![]() It is also important that you wash your hands before eating and before preparing food for yourself and for others. It is important that you always wash your hands after going to the bathroom and blowing your nose. ![]() When bacteria divide, each new cell is an exact copy of the previous one, as seen here:Īlthough we’ve learned that bacteria are invisible to us without a microscope, there are ways that we can protect ourselves from the pathogenic bacteria even without being able to see them. It is also important to consider that because bacteria are so small, it won’t take long for them to grow and divide and make more of themselves. ![]() The amount of colony forming units (alive, healthy bacteria cells) you need to swallow in order to get sick depends on the type of bacteria. coli, as seen above, some other examples of pathogenic bacteria are: Salmonella, Campylobacter and Legionella. Enteric bacteria (bacteria that interact with your intestine) make you sick once you swallow them. Bacteria can cause disease in humans, animals and plants and can infect you by being in things you eat and drink. There’s even a species of bacteria that can withstand blasts of radiation 1000 greater than would kill a human! No matter where you look, whether on the ground, in your water, or in your stomach, bacteria are there!īacteria that cause disease and make you sick are called pathogenic bacteria. Some types of bacteria grow best in cool, damp places like in the soil or in a pond while others can grow in hot places like in hot water heaters or near undersea volcanoes. There is also a great diversity in where bacteria can grow. Some bacteria need energy from the environment to make food, while other bacteria can create their own energy by using other elements in their surroundings. While most bacteria must find food (sugars, proteins, vitamins) to live, some are able to make their own food from things found in the environment, like sunlight and carbon dioxide. Bacteria may also exist as single cells, or in common groupings, such as chains, pairs and clusters.īacteria are an amazingly complex and fascinating group of creatures. All of these characteristics are called the morphology of the bacteria. The difference in size and shape of the bacteria is the result of them all having different genes (DNA). The most common shapes are rods, cocci (circular) and spiral, and within these groups the bacteria may be large, small, oval, fat, long, short, and even thicker at one end than the other. coli) bacterium is an example of a typical bacterial cell, and a diagram of it is shown below.Īlthough bacteria are microscopic, they do come in different sizes and shapes. unless we look at them through a microscope. maybe one-tenth of the diameter of a human hair! Because these cells are so small, they are invisible to us. The largest human cells are about the diameter of a single human hair, but most human cells are smaller. A bacterium is a self-contained cell about one-hundredth the size of a human cell. There are many different kinds of bacteria that are all separated into different types and groups, each group having its very own unique qualities that sets it apart from all the rest.īacteria are about the simplest cells that exist today. They are small, single cell organisms called prokaryotes that do not contain a nucleus and are usually found in very large groups because they can quickly multiply. So, what are these things we call bacteria? Keep reading to find out!īacteria are living things that belong to a group all by themselves. Whenever we hear the word bacteria we assume that something is dirty, our food is rotten, or someone is sick, but this is not always true! While there are many types of bad bacteria that can harm us by sneaking into our water and food, there are also many good types of bacteria that help us each and every day! There are bacteria in our stomachs that help us digest the food our body can’t, and there are bacteria in our compost piles that help turn food waste into new soil.
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