Bacteria and beyond

By Harry Cell Leukemia and Yellow Jack

 

looking at bac..jpg (72761 bytes) Do you feel healthy?  Do you feel germ-free?  Think again.   They are here... over a billion years old... so many of them live inside you, they outnumber your cells... one hundred to one... can you guess what they are?  GERMS!   They are everywhere.. on your nose, on your keyboard, everywhere!

Click here for a look at recently discovered bacteria.

BacteriaBacteria.gif (44910 bytes)
  • Bacteria can move in many forms- water, air, and animals. Of course, they move by themselves too, with tail-like structures called flagella.
  • Bacteria are one-celled organisms that live and reproduce on their own.
  • Everything has bacteria on it.
  • Both cheese and yogurt are made with bacteria-along with milk, of course.
Virusvirus.gif (10525 bytes)
  • Viruses are not considered living things because they are just simple RNA/DNA particles.
  • They cannot reproduce on their own.   They require a host cell.
  • No living thing is virus-free.
  • Viruses do not have any intention of hurting us.   It is just a way of life for them.
microbes.jpg (4845 bytes)
Other Pathogens
  • Prions are very tiny, and very dangerous. All six of them are fatal.
  • Protozoa are tiny one-celled usually microscopic animals that usually live in fluids.
  • Protists are one-celled plants or animals that can also cause disease.

home velma.jpg (225116 bytes)

References

The Bacteria Files:  Invasion.   Bethesda:  Discovery Communications, 1999.
The Virus Files:  Contagious.   Bethesda:  Discovery Communications, 1999.

Images

Bacteria image.  26 February 2002.  www.gened.emc.maricopa.edu/bio/ bio181/BIOBK/Bacteria.GIF

Virus image.  26 February 2002.  www.microbe.org/art/virus.gif

Other pathogens image.  26 February 2002.  www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/epidemic/ teachers/images/microbes.jp