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Bacteria Are Everywhere!
Bacteria Are Everywhere!
Your body is home to many microbes, including bacteria.
Your body is home to many microbes, including bacteria.
There are more microbes living on your body than there are humans on Earth! A tiny patch of skin as small as 1 square inch (about 6.5 square centimeters) can contain more than half a million microbes.
There are more microbes living on your body than there are humans on Earth! A tiny patch of skin as small as 1 square inch (about 6.5 square centimeters) can contain more than half a million microbes.
Most of these microbes are harmless or helpful and are part of your body’s natural defense system.
Most of these microbes are harmless or helpful and are part of your body’s natural defense system.
Bacteria are tiny, single-celled organisms found almost everywhere—on your skin, inside your body, in the air, water, and soil. They are prokaryotes! They are simple cells.
Bacteria are tiny, single-celled organisms found almost everywhere—on your skin, inside your body, in the air, water, and soil. They are prokaryotes! They are simple cells.
Your bacteria are needed to keep you healthy.
Your bacteria are needed to keep you healthy.
Most Bacteria Are Good! 👍🏾
Most Bacteria Are Good! 👍🏾
Most bacteria are helpful, not harmful. About 99% of bacteria help living things survive.
Most bacteria are helpful, not harmful. About 99% of bacteria help living things survive.
Helpful bacteria live in your digestive system and help break down food, make vitamins, and keep harmful microbes under control.
Helpful bacteria live in your digestive system and help break down food, make vitamins, and keep harmful microbes under control.
Bacteria Help with Digestion! 👍
Bacteria Help with Digestion! 👍
Bacteria help our bodies with digestion and produce needed vitamins. Bacteria also help us by destroying harmful organisms within our bodies.
Two major types of beneficial flora are Lactobacillus Acidophilus (Lactobacteria) and Bifidobacterium Bifidum (Bifidobacteria).
Lactobacillus Acidophilus (Lactobacteria)
Bifidobacterium Bifidum
Foods made with Bacteria! 👍🏼
Foods made with Bacteria! 👍🏼
Cheese
Yogurt
Sourdough Bread
Sauerkraut
Bacteria are helpful in many ways 👍🏼
Bacteria are helpful in many ways 👍🏼
Bioremediation 👍🏼
Bioremediation 👍🏼
Bacteria are also important for the environment. They are used at sewage treatment plants to clean and purify water.
Bacteria are also important for the environment. They are used at sewage treatment plants to clean and purify water.
Some bacteria can even break down oil after oil spills, helping reduce environmental damage.
Some bacteria can even break down oil after oil spills, helping reduce environmental damage.
Cyanobacteria 👍🏾
Cyanobacteria 👍🏾
Scientists also estimate that bacteria produce nearly 20% of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere, making them very important for life on our planet.
Scientists also estimate that bacteria produce nearly 20% of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere, making them very important for life on our planet.
Bacterial Shapes
Bacterial Shapes
Bacteria come in different shapes, which helps scientists identify them.
Bacteria come in different shapes, which helps scientists identify them.
Cocci are round-shaped bacteria, bacilli are rod-shaped, and spirilla have spiral or corkscrew shapes.
Cocci are round-shaped bacteria, bacilli are rod-shaped, and spirilla have spiral or corkscrew shapes.
Knowing these shapes helps scientists study how bacteria move, grow, and affect living things.
Knowing these shapes helps scientists study how bacteria move, grow, and affect living things.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics
Streptococcus
Most bacteria are very good. Only a few cause disease, like streptococcus shown above.
Drugs called antibiotics can help to defeat bacteria.
However, due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, bacteria today are more resistant to these drugs and are harder to kill. TB, for example, now affects 1/3 of the world population.
Some Well-Known Types of Bacteria:
Some Well-Known Types of Bacteria:
Diphtheria is a bacterial disease that affects the throat and airways and can make breathing difficult if not treated.
E. coli is a type of bacteria that normally lives in the intestines to help digestion, but some strains can cause food poisoning.
Pneumococcus is a type of bacteria that can cause lung infections like pneumonia, as well as ear infections and sinus infections.
Plague (Black Death) is a deadly disease caused by bacteria that makes lymph nodes swell into painful lumps called buboes, which is why it is called the bubonic plague.
Rheumatic fever is a serious condition that can develop after untreated strep throat and can damage the heart and joints.
Staphylococcus is a type of bacteria commonly found on the skin and in the nose that can cause skin infections if it enters the body.
Streptococcus is a group of bacteria that can cause illnesses such as strep throat, skin infections, and scarlet fever.
Syphilis is a bacterial disease that spreads through direct contact and can cause serious health problems if it is not treated.
Tetanus is a serious bacterial disease that enters the body through cuts and causes painful muscle stiffness and spasms.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Bacterial Reproduction
Bacterial Reproduction
Most bacteria reproduce using a process called "binary fission."
To do this, a single bacterium will grow to twice its normal size and then split into two "daughter" cells. The two new cells are exact copies of the original bacterium.
Because bacteria reproduce very quickly, one healthy bacterium can grow into a colony of more than 2 million bacteria in just seven hours if conditions are right.
Bacteria are free-living cells that can live inside or outside a body. They are alive because they exhibit these characteristics of life:
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