Microbiology is the study of micro-organisms, which are tiny organisms made up of very few cells. Microbiology started about 300 years ago when scientists first observed micro-organisms. The Dutch scientist who first observed bacteria is sometimes called the founder of microbiology, but in fact an early observation in the study of microbiology was made when fruiting mould was noted in 1665.

There are many types of microbiology, and microbiology is a science with many applications. One of the main practical application of microbiology is medicine, and microbiology is sometimes used to mean specifically medical microbiology. Microbiology is, however, a much broader science than this, and the term ‘general microbiology’ can be used to reflect this. General microbiology includes applications such as microbial physiology, microbial genetics, veterinary microbiology and environmental microbiology. There are also other types including evolutionary microbiology, industrial microbiology (which is closely linked to biotechnology), aeromicrobiology and food microbiology (which has had a big impact on food throughout the western world and beyond). Of course one of the best known specialist areas is medical microbiology, and it has revolutionised the way we live and how long we are able to live for every since it began to be studied.

Microbiology is important in the discovery of treatments for human and other illnesses caused by microbes that have the potential to harm – known as pathogens. Microbiology really began as a modern science with the development of anti-microbial medical treatments by Luis Pasteur and his contemporaries. At this time the word microbiology certainly was principally medical, although the advent of new sub-disciplines and applications has broadened the science.

LSL