January 17 Lecture 1 - Introduction/Overview/Course Outline
January 19 Lecture 2 - Life and Its Origins
January 24 Lecture 3 - Chemistry Primer
January 26 Lecture 4 - This is a Cell (basics)
January 31 Lecture 5 - That Many Bugs Live Where? (biodiversity, extremophiles)
Section 2 - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
February 2 Lecture 6 - Do I Eat Them or Do They Eat Me? (ecology, carbon, nitrogen, & sulfur cycles)
February 7 Exam 1
February 9 Lecture 7 - The Compost Heap (soil formation)
February 14 Lecture 8 - Pond Scum (photosutotrophs)
February 16 Lecture 9 - Sewage Treatment and Septic Systems
February 21 Lecture 10 - Can bacteria really eat oil spills? (bioremediation, biotechnology)
Section 3 - Medical Microbiology
February 23 Lecture 11 - What is an antibody? Why do I get a fever? (basic immunology); What is a virus? (basic virology)
February 28 Lecture 12 - Eradicating small pox and polio (vaccines)
March 2 Lecture 13 - Why can I get the flu every year but only get measles once? (antigenic drift, chicken flu)
March 7 Exam 2
March 9 Lecture 14 - The Black Plague (history; animal vectors; malaria, rabies)
March 14 Lecture 15 - AIDS - The Basics (latent viruses; herpes, shingles)
March 16 Lecture 16 - Mad Cow Disease (prions)
March 28 Lecture 17 - What is E. coli? (emerging infections)
March 30 Lecture 18 - Antibacterial soaps, Listerine, and Lysol
April 4 Lecture 19 - What is penicillin anyway? (antibiotics)
April 6 Lecture 20 - Biological Warfare (anthrax etc.)
April 11 Exam 3
April 13 Lecture 21 - The fungus among us (human fungal diseases, mildews)
April 18 Lecture 22 - Tooth decay - cavities, dentifrices, gingivitis
Section 4 - Food Microbiology
April 20 Lecture 23 - Why does my refrigerator smell? (food spoilage), What my grandmother knew about canning and smoking (food preservation), Preservatives in foods. Good or bad for me?
April 25 Lecture 24 - Pickling/sauerkraut (succession of species)
April 27 Lecture 25 - How come those little creams don't need refrigeration? (pasteurization/soured creams); Cheese - moldy and holy
May 2 Lecture 26 - Why does bread rise and why is it so good in San Francisco? (bread/sourdough); Beer, wine and spirits (yeasts, ethanol fermentation)
May 4 Exam 4
May 11 Comprehensive Final Exam at 1