Introduction
Microbiology , the study of single celled microscopic life. Also, microbiology is critical in today's food, medical, and biotechnical industries.
Since microbes are everywhere on our hands, our clothes, and our laboratory work surfaces a problem with many microbiology studies in the classroom or school lab is the risk of contamination of cultures by unwanted species.
Avoiding contamination is everyday work for those who use microbiology in their professions.
In medicine, researchers and technicians grow microbes from sick patients in order to identify the pathogen (disease causing agent), or to test a pathogen's antibiotic resistance.
This work with known or potential pathogens requires special laboratory procedures for handling, containment, and
disposal. These procedures are also used in the food and biotechnology industries, where workers carefully monitor microbe strains and populations (e.g., the milk supply is regularly tested for harmful microbes.)