Microbiology

Microbiology   is the study of microscopic organisms, either unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells).  Microbiology includes the disciplines virology, mycology, parasitology, bacteriology, and so on.

The existence of microorganisms was hypothesized for many centuries before their actual discovery. 

In 1546 Girolamo Fracastoro proposed that epidemic diseases were caused by transferable seedlike entities that could transmit infection by direct or indirect contact, or vehicle transmission.

In 1676, Anton van Leeuwenhoek observed bacteria and other microorganisms, using a single-lens microscope of his own design.

The field of bacteriology (later a subdiscipline of microbiology) was founded in the 19th century by Ferdinand Cohn, a botanist whose studies on algae and photosynthetic bacteria led him to describe several bacteria includingBacillus.

'Micro' means 'tiny' which usually refers to particles which cannot be seen in the naked eye, and 'bio' means life while 'logy or logos' means study. A microbiologistis a person who investigates things or studies in the field microbiology. Microbiologists investigate the growth and characteristics of microscopic organisms such asbacteria, algae, or fungi. Most microbiologists specialize in the environmental, food, agricultural or medical aspects in either medical or industrial microbiology;virology (the study of viruses); immunology (the study of mechanisms that fight infections); or bioinformatics. Many microbiologists use biotechnology to advance knowledge of cell reproduction and human disease.