The Genesis of Germs Chapters 1-3

Question 1

How long did it take to solve the mystery of Legionnaires’ disease?

Answer 1

6 months

Question 2

The cell wall of a bacterium is best described as

Answer 2

rigid with some elasticity

Question 3

New diseases are the product of

Answer 3

variation, or change within “kinds”, not evolution

Question 4

What are microbes that thrive in hot springs called?

Answer 4

thermophiles

Question 5

Does bacteria need cold temperatures to thrive?

Answer 5

no

Question 6

Does the process of nitrification involve nitrifying bacteria that brings about the oxidation of ammonia to nitrites and of nitrates to nitrites?

Answer 6

no

Question 7

The technique of Gram-staining allows a what?

Answer 7

a clearer view of the cell wall

Question 8

Is it necessary to master Latin when classifying bacteria?

Answer 8

no

Question 9

What has internalized flagellum that lie beneath the cell wall?

Answer 9

Spirochetes

Question 10

Which scientist devised the theory of spontaneous generation by boiling plant infusions in swan-necked flasks that maintained ther sterility for long periods of time?

Answer 10

Louis Pasteur

Question 11

Does the flagellum act like an anchor

Answer 11

no

Question 12

___ may be the only organisms that can live in extreme habitats like thermal vents or hypersaline water.

Answer 12

Archaeans

Question 13

Are the eukaryotic cells of bacteria generally smaller and simpler in structure than prokaryotic cells?

Answer 13

no

Question 14

Which scientist first observed and described some of the larger bacteria?

Answer 14

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Question 15

Name some characteristics for prokaryotes

Answer 15

They lack a true nucleus.

They usually divide by binary fission.

Their DNA is not associated with histones.

Their cell walls almost always contain peptidoglycan.

Question 16

In hospitials, does Serratia marcescens, tend to colonize the gastroinstestinal track of adults?

Answer 16

no

Question 17

Koch discovered which species to be susceptible to cholera?

Answer 17

man

Question 18

The Archaean known as Halobacterium is characterized by _______

Answer 18

it’s red light-sensitive pigment

Question 19

The microorganisms of the hot springs at Yellowstone are:

Answer 19

bacteria, protozoa, algae

Question 20

Robert Koch developed a logical series of observations and experiments that would prove the specific element of what?

Answer 20

infectious diseases

Question 21

Anthrax is known as a zoonotic disease because …

Answer 21

people catch it from animals

Question 22

What percentage of bacteria is pathogenic?

Answer 22

5%

Question 23

Give the name of the pigment responsible for the bright red color in the bacteria that appeared as “blood.”

Answer 23

prodigiosin

Question 24

Name the microbiologist who first described synthesis of the red pigment found in bacteria that often cause bread and communion wafers to have blood on it.

Answer 24

Robert P. Williams

Question 25

The idea that microbes “pop” into existence from substances less complex than a living cell is termed:

Answer 25

spontaneous generation

Question 26

Is disease the result of bacterial mutation and evolution?

Answer 26

no

Question 27

To develop his famous postulates, Robert Koch first studied what disease?

Answer 27

anthrax

Question 28

Does the news media frequently write about the evolution of new microbe strains that can cause disease?

Answer 28

yes

Question 29

In his book, Darwin’s Black Box, Dr. Michael Behe describes flagella as

Answer 29

having irreducible complexity

Question 30

The fastest growth of bacteria happens in which phase?

Answer 30

logarithmic phase

Question 31

Are pure culture grown artificially in a liquid medium unpredictable

Answer 31

no

Question 32

The word bacteria comes from the Latin word meaning:

Answer 32

staff or rod