Microbes are primarily bacteria and fungi. They live inside and outside a person. But viruses are “not quite” microbes. A single microbe is a living substance, and a virus outside its carrier is not a living substance.

So, we present interesting facts about microbes.

Did you know that the number of microbes that inhabit the human body is several times greater than the number of cells?

Man is born a sterile creature, absolutely free of any microbes. The first bacteria he receives is colostrum. Only thanks to him all the mechanisms of the human body are launched.

Anthony van Leeuwenhoek was the first to see microbes inside water.

Did you know that microbes adapt and mutate all the time? That is why it is becoming more and more difficult to cope with some diseases every year. After all, microbes are constantly mutating in connection with which, the fight against it becomes very difficult.

Did you know that germs are transmitted faster in a humid environment than in a dry one. And they multiply at a very fast rate.

It turns out that the microbes that live on the palms of men and women are radically different in composition. In total, they occupy up to 20% of the total area.

Did you know that almost 2 kg of a person's total weight are microbes? Only about 40 thousand of them live in the oral cavity.

That is why this part of the body is considered the most "contagious". And a whole kilogram of these "animals" falls on the human stomach, and most of them are absolutely not studied by science. So, only 1/4 of microbes is familiar to scientists, while the remaining 3/4 remain a mystery.

But the Japanese have bacteria in their stomachs that are not found in other countries. It is this microbe that helps them process an endless amount of seafood.

Thiomargarita namibiensis is the largest representative among microbes living in the seas and oceans. Its length is almost 1 mm. Thanks to such a "giant" size, this microbe can be seen with the naked eye.

In the era of dysbacteriosis and other diagnoses in the world, the production of "necessary" and "right" microbes for the body flourishes and occupies one of the leading places in terms of profit. In fact, by inhabiting the body even with "good" microbes, we suppress the process of self-production of those. And those brought in from outside, as practice shows, often do not take root. Therefore, everything is in business: we get sick, the doctor treats, medications give a "good" microbe, the microbe does not remain in the body, and we treat ourselves again.

The message about bacteria can be used to prepare for a biology lesson. The report on bacteria can be supplemented with interesting facts.

Report on the topic "Bacteria"

The smallest living organisms are bacteria. Everyone knows about their harm, but they can also be beneficial.

What is bacteria?

bacteria is single-celled organisms of microscopic size, one of the varieties of microbes.

They can be found in every corner of our planet - in Antarctica, and in the ocean, and in space, and in hot springs, and in the most salty reservoirs.

The total weight of bacteria in each person reaches 2 kg! And their sizes rarely exceed 0.5 microns.

A huge number of bacteria inhabit the body of animals, performing various functions there.

What do bacteria look like?

They can be rod-shaped, spherical, spiral and other shapes. However, most of them are colorless, only rare species are colored in green and purple. Moreover, over the course of billions of years, they change only internally, and their appearance remains unchanged.

Who discovered bacteria?

The first researcher of the microcosm is the Dutch naturalist Anthony Van Leeuwenhoek. It was he who invented the first microscope. In fact, it was a tiny lens with a diameter of a pea, which gave a magnification of 200-300 times. It was possible to use it only by pressing it to the eye.

In 1683, he discovered and later described "living animals" seen through a lens in a drop of rainwater. Over the next 50 years, he was engaged in the study of various microorganisms, describing more than 200 of their species. Thanks to Leeuwenhoek, a new science arose - microbiology.

General information about bacteria

It is to bacteria that our planet owes the birth of multicellular life forms. They are the ones who play leading role in maintaining the circulation of substances on Earth. Generations of people replace each other, plants die off, household waste and obsolete shells of various creatures accumulate - all this is disposed of and decomposed with the help of bacteria in the process of decay. And the resulting chemical compounds are returned to the environment.

There are good and bad bacteria.

"Bad" bacteria lead to the spread of a huge number of diseases, ranging from plague and cholera to ordinary whooping cough and dysentery. They enter our body by airborne droplets, along with food, water and through the skin. Bacteria can live in our organs, and while our immune system copes with them, they do not manifest themselves in any way. The speed of their reproduction is amazing. Every 20 minutes their number doubles. This means that one single pathogenic microbe, in 12 hours, generates a multi-million army of the same bacteria that attack the body.

