Learn Microbiology

What is Microbiology?

The branch of biology which studies microorganisms is microbiology. Historically, this refers to living things that are too small to see without using a microscope.

Microorganisms were discovered around three hundreds years ago and include bacteria, viruses, protozoa, archaea, microscopic fungi and yeasts, and microscopic algae. Microbiology is a broad area of biology which encompasses parasitology, mycology, bacteriology, and virology.  

Learning about microorganisms is a core element of academic study and many students will find microbiology featuring heavily on their test papers.  

Careers in Microbiology

Dentists, doctors, vets, nurses, paleontologists, and pharmacists to name but a few professionals will have a very in-depth understanding of microbiology as a part of their studies and their job. Examples of jobs directly related to microbiology include:

Microbiologist

Pharmacologist

Research scientist

Nanotechnologist

Clinical research associate

Food technologist

Healthcare scientist, immunology

Biomedical scientist

Biotechnologist

Microbiologists are at the forefront of identifying unknown microorganisms,   preventing the spread of disease, and pioneering research. They may work in a variety of industries from food to healthcare but are usually laboratory-based.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in microbiology then you can take a few minutes to watch this video which features scientists from the American Society for Microbiology explaining why they are inspired by microbiology.  

Learning Microbiology

Getting to grips with microbiology requires learners to memorize a large volume of information covering both advanced chemistry and biology. This complex subject coincides and merges with a number of biological disciplines. Consequently, you might find other dedicated pages in Brainscape helpful such as immunology, protozoology, food microbiology, and molecular microbiology.   

Brainscape can help all kinds of students studying microbiology. Whether you’re a future microbiologist destined to make crucial breakthroughs or whether you just need to drill down the basics for your Nursing degree.

Brainscape will help you get to grips with foundational concepts and remember the  complex terminology involved in microbiology that previously had you faltering.

Microbiology in Brainscape

The microbiology page has thousands of flashcards prepared by top academic experts as well as like-minded students to choose from, all to use for free.

At Brainscape we love learning and we know all about it!  We get that learning is individual, and that's why you can also use Brainscape’s software to create your own flashcards for free. Each time you author a flashcard you can be confident that you’re strengthening your memory trace. Choose to keep your interactive learning catalog private or share it with other students in the Brainscape community.

If you’re learning microbiology in high school, embarking on med school, or in med school--then Brainscape has premium content we’ve produced for each stage of your learning journey. Our AP Biology, MCAT and USMLE study guides are the best on the market to brush up on microbiology--so check them out!

Learn faster with Brainscape

Brainscape is revolutionizing learning with its educational tool: Confidence-Based Repetition (CBR). Why is it the smartest and most powerful learning tool on the market? The results are outstanding--Students learn twice as fast and remember for longer.

How does it work? CBR comprises three learning methods: active recall, spaced repetition, and metacognition which each make up an important part of the system.

Active recall is the process of recalling a piece of information rather than recognizing it. Retrieving the information gives your neurons a workout meaning that the next time you want to apply the information in a real life setting--your neurons will be  strong and consequently up to the job.

Spaced repetition, CBR’s second learning method is also a proven effective learning method. Brainscape’s flashcard format perfectly mimics the spaced repetition learning method by presenting learner's with bite-sized pieces of easily digestible information at timely intervals.  

You might see other computer-aided learning tools also employing these learning methods, however, Brainscape is different in its implementation of metacognition to fuel the CBR algorithm. You’ll see this in the flashcard delivery as after each flashcard you’ll spend a split second to consider your understanding. It’s this metacognitive process that is rocket fuel for the algorithm and allows it to perfectly place each card in the  deck for optimal learning.

For example, let’s say you were asked to name eight important facultative intracellular organisms. Perhaps you could name all eight so you rate your understanding as a “5”. Therefore, the algorithm won’t show you that flashcard again, except to recap and instead you’ll spend the time you freed up focusing on the flashcards you rated lower.

This optimal way of learning is scientifically proven to get results fast. When you use traditional learning methods and other computer-aided learning tools, you always waste time but with Brainscape you never do.

To find out how to study with Brainscape, read on.

How to get started

Ready to get started using Brainscape? You can use Brainscape to make your own flashcards or you can take advantage of the thousands of microbiology flashcards that contributors have already created.

There are a large selection of Microbiology decks so just select a set of flashcards which are suitable for your learning level as well as the course material you wish to study. There are decks labeled from Bacterial Genetics to Funghi Lab so just choose one and dig in now. You’re sure to find a particular contributor who has a learning style perfectly in sync with you.

Brainscape is passionate about learning and wishes you the very best in your Microbiology studies and beyond!