bacteria

Bacteria is a collective name for a large number of single-celled, microscopic organisms that live in the soil, water, or animals, including humans. They come in several different shapes, including spheres, rods, and spirals, and may organize themselves into clusters or chains.

Bacteria consist of only a single cell. Additionally, bacteria are prokaryotes, which means their single cell does not have a nucleus like an animal or plant cell does. Instead, their genetic material (DNA) just floats around inside the cell. Bacteria often have a single loop of DNA and possibly some other genes they have picked up in the environment.

Bacteria reproduce by what is known as binary fission. A single bacteria splits itself into two identical copies (clones) of the original, meaning the two “children” have the exact same genetic material as the “parent.” Bacteria can often become immune to antibiotics quickly because they never lose any genes they have picked up that help them survive. Bacteria can reproduce extraordinarily fast under the right conditions with a single bacteria making millions of copies of itself in just a few hours.

Bacteria are incredibly common in nature and live in almost every environment on Earth. Most bacteria are harmless or help out other organisms in some way. For example, there are several kinds of bacteria that live in the human intestines that help breakdown foods or assist in warding off disease-causing organisms.

The singular of bacteria is bacterium.

Bacteria are often confused with another disease-causing microscopic organism known as a virus. Unlike bacteria, viruses cannot reproduce on their own. Instead, they infect other cells and force them to make copies of the virus. Because of their often destructive reproductive method, viruses are typically seen as harmful parasites, and there are far fewer examples of helpful viruses than helpful bacteria.

The first records of the word bacteria come from around 1860. It ultimately comes from the Greek word baktḗria, meaning “little canes” or “little sticks.” Some bacteria resemble sticks or rods, while others have different shapes. Bacteria are found everywhere on Earth and have been found in fossils that are hundreds of millions of years old. Scientists have argued that bacteria first appeared on Earth around 3.5 billion years ago, while humans have only been around for about 200,000 years.

Besides helping us and other animals digest food, bacteria have other beneficial uses. Several kinds of bacteria are essential to making yogurt, buttermilk, and cheese. Bacteria are also used to make different kinds of alcohol and to make vinegar.

Some bacteria, such as certain species of E. Coli, cause disease in animals and plants. This is a result of the bacteria releasing or secreting toxic chemicals that cause damage to the cells or tissues and result in diseases such as tetanus or cholera. While the immune system tries to kill most bacteria by itself, humans have developed medicines known as antibiotics that are designed to kill bacteria.

Your body is actually made up of ten times as many bacteria cells as human cells! Bacteria live both inside you, as well as all over your skin. However, their small size means they only make up about 1 percent of total body mass.

This image shows a zoomed-in photo of a species of bacteria known as Clostridioides difficile, which causes diarrhea in humans.

#Clostridioides difficile survives in finished dairy compost under controlled conditions. pic.twitter.com/gy49IRyMf6

— Microbiology Congress 2021 (@Microbiology_21) August 17, 2021

Many people are most familiar with bacteria from the “bad eggs” that cause disease in humans.

Many types of bacteria prefer living as a collective. When attacked by antibiotics, they warn the collective of danger, selflessly send a notifying signal to their own, fight back against antibiotics, and create a defense against the medicines that have slain their comrades.

— Michael Laitman (@laitman) August 31, 2020

• single-celled
• prokaryote
• antibiotics
• E. coli
• binary fission

True or False?

Bacteria only have a single cell.