Biology is a study of living things, and aerobiology is a section of biology that studies microscopic organic material in the earth's atmosphere, such as bacteria, fungal spores, pollen grains, and viruses.

Bacteria makes up a large portion of microorganisms. They're usually a few micrometers in length and range, which is very tiny. They occur in a variety of shapes, sizes, and color. They were some of the first living organisms to appear on earth. Samples of air over Austin, Texas contained over 1,800 types of bacteria. Harmful bacteria can be treated with the help of antibiotics.

Fungal spores are produced by fungi (moss on trees, mushrooms) and ejected into the atmosphere. These spores settle down and create new fungi, which start the process all over again.

Pollen grains are made up of pollen ejected from plants. These grains are carried through the air and eventually find a female plant so that they may reproduce. Grains which cause reactions in humans and animals are called allergens.

Viruses are small infectious agents that seem to be alive but use other living cells to expand and make the virus even stronger. They can affect any living thing, and there are millions of types of viruses. Scientists have only described 5000 in detail. Viruses cannot be treated, but they can be prevented.

Advances in aerobiology lead to new medicines for allergens as well as giving us a better understanding of how this organic material interacts with other living creatures. It is necessary for our health since deadly new bacteria and viruses are evolving every day.

Some of the deadliest viruses have been fought through advances in aerobiology. Influenza, also commonly referred to as the flu, is a great example of how we're able to use science while keeping people healthy. Each year, new strands of the flu appear and each year scientists must work to create new vaccine to fight against the flu.

The deadliest airborne virus is smallpox, which we successfully created a vaccine for. In 1979 smallpox was declared eliminated. Smallpox is thought to be the cause of death for hundreds of millions of people over the centuries.

Aerobiology is a term that was coined sometime in the 1930s. This isn't to say that this was the first time it was studied, as aerobiology has been studied for over 5000 years, going back to the 3,000 B.C in India.

Since its beginning, aerobiology and every study relating to it has helped us live better as well as how allow people to live longer. Understanding the living organisms floating in our atmosphere is important to keeping humanity alive.

Even one vaccine-resistant strand of a virus or bacteria like smallpox could easily wipe out the entire world in a very short period. There is no limit to what aerobiology might discover, and every year we find out more and more about our complicated atmosphere.

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