WEEK 12 [SEMESTER 2]

Wednesday, 20th May 2015

Class started at 8.30am today and this morning some of my classmates were talking about me in our Whatsapp group. Haha. I didn't meant it as gossiping or some sort but it was because Erra saw me got off the bus at Fakulti Sains and not at the library (which is the supposed bus stop to get off because it is nearer to FBSB). I only read the messages when I arrived at the class though. 

I didn't know there was/were my classmate(s) on the same bus as me this morning. Hehe. 

I would like to explain myself. I got off the bus at the "wrong" bus stop because I went to print the notes for today's lesson, mates~ I'm sorry for my actions that made Erra confused. Hahaa. 


Some new things I managed to jot down today! 

(But there are some things that Dr Wan mentioned today that I already heard of because she already told us about it during last semester but I will still include it. Hehe)


MICROBIAL GROUPS 

• How to know the suitable temperature for growth of organisms? --> Based on their natural environment which is where you first isolate them.

• How to isolate microorganisms? Identify habitat > Prepare medium > Isolate the microorganism

• Why do we want to isolate microorganism? --> To get pure culture in order to obtain single colony > When we have obtained single colony, subculture it (transfer it to a fresh new medium)

• Why do microorganisms grow? --> Because they get nutrient from the environment that is favourable for their growth or resemble their natural environment. 

• Gnotobiotic animals are animals that are germ free

"Gnotobiote : 

Germ-free animal infected with one or more microorganisms in order to study the microorganism in a controlled situation."

- The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

•  Biocontrol agent --> Use other living organism to control growth of other organisms, either by killing them or inhibit their growth.

• “Daun kapal terbang”  has antimicrobial properties. (I honestly never heard of this leaf, let alone seen one x’D)



"Pokok kapal terbang"

• Where can we find biofilm? Examples : Eyes (Not on our eyes but on contact lenses) and surface of teeth.

• When do we use trace elements? --> Act as cofactors in enzymes. 

• There are a lot of other examples of nitrogen fixing bacteria other than the usual Azotobacter, Rhizobium, Nitrosomonas. For example ; diazotroph (Nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes). 

• K strategist is better than r strategist because K strategist although reproduce slower than r strategist, it is larger which is easier to compete for nutrients. Also, since it is large, it has a larger or more storage to keep more food.

• r strategist although reproduce faster than K strategist, it has bad aspects too due to the short generation time. They are smaller in size and also die faster. 

• Autochthonus --> The origins. Just like how aborigin is the residents before us in our place right now. 

 "Formed or originating in the place where found."

• Allochthonus --> 

 "Found in a place other than where they and their constituents were formed."

• Allogenic succession occurs beyond our control and due to nature such as flood and earthquakes. 

• Biofilms are very sensitive to pollution, same as lichen. Thus, when lichen and biofilm  are present at a certain place, it indicates that there is no pollution in that place.

We have finished on the topic of "Microbial Groups" and proceeded to "Principle of Ecology" where Dr Wan showed us the powtoon video that was made by Radin in which he is in the assigned group to make learning materials for that topic. 

We opened the Quizlet that was prepared and attempted to do the quiz. But unfortunately, the Wi-Fi connection in Biotech 1 today was a bit slow.... Everybody was having trouble to connect to the Internet (that includes me too. Haha) 

We managed to cover just a little bit about the new topic with Dr Wan. Dr Wan said that the idea of the assignment is that it require us to read the learning materials prepared by fellow classmates in various forms such as posters, Quizlet etc. After reading the prepared informations, we have to answer quizzes and submit the answer to Dr Wan. I agree with this method since we will are given questions. So.... in order to answer the questions, we of course have to read the notes beforehand or do it while referring the notes. Either way, we will still be learning something. Unless you  copied the answer from friends. Ahaaaa~~~~ That will be less 'fun', I think. The feeling of finding the answer yourself is more satisfactory in my opinion. Hehe. 

Thursday, 21st May 2015 

Our replacement class are supposed to be held today at 4-6pm but due to some circumstances, our usual class on Friday had to be replaced too. 

So, today we had class at 9-11am but the class at 4-6pm was not held because Dr Wan wants to do it on 1st June which is in two weeks time. That made our day less hectic. Hehe. Because if the 4-6pm class was to be held today, our schedule would be like this --> 9-11am BMY3102 | 12-1pm BBI2423 | 2-4pm BCH | 4-6pm BMY3102 ahha! Packed isn't it?! 

But then again, Dr Wan mentioned yesterday... or was it today.. I'm not sure x'D that she had meeting and classes too non-stop from early morning till night. Which is more packed than our schedules. She looks fine and happy during class though. 

We, her students should make Dr Wan as our role model who managed to look and actually IS! energetic :D 

Class started a bit late because some of the classmates were late~

We managed to do some activities today that required us to use our laptop in which one of the activity was... Look at Choy's group Thinglink because he just posted this morning. 

I managed to look at it for a little while. Went through one of the articles about bioremediation. But afterwards... The Wi-Fi failed me~~~~ Haha. 

After Dr Wan finished lecturing on Principal of Ecology, she asked us to share on her Padlet what do we know about 'Biogeochemical Cycles'. 

The link is Padlet.com/zuhainis/cycles

However! 

Here are some points that I managed to jot down today! or new things that I learnt today~~ :D 

PRINCIPAL OF ECOLOGY

• Microbial loop

"The microbial loop is a depiction of the microbial food web. The pathway starts with dissolved organic matter (DOM) which makes its way through various trophic levels ultimately to the highest trophic levels. This is relevant in aquatic and soil systems. Organisms involved in the microbial loop include DOM, bacteria, micro flagellates, protozoa, nematodes, ciliates, phytoplankton and various other nutrient cycling bacteria [3]. The microbial loop is ecologically significant because it is directly involved in nutrient cycling and primary production of biomass ultimately effecting large-scale ecological functions." 

-  http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Microbial_loop

• Examples of negative interactions in ecology is? ----> Parasitism, prey-predator, competition. 

• Why phytoplankton resides on the surface of water? ----> They are photoautotroph which means that they require sunlight in order to carry out photosynthesis to produce oxygen. 

• Phytoplankton (producer) > Bacteria (phytoplankton die and become dissolved organic matter > Protozoa > Zooplankton > Bigger organisms (example : fish) 

• Hydrosphere --> waterland while lithosphere ---> land

• How do microbes contribute to revolution? They remove weaker species through infections. But how exactly they do that? Through interactions such as prey-predator and competition. From what I understand about these interactions is that the 'winner' will have the...hmmm advantage to secure the habitat or the females (for mating of animals) while the 'loser' have to leave and find another place for them to inhabit. I guess the concept is applicable to microbes too. 

In conclusion~~ 

For this topic (Principle of Ecology) --> It is important to know and understands the terms used such as ecology, habitat, ecological niche, biosphere, population etc. 

Other than that, it is also important to know the hierarchy of ecology in order to see how they interact with each other. From organisms that are within the same species to their environments, be it abiotic or non-abiotic. We can see that all the organisms in this world are interconnected with each other starting from organisms/species > population > communities > ecosystems > biosphere.  

Also, the roles of microbes are very very very important for us as Microbiology student to know since other people who don't study this field don't even realize the microbes big contributions to our ecology despite their small, no not small, but microscopic features! Only we understand them. Hahaa

And lastly, we should know some of the methods that can help to ensure the ecosystem is maintained and remain safe and sound from damage and irresponsible acts.