Games and Tools
We all know you've been aching to play with these tiny creatures and see how they interact with each other. This bacteria simulation game lets you control the populations of different bacteria, amoeba and viruses. Change the conditions to see the interconnectedness of the species. Bacteria populations even evolve.
Pandemic 2 allows you to be the disease that ravages the entire globe. If that isn't heinous enough, the way to win is to wipe out the entire human species. Hopefully getting this out of your system will allow you to be a little less evil to your teachers.
Websites
If you ever want to ensure your traveling destination isn't infested with the infectious diseases we so lovingly discussed, healthmap.org may be your most handy trekking companion.
Need to know something about tiny living things? This website, which encourages student (yes…you) contributions, will likely have just what you are looking for.
Still have a hankering for some disease knowledge but find yourself worried that you may have contracted all of these diseases just by reading this chapter? The folks over at howstuffworks have created a list of diseases that you no longer have to worry about because medicine is awesome.
Viruses are small. Actually, viruses are extremely tiny. Here are some pictures of some of these miniscule mischief-makers. It took a lot of work and technological advances to gets these good pics.
Videos
This show will provide you with enough nightmare-fuel for the rest of your days.
In this TED Talk, Nathan Wolfe travels into the jungle to hunt for the next AIDS. It took over 50 years to identify the virus that causes AIDS; Wolfe wants to stop the next one before it even has a chance to sink its teeth in.
Bonnie Bassler, superhero name aside, discusses how bacterial cells WAY outnumber human cells within the human body and how these cells "talk" to one another. We know…just one more thing to worry about, bacteria talking behind your back. Some pathogens like H.pylori which we mentioned in the bacteria section use this sneaky maneuver.
Podcasts
This German podcast does a nice job breaking down the complexities of bacteria and viruses. If you want the really heavy stuff, check out the guest's podcast This Week in Virology (TWIV) where they discuss cutting edge virus research
If you are considering a career in microbiology research, and worry that you may not have the nerd power required, give this podcast a listen. They interview scientists about their research and attempt to see what makes them tick and what they have up their sleeves. Scientists are an interesting bunch that love adding new members to the team. Study hard and listen up.