Staphylococcus is a gram positive, cocci shaped, genus of bacteria. Observed under a microscope will reveal they exist in microscopic ‘grape-like’ clusters. One species of staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus,
Point Mutations Much like humans, bacteria are subject to evolution. Evolution occurs through beneficial mutations in the DNA. Because bacteria have much shorter generation times than humans, the
A simple and rapid method of quantifying the amount of virus in a sample. Haemagglutination is the agglutination of red blood cells. Viruses with envelops or surface proteins
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterial genus Leptospira. Leptospires are spirochetes, a group of Gram-negative bacteria with long, thin, spiral structures and an internal flagella
Only a tiny amount of bacteria found on Earth are actually associated with disease. The number associated with human disease is as low as 0.001%. Bacteria are extremely
I would like to thank everyone who visited VetSci in 2010! This year, the site proved very popular and it could not have achieved it without you! Averaging
Diving to depth is a typical behaviour observed in many aquatic mammals such as; whales, otters, seals, walrus and many others. Such mammals are well adapted at diving.
Oxygen comprises a large proportion of our atmosphere (21%) and has become a vital gas for many organisms on Earth. Without it our ability to produce energy (as
It is recommended that you read ‘An Introduction to the Evolution of Animal Fighting Behaviour‘ before you read this, as there are some concepts explained in the earlier
Communication is the process of transferring information from one animal to another; there are typically three types of roles involved with communication. These are:
Signaller – Initiates the communication,
Intrasexual selection (in contrast to intersexual selection) is when members of the same sex (within a species) compete with each other in order to gain opportunities to mate
Intersexual selection (in contrast to intrasexual selection), is often known as female choice and is the process where the female choses the male based on certain ornaments e.g.
Introduction The primary effect of opioids is to temporarily remove pain when used at therapeutic levels; this is done by binding to opioid receptors found primarily in the
Introduction In animals all waste products must be excreted from the body in some manner. The urinary system is involved in the excretion of nitrogenous waste products such
Introduction The method of digestion which an animal uses depends on its diet i.e. carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. For example not all mammals are carnivores (e.g. dogs and
Introduction The somatosensory system comprises of ‘senses’ known as sensory modalities, these include; tactition (touch), temperature, proprioception (body position awareness) and nociception (pain). It is possible there are
Introduction Located in the inner ear are several small organs responsible for balance. These organs belong to the vestibular system and give humans and many other mammals a
