Microscopic Medical Adventures

   Recently we got a chance to play with some of out school High tech microscopes. It was actually quite fun to looks at different slides. Each one was so unique and intricate. I was truly amazed by how clear we could see each cell in a simple compound light microscope! You know one of those thing you used in freshman biology, it kinda looked like this ↓

   Although they seem low tech now without one of these guys we would still be stuck thinking we got sick from "bad air" thanks to them we can now view living cells and microorganisms! This literally opened a door to a new world for us and explained how organisms and people get sick. It has changed the medical field as we know it. Yet many don't realize how amazing this series if tubing and lenses is. 

   The past two days we've been working with some microscopes just to get a feel for them. We were put into groups of two and assigned some slides. My partner and I view two human pancreas slides and a slide that had dicot cells. 

   The pancreas cells looked similar to chunks of meat (even though they practically were) The one below is slide one at 10x magnification

   The next slide is from the second sample of pancreases cells at 100x magnification 

           Finally we have our teeny dicot cells at 40x magnification.  

  Lastly we have an honorable mention from our neighboring classmates and their really nice looking nerves.                                                            

   I have had many choices of what i want to with my life but around seven grade the career wheel landed on Cardiothoracic Surgeon   Around freshman year I started thinking about becoming a pediatric orthopedics (probably since i have been in there a lot and herd stories of the totes awesome bone saw!) Yet, before i get to the amazing sterile gory fun i have to go through COLLEGE. Ew... right? Alas its my only way to my dream so i have made it a challenge to find my top 3 schools that are bearable. The following listed are my top 3 picks! 

3. University of California in Los Angeles 

   There at UCLA not only do they have a great pre-med program but they also have a pretty good medical school to follow which is nice. (x) Their surgery Departments are fairly well developed and it is among some of the best medical schools in the country. also its close to a beach and that's super rad. The average GPA for a freshman attending UCLA is 3.98 (x) Also the average SAT score is 1801 and the ACT score is 27.

2. University of Texas at Houston

   It's close to home, it's in a decent city, it has a nationally acclaimed pre-med and medical program... What's not to like? Houston has landed as #2 on my list mainly due to a great surgical program (and maybe a bit of convince) The medical center there has a pretty amazing Cardiothracic and Vascular surgery program (x) The schools average GPA is 3.85, Average SAT score are 1455-1781 And act scores are 22-27(x) 

1. University of Chicago

   Recently I've found out that this year we will roll through 8 unit in my micro class. The eight units will go by in this order: 1. Introduction to microbiology, 2. Microscopes, 3. Sterilization, 4. Infection, 5. Protozoa, 6.Bacteria, 7. Viruses, 8. Fungi. I have a few expectations of these units... very long detailed expectations that i will forcefully share with you today....

   in unit one "The intro to Microbiology" one would hope that this unit would give a brief summary of what we will learn during this course. It would be a proper introduction that lives up to the excitement of class itself! OH! What a wondrous introduction it would be full of germs, illness and hopefully decaying flesh! 

   In the fantastic unit two we will begin our journey into the fantastic world of microscopes! I hope to learn about how this stunning device can create a light powered portal to the delightful world of infectious disease. I wish to learn more about how microscopes work. I really just know that its a series of lenses in a tube that can let us literally stare death in the face. I want to look at a diagram of a microscope like the one below (x) and actually know what all the parts do.

   In unit 3; "The Unit of Sterilization," we would learn about different ways to kill off innocent bacteria that lurk within our homes, hospitals, and bodies. I would like to know if there is anything better than just "killing it with fire." Of coarse this will be important through out our lives in the medical field so that we can kill any contaminants that can affect patients or lab procedures. 

   Unit 4: The Unit Of Infectious Disease i expect that we would learn about different infamous infectious diseases. I want to learn more about how they spread and reproduce. by the end of that unit i expect each and every child to learn how to genetically engineer a common E. coli cell to become a deathly antibiotic resistant bacteria with 100% kill rate that way we will win the next biological war for sure!

   In the next unit i want to go in depth as to how protist work. i want to know they can reproduce so fast and turn my pool into a green mush without over populating the water killing themselves off. i would also like to know how some use bioluminescence (such as the one below) and if so what purpose they have. it would also be nice to know how organisms started out as a protist floating in the sea somewhere. 

   After protist we will study Bacteria. Bacteria are known to be some of the oldest cells on earth but i would like to know how they got here. I believe they have the answer to how life started... which would be cool to find out! We should probably also learn to distinguish between deadly bacteria and harmless ones. We could also learn to understand the one we do live with daily inside our bodies and in the environment around us. 

   In Viruses: unit 7 edition we shall learn about the different types of viruses. (duh) I would like to learn more about how they begin to adapt over time to become infectious and spreadable. Also if viruses don't live then what is their purpose on earth. Why are they here? We still need to learn about their structure too so that we can learn how to prevent them. 

   Finally we learn about fungi. Fungi are so far my favorite unit all because of DUN DUN DUN!

ANCIENT ZOMBIE ANTS!   Meaning that so far funguses are our best bet to achieving a zombie apocalypse! Any ways besides the almighty coolness that is undead prehistoric ants fungi can also shoot spores at astonishing speeds. I want to know how they can do such amazing things. I want to learn how they evolved to become such masters of life! 

   Microbiology is the study of all organisms that are invisible to the naked eye. As we all know all microscopic organisms are only viewable through a microscope which was invented by Zacharias Janses. However it wasn't until Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek created an improved version of the microscope were humans able to view microorganisms. Leeuwenhoek was the first person to see single cell organisms and is considered to be the first microbiologist. Leeuwenhoek is even referred to as the "Father of Microbiology" (x) 

   There are many others who had a significant role in the historical development of microbiology. Great men such as Louis Pasteur who discovered that it was yeast that caused wine to ferment stating that "fermentation is the consequence  of life without air."(x) His studies in fermentation allowed him to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation. Ignaz Semmelweis (x) and Joseph Lister (x) who proved that infections are contagious! Another honorable mention on the is Robert Kosh who proposed the Germ Theory Of Disease which basically states that some bacteria can cause Disease. (x)