There is another danger posed by bacteria. They cause poisoning in people who consume spoiled foods - canned food, sausages, etc.

A great breakthrough in the fight against pathogenic bacteria was the discovery in 1928 of penicillin, the world's first antibiotic that can inhibit the growth and reproduction of bacteria. So people learned to treat diseases that previously led to death.

But bacteria are able to adapt to the action of antibiotics. This ability of bacteria to mutate has become a real threat to human health and has led to the emergence of incurable infections.

Now let's talk about "good" bacteria. Good bacteria live in the mouth, on the skin, in the stomach and other organs.
Most of them are extremely useful (they help digest food, participate in the synthesis of certain vitamins, and even protect us from their disease-causing counterparts).
Interestingly, bacteria are sensitive to the taste preferences of people.

In Americans who traditionally consume high-calorie foods (fast foods, hamburgers), bacteria are able to digest foods high in fat. And in some Japanese, intestinal bacteria are adapted to digest algae.

The role of bacteria in human life

People began to use bacteria even before they were discovered. Since ancient times, people have been making wine, fermenting vegetables, preparing kefir, curdled milk and koumiss, cottage cheese and cheeses.
Much later, it was found that bacteria are involved in all these processes.

People are constantly expanding their scope - they were "trained" to fight plant pests and enrich the soil with nitrogen, ensilage green fodder and clean wastewater, in which they literally devour various organic residues.

Now scientists are planning to create light-sensitive bacteria and use them to produce biological cellulose.

We hope that the above information about bacteria has helped you. And you can leave your story about bacteria through the comment form.

Today, every adult and most children know that we are surrounded by billions of microscopically small creatures called microbes.


They live literally everywhere: in the air we breathe and in the water we drink, on an apple plucked from a branch, and on the fur of a domestic cat. But does everyone have a good idea of ​​what microbes are and why they are dangerous, and most importantly, is it worth waging an uncompromising widespread war with them?

What are microbes?

Before answering the question of what microbes are, one should recall the Dutch optician Anthony Leeuwenhoek, who made a living by grinding magnifying glasses. Once Leeuwenhoek decided to create a special device that would magnify small objects by more than a hundred times.

When the device (later called a microscope) was ready, the experimenter began to examine various objects with it. What was his surprise when, in a drop of ordinary water, he found many small creatures that actively swam, collided and even ate each other. Leeuwenhoek called these creatures microbes, which means "smallest being".

Word "germs" It is customary to name all living beings that are indistinguishable without a microscope, except for viruses. Their sizes range from fractions of a micron to several microns. Some of them are multicellular organisms, but most consist of only one cell.

Today, scientists know that microbes are the most ancient living beings. They have existed for more than three and a half billion years, of which for about a billion years they were the only inhabitants of the Earth.

Variety of microbes

The world of microscopic creatures living on our planet is extremely diverse. Microbes include:

- bacteria;

- the simplest unicellular - amoeba, etc .;

- microscopic fungi.

It is believed that bacteria belong to the class of plants, protozoa and fungi - to "protozoa", relatively speaking - are of animal origin.

Microbes are distinguished by their shape. For example, the ending -cocci is added to the names of round bacteria: staphylococci, streptococci, etc. Spiral-shaped microbes are called spirochetes, rod-shaped microbes are called bacilli. The outlines of bifidobacteria are similar to a two-pronged fork.


Some microbes have bizarre shapes, resembling multi-beam stars, triangles, and others. geometric figures. Some of them are immobile and cannot move, while others have special flagella, with the help of which they swim rather quickly in liquid.

Why are microbes dangerous?

Once in a favorable environment for themselves, microbes begin to multiply actively, trying to fill all the space suitable for their existence. Since they reproduce, as is known, by division, then for a very short term their number is multiplying. If reproduction occurs in the physiological fluids of the human body, then the increased number of microbes can have an extremely negative impact on the well-being of a person.

