A timely reminder about grades as we near the end of the college school semester. I like school. I like learning new things and seeing God's design in microbiology this semester. I like learning what makes things work the way they do and seeing how things fit together. I love getting good grades. =) And I hate taking tests! This is an excerpt from an article written by Diether Haenicke (a former college professor and president) that was printed recently in the Kalamazoo Gazette. The title: "There's no absolution or negotiation as grades are not given, they are earned"

"The sins of the past haunt the sinner on Judgment Day, and there is much howling and gnashing of teeth. A few nights of cramming won't make up for solid, regular study throughout the semester. Therefore, one after another sleep-deprived and irrationally hopeful student shows up at my doorstep seeking belated guidance toward a passing grade. Others seek an audience to offer pieces of outstanding contemporary fiction as to what afflictions and what incomparable blows of fate have befallen them during the semester. Other yet turn my office into a confessional and freely admit their sins, pleading for forgiveness... But my students deal with a teacher of literature who, while he loves a good story, also recognizes fiction when he sees it... Other students think grades are a negotiable commodity. They put on their best salesman faces, fully convinced that a win-win situation can be developed if both parties are willing to deal... As the old joke goes: 'What's the difference between a professor and a terrorist?' Answer: 'You can negotiate with a terrorist.'... [a] grade is a professional judgment, a seal of quality. By giving a grade, I attest to the student's ability to perform on a given level. I am telling a future employer or a graduate or professional school how well this student has mastered a given subject. It is a judgment on which I stake my professional reputation. That's why there can be neither negotiation nor absolution... The older I get and the longer I teach, the more I have come to believe that those who teach must love those whom they teach. And that includes tough love and bad grades, if necessary."

Time to hit the books again!

Because my sister sure has no desire to do so. But she can't avoid learning something once she reads this post, haha! Since my life is currently being absorbed by the study of microbiology, I thought I'd post some enlightening tidbits for general reading edification.

* A note on cavities aka "dental carries": The use of sealants reduced the occurrence of cavities by 50%. Drinking water treated with fluoride brings about a 60% reduction. Eating low - no sugar lowers occurrences by 90%. Drinking pop from a can or bottle increases your chances of developing cavities on the front upper teeth because a lot of sugar flows through the small opening in the container and is concentrated on that spot. And since they are upper teeth, they aren't bathed with saliva as often or as well as the lower teeth.

* Certain kinds of yeasts and bacteria are used to ferment cacao seeds at the beginning of the chocolate making process.

* Bacteria have two basic types of cell walls. One is made of two layers and the outer layer is very thick. The other is made of three layers and is considerably thinner. This gives us keys to help us in the treatment of bacterial infections. Human cells have no cell walls - which means that any drugs used to weaken or destroy cell walls do not harm our own body cell structure. Wasn't that nice of God to put that in at the beginning?!?

* You may have heard that you shouldn't feed honey to children younger than 2 years of age. The reason? There may be endospores (think: bacterial time capsules) present in the honey. Adults and older children can deal with these icky things, but babies' immune systems aren't developed enough to handle them.

* I always assumed that antibiotics killed germs by outright eating them (phagocytosis is the real, fancy term they use in class) or by some mentally fuzzy method of warfare imprinted on my impressionable young mind after reading about Pasteur's rabies vaccine that injected "small soldiers" into one's body to "fight the enemy". Come to find out, most antibiotics actually work by weakening bacterial walls, by altering their metabolism, or by interfering with their ability to reproduce.

* It is thought that each person produces their own body weight in ATP molecules (cellular energy) per day.

* There are over 50 strains of Streptococcus pyogenes, the bacterium that causes strep throat. Which is why one can become infected with it again, and again, and again...

* Foods such as beef jerky and jam keep for long periods of time due to their high concentrations of salt and sugar. The s/s draw so much water out of the bacterial cells present in the mix that the bacteria don't have enough moisture to preform metabolic reactions - they are present but disarmed (until more water becomes available). However, mold can still grow even when the bacteria can't...

* I saw my first music video (listed as a link for one of our pre-lab assignments). Yes, folks, they even produce such things for lab geeks - the video was singing the praise of a PCR machine.

* Confirmed through lab experiments, I can assure you that it's true - your hands carry more microorganisms on them than surfaces such as your tongue, throat, the lab sink, the floor, objects in the bathroom (including the toilet handle), your nose, your arm... And I washed with antibacterial soap 1/2 hr before the experiment and basically sat at the bench listening to the instructor after that. (And yet, we live.) Wash, wash, wash!

* Bacteria reproduce exponentially. If you have 1 viable bacterial cell and it divides every 1/2 hour, after 24 hours of unchecked growth you will have a writhing mass of 281,474,976,710,656 bacteria, or 2.815 x 10^14. Don't even think about what would happen if you started out with 5 cells (or the large amount present under your finger nails.)

More to come in the future as I collect scattered notes and learn new trivia in the classroom!