By the end of this unit, students will be able to…-                      Describe what it means for an animal to be ‘healthy’.-                      Determine the difference between an infectious and a noninfectious disease.-                      Determine the difference between a contagious and a non-contagious disease.-                      Define: disease, pathogen, host, vector, virulence, environment.-                      Summarize how a host’s defense mechanisms prevent a disease from occurring and why these mechanisms sometimes break down.-                      Identify and explain the parts of a disease triangle and how they affect disease transmission.-                      Summarize the difference between resistance and immunity.-                      Summarize the difference between active and passive immunity as well as natural and artificial active immunity.-                      Explain how antigens and antibodies interact in order to create immunity in an organism.-                      Summarize how herd immunity works and how it affects the health of a group of organisms.-                      Define and explain the differences between each of the following:-                      a. Pandemic   b. Endemic   c. Epidemic   d. Zoonotic-                      Identify and categorize each of the following by the unique characteristics and identifying traits:o   a. Bacteria   b.  Viruses   c.  Fungi   d.  Protozoa   e.  Helminth-                      Define a prion and explain the characteristics that make this class of pathogens unique.-                      Compare and contrast prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.-                      Summarize how to classify bacteria, including by shape, aerobic/anaerobic, and by gram stain.-                      Compare and contrast the differences between gram negative and gram positive bacteria, particularly in regards to cell membranes and cell walls, susceptibility to antibiotics, and endotoxins vs. exotoxins.-                      Compare and contrast the properties of endotoxins vs. those of exotoxins.-                      Summarize the properties of peptidoglycan and relate how these properties affect the susceptibility of some bacteria to antibiotics.-                      Summarize the properties and characteristics of the membrane outside of the cell wall of some bacteria in regards to susceptibility to antibiotics, infection of a host, and resistance to host defenses.-                      Summarize how a bacterial infection can lead to the death of a host via sepsis and septic shock.-                      Explain why a virus is not considered to be a living species.-                      Summarize how viral reproduction occurs.-                      Compare and contrast a retrovirus to a standard virus.-                      Identify the kingdom of life in which fungi are classified.-                      Summarize the key traits of protozoa.-                      Explain how the symptoms diseases caused by helminths differ from many other pathogens.-                      Outline the method by which a prion causes a disease and identify practices that increase the likelihood of a prion infection.-                      Describe the existing treatments and/or cures for a prion disease.-                      Summarize the mechanisms and strategies that comprise each of the following: a. continual forms of nonspecific immunity; b. selective forms of nonspecific immunity; c. specific immunity.-                      Compare and contrast the properties of the three kinds of continual nonspecific immunity, including: a. mechanical; b. physical; c. chemical. -                      Summarize the identifying characteristics of all forms of selective nonspecific immunity, including: a. Phagocytosis  b.  Inflammation  c.  Pyrexia  d.  Protective proteins  e.  NK Cells-                      Summarize the function of interferons and complement proteins.-                      Summarize how specific immunity differs from all forms of nonspecific immunity.-                      Explain how the body uses antigens and antibodies to fight a disease.-                      Identify the key traits that comprise each of the following: a.   Genetic specific immunity    b.  Acquired specific immunity   c.  Nonspecific immunity-                      Summarize the difference between active acquired immunity and passive acquired immunity.-                      Explain how a vaccination works to reduce the rate of contraction of a disease.-                      Identify the key characteristics of each of the following kinds of vaccinations:o   a. Live    b.  Killed/Inactivated   c.  Toxoid   d.  Biosynthetic-                      Define colostrum, and explain why it is a valuable part of a production animal operation.-                      Summarize why adult vaccination is necessary for herd health using examples.-                      Define VCPR and explain why it is necessary for an animal operation.-                      Compare and contrast the function and properties of antibiotics and vaccines.-                      Describe the most common methods by which an antibiotic destroys bacteria.-                      Describe the most common bacterial mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.-                      Summarize the difference between Inherent (natural) Bacterial Resistance and Acquired Resistance.

Students learn the fundamentals of using microbes to treat wastewater. They discover how wastewater is generated and its primary constituents. Microbial metabolism, enzymes and bioreactors are explored to fully understand the primary processes occurring within organisms.

How can you tell if harmful bacteria are in your food or water that might make you sick? What you eat or drink can be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites and toxins—pathogens that can be harmful or even fatal. Students learn which contaminants have the greatest health risks and how they enter the food supply. While food supply contaminants can be identified from cultures grown in labs, bioengineers are creating technologies to make the detection of contaminated food quicker, easier and more effective.

" In this class, students engage in independent research projects to probe various aspects of the physiology of the bacteriumĺĘPseudomonas aeruginosa PA14, an opportunistic pathogen isolated from the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. Students use molecular genetics to examine survival in stationary phase, antibiotic resistance, phase variation, toxin production, and secondary metabolite production. Projects aim to discover the molecular basis for these processes using both classical and cutting-edge techniques. These include plasmid manipulation, genetic complementation, mutagenesis, PCR, DNA sequencing, enzyme assays, and gene expression studies. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication are also emphasized. WARNING NOTICE The experiments described in these materials are potentially hazardous and require a high level of safety training, special facilities and equipment, and supervision by appropriate individuals. You bear the sole responsibility, liability, and risk for the implementation of such safety procedures and measures. MIT shall have no responsibility, liability, or risk for the content or implementation of any of the material presented. Legal Notice "

This lesson describes the major components and functions of the immune system and the role of engineers in keeping the body healthy (e.g., vaccinations and antibiotics, among other things). This lesson also discusses how an astronaut's immune system is suppressed during spaceflight due to stress and other environmental factors.

This article by the National Library of Medicine teaches readers how germs make people ill. It includes several sections - what microbes are, the types of microbes (including viruses, bacteria, fungi, helminths, protozoa, and prions), how we encounter microbes, the mechanisms by which germs may enter a human host, how pathogens cause illness, and some examples of germs that cause illness. Students can make flashcards of each microbe and its mechanism of causing illness as they read. This article is great for comprehension and retention as it includes pictures, microscopic images, and diagrams. By reading this article, students should have a clear understanding of how each type of microbes contributes to illness.

Student teams practice water quality analysis through turbidity measurement and coliform bacteria counts. They use information about water treatment processes to design prototype small-scale water treatment systems and test the influent (incoming) and effluent (outgoing) water to assess how well their prototypes produce safe water to prevent water-borne illnesses.

Students modify a provided App Inventor code to design their own diseases. This serves as the evolution step in the software/systems design process. The activity is essentially a mini design cycle in which students are challenged to design a solution to the modification, implement and test it using different population patterns The result of this process is an evolution of the original app.

Students learn about water quality testing and basic water treatment processes and technology options. Biological, physical and chemical treatment processes are addressed, as well as physical and biological water quality testing, including testing for bacteria such as E. coli.

How can you tell if harmful bacteria are growing in your food? Students learn to culture bacteria in order to examine ground meat and bagged salad samples, looking for common foodborne bacteria such as E. coli or salmonella. After 2-7 days of incubation, they observe and identify the resulting bacteria. Based on their first-hand experiences conducting this conventional biological culturing process, they consider its suitability in meeting society's need for ongoing detection of harmful bacteria in its food supply, leading them to see the need for bioengineering inventions for rapid response bio-detection systems.