The fact is that for their life they use nutrients intended for the cells of the body, and thereby disrupt the normal activity of organs. Moreover, in the process of life, they emit toxic substances that act on the body extremely unfavorably. And the more they appear, the worse man feels.

To fight microbes in the human body, there is a whole set of protective agents: fever, an increase in the number of leukocytes in the blood that remove toxins, as well as special bacteriophage cells that can attack bacteria and destroy them, preventing them from multiplying. But if the body is weakened, it cannot produce protective substances quickly and in sufficient quantities - and then the person becomes ill.

It can be a common cold or indigestion, which quickly passes, causing only mild discomfort. But many diseases caused by bacteria are very dangerous and can lead to death: scarlet fever, malaria, cholera, tuberculosis, etc. Severe diseases are caused by staphylococci - spherical bacteria that cause serious inflammatory processes in the tissues.


To avoid many diseases, one should adhere to simple rules: wash your hands often, do not eat unwashed vegetables and fruits, do not drink unpurified or unboiled water, keep your home clean and keep things in order. Well, if you really happen to get sick, and the doctor prescribed antibiotics - special medicines that destroy bacteria, then you need to drink the entire course of medicines without giving up treatment in the middle.

Microbes

Microbes are the smallest living things. These include the most diverse in nature unicellular organisms. The size of microbes is so small that they are measured in thousandths and even millionths of a millimeter. Microbes can only be seen with a microscope Microbes that are invisible even with a microscope are called viruses.

Food should be prepared only from good quality products. However, if sanitary and hygienic requirements are not observed, food prepared from benign products can become a source of infection and cause gastrointestinal illness. This is due to the fact that if hygiene and sanitation requirements are not met, food or prepared food can get pathogenic microbes .

For the first time microorganisms were discovered more than 250 years ago, in the 17th century, when it became possible to observe them with the help of optical instruments - magnifiers, which gave an increase of 160-200 times. major contribution to the science of microbes introduced by the famous French scientist Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895). One of the founders of world and domestic microbiology was Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov (1845-1916).

Microbes can have a variety of shapes, they consist of one cell, with the exception of some fungi. Some microorganisms are immobile, others have cilia or flagella, with which they move.

Microbes are widely distributed in nature. So, for example, in one gram of polluted water there can be tens of millions of microbes, in one gram of manure soil - billions, etc.

In the environment around us - air, soil, water - there are many microorganisms, from where they get on objects, clothes, hands, food, mouth, intestines.

Like all living things, microorganisms feed and reproduce. Microbes do not have special digestive organs. Nutrients enter microorganisms through the cell membrane. Therefore, for the development of microbes, foods containing a lot of water are a good nutrient medium - milk, broths, meat, fish, etc.

For the propagation of microbes, except growth medium, a favorable temperature (37-40 °) is necessary. In the presence of a nutrient medium and an appropriate temperature, microbes can multiply very quickly by division or budding (yeast). After about half an hour, the number of microbes doubles, after an hour it increases 4 times, after two hours - 16 times, etc.

Under unfavorable conditions, microorganisms quickly die. Most microbes cannot exist without access to air, from which they absorb the oxygen they need to breathe. These microbes are called aerobic. There are microbes that, on the contrary, cannot live and develop with free access to air. Such microbes are called anaerobic.

Microorganisms are divided into several groups: bacteria, yeasts, molds, viruses.

Tags: microorganisms

They are small and invisible. Among them there are friends and enemies. They are the oldest inhabitants of our planet. They are always and everywhere. Show them to your kids and they will always wash their hands before eating! Just don't show it before bed!

Before going to bed, it is better to show these plush microbes. And yet, dirty kids can be intimidated by dust.

Microbes(more correct name - microorganisms) - the name of a collective group of living organisms that are too small to be visible to the naked eye. Their size is less than 0.1 mm.

Microorganisms live almost everywhere where there is water, including hot springs, the bottom of the world's oceans, and also deep inside earth's crust.

The most widely accepted theories about the origin of life on Earth claim that microbes were the first living organisms to appear in the process of evolution.

