Mushroom People-Dr. Freeman

The presentation from Dr. Freeman of the mushrooms was very exciting. It was a real cool experience to see fascinating/different types of mushrooms. I have never seen such cool mushrooms in my life before. The favorite mushroom i liked the most was the mushroom that made a poof like smoke when you hit the top of it. It was the most weirdest and coolest mushroom i have ever seen. I have learned about dangerous poisonous mushroooms, and i enjoyed the guest speakers story of the bug/mushroom soup. I have enjoyed and learned a lot of the presentation displayed by the guest mushroom speakers.

Giardia lamblia

Giardia lamblia causes non-bacterial diarrhea. Infection is commonly by contaminated water supply. Giardia lamblia is a diarrheal illness caused by a one-celled, microscopic parasite. This parasite has become recognized as one of the most common causes of waterborne diseasein humans worldwide and in every region of the United States. It is an internal parasite the causes diarrhea.


Giardia lamblia full taxonomy: Domain: Eukarya, Kingdom: Protista,
Phylum: Sarcomastigophora, Class: Zoomastigophora, Order: Diplomonadida,
Family: Hexamitidae, Genus: Giardia, Species: lamblia
Giardia lamblia's Habitat: Giardia lamblia lives/attaches in a small intestine, colonizing and reproducing inside. It attaches to the epithelium by a ventral adhesive disc, and reproduces via binary fission. Giardia is found in soil, food, water, or surfaces that have been contaminated with the feces from infected humans or animals. Giardia lamblia can come from contaminated water which includes water that has not been boiled, filtered, or disinfected with chemicals.
Giardia lamblia's Predators: Giardia lamblia's predators are the treatment. Treatment of drinking water for Giardia typically involves high efficiency filtration and/or chemical disinfection such as chlorination or ozonation. Human infection is conventionally treated with metronidazole, tinidazole or nitazoxanide. One of the most common alternative treatments is berberine sulfate.
Giardia lamblia's Prey: Giardia lamblia absorb their nutrients from the lumen of the small intestine, which is their prey. They use their sucking discs to eat their prey.
Giardia lamblia's Anatomy: The cysts of Giardia lamblia are 8 - 12 mm in size and are ellipsoid in shape. They contain 4 nuclei which do not tend to be obvious.The trophozoites of Giardia lamblia are pear shaped and are an average size of 9 - 20 mm. The movement of the trophozoite is described as tumbling leaf motility. Giardia often looks like a "clown face," with two nuclei outlined by adhesive discs above dark median bodies that form the "mouth."
Historical Information on Giardia lamblia: In 1681, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek first observed the trophozoite form of Giardia in his own diarrhea stools. In 1915, Professor A. Giard of Paris, named the parasite. Professor A. Giard's observations were recreated, using a single lensed microscope of the kind used by Leeuwenhoek, who showed how clearly one could view Giardia through a primitive microscope. In 1998, there was a Giardia outbreak in Sydney, Australia that was found to be due to contamination of the water supply. This was ameliorated with improved water treatment, and was another outbreak in Bergen(Norway) in 2004.
Other Information on Giardia lamblia: Giardia lamblia can be found ANYWHERE in the world! It also commonly spreads through day-care centers and it has been known to spread when diapered toddlers swim in inadequately chlorinated pools or water parks.

Links on Giardia lamblia: http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&ref=1100,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardia, http://www.cdc.gov/Ncidod/dpd/parasites/giardiasis/factsht_giardia.htm