Microbes at war
Most environments are inhabited by a community of different microbes, all competing to gain the nutrients they need for growth and reproduction. Microbes have been at war with each other, …
Course: Small and Mighty: Introduction to Microbiology
Meet Professor Simon Andrews
Throughout this course you’ll meet a range of experts from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Reading and hear about their current research. In this video I …
The restaurant for microbes
In the previous Step, you learnt how microbes reproduce. If a microbe replicated without also growing, the daughter cells would get smaller and smaller and very quickly go extinct. Different …
How Do Microbes Grow and Replicate?
Different groups of cellular microbes evolved and all living organisms, including you, share a common ancestor called LUCA. The staggering diversity of microbes on Earth today is, in part, due …
What Are the Five Major Groups of Microbes?
Microbes are organisms that are too small to be seen with the unaided eye. They evolved long before the first plants and animals appeared and affect our lives in more …
Tree of life
Did you know all living organisms, including you, evolved from the same, single celled microbe; the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA)? Where do microbes fit within the tree of life? …
Welcome to the course
Hello and welcome to ‘Small and Mighty: Introduction to Microbiology’, a three week course produced by the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading. I’m Dr Glyn Barrett, …
A note for teachers and students
This course is for everyone who has an interest in learning more about microbiology. However, there are certain sections in the course which may be particularly useful for those teaching …
Are microbes good, bad or harmless?
Are the majority of microbes good, bad or harmless? Current estimates suggest that there are at least a billion microbial species on Earth. It’s likely there are far more microbes …
What next?
Congratulations on completing Week 3! We hope you’ve enjoyed the course and we’ve encouraged you to continue to learn about microbiology. Want to study further? Now you’ve mastered some of …
An invitation to extend your learning
Congratulations on completing Week 1! Are you considering applying to study Microbiology at University? We’d like to invite you to follow your passion for the hidden world on the BSc …
Epidemics and Pandemics: The History
There have been many notable epidemics and pandemics throughout history that have caused major loss of human lives. You’ll explore some of these in this article and consider which pathogen …