Most microorganisms are beneficial to humans. Thus, many bacteria and fungi decompose animal corpses and plant remains, return carbon to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, and nitrogen to the soil in the form of mineral nitrogenous compounds available to plants. Without the implementation of these complex processes by microorganisms, life on earth would become impossible.

Some bacteria, penetrating the roots of plants, enter into a commonwealth with them. For example, nodule bacteria supply leguminous plants with nitrogenous food at the expense of atmospheric nitrogen. Various microbes live in the human body. They are found in large quantities on the skin and mucous membranes. The same microbes live on human skin as in the environment: various cocci, fungi, bacilli. The number of microbes on the skin varies depending on its hygienic content. The less often it is washed, the more germs it has. Given this, it is necessary to monitor the cleanliness of hands.

Staphylo-, pneumo- and streptococci constantly live on the mucous membrane of the nasopharynx. For the vital activity of microorganisms, a good environment is plaque on the teeth, food debris between them. The abundant development of microbes in the mouth leads to the rapid decomposition of food residues, while the chemical products of this decay accumulate, which destroy the enamel of the teeth (caries). Therefore, it is so important to systematically brush your teeth, rinse your mouth after every meal.

Microorganisms also live in the human intestine. They can be helpful and they can be harmful. Microbes of lactic acid fermentation living in the intestines synthesize vitamins, proteins that are absorbed by the body; decompose carbohydrates with the formation of lactic acid, thus creating conditions unfavorable for the development of putrefactive microbes. The soil for the development of the latter can be poor-quality food, long-term use of a monotonous diet, overeating. Thanks to the activity of microorganisms, cabbage is fermented, kefir, cheese, butter, wine, beer, and bread dough are prepared. Molds are widely used for the preparation of antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin, etc.).

Microorganisms under the influence various factors environment may be modified. So, under the influence of the temperature factor, a solution of some salts, sulfa drugs, antibiotics, ultraviolet rays, microbes change their shape, ability to color, form flagella, spores, capsules; the structure of the nuclear apparatus, the enzymatic activity of microbes changes. Thus, external factors influencing microorganisms can lead to mutation, i.e., a persistent hereditary change in properties.

The ability of microbes to change allows scientists to create highly effective live vaccines from attenuated microbes.

microorganisms, or, as they are also called, germs, They are living beings of very small size. They cannot be seen with the naked eye, but only through a microscope. They are extremely widespread in nature. They are found in large quantities in soil, water, and air. Humans also have microbes: in the mouth, on the skin, under the nails, etc.

In 1673, the famous Dutch scientist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek made a microscope with his own hands, consisting of two brass plates and a small glass. He gave an increase of 300 times, and with his help the scientist for the first time observed microbes in a drop of water.

There are many microbes, in particular bacteria, that are completely harmless to humans. Some of them are even useful. Thus, soil bacteria increase soil fertility. Some bacteria are used in the manufacture of medicines. With the help of lactic acid bacteria, kefir, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, yogurt are prepared.

You can make your own yogurt at home with or without a yogurt maker.

To make yogurt, you need to add sourdough (from beneficial bacteria) to warm milk, which can be purchased at the store. Put the resulting mixture in a warm place. And in a few hours, yogurt is ready to eat.

However, there are microbes that, entering the body, can cause a particular disease, they are called pathogenic and disease is infectious. Pathogenic microbes are transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person in various ways: through the air, through contact with the sick person and the objects that he used, through food. One sick person can infect many healthy people and those in turn infect others. It can happen that many people fall ill with an infectious disease in a short period of time. Such a phenomenon is called epidemic.

To prevent an epidemic, the patient must be isolated by allocating a separate room, dishes, a towel, disinfected, ventilated the room more often, and used gauze bandages.

The entry of pathogenic microbes into the human body does not always cause an infectious disease. Our body resists harmful microbes and can defeat them. They say that he has immunity. The body's defenses increase if a person is engaged in physical education, hardens, follows the rules of hygiene, eats vegetables and fruits daily, does not have bad habits, and makes preventive vaccinations against