course is an excellent introduction to microbiology for those students interested in the Microbial Biology undergraduate major. | ||
Student Evaluation: 6.52 out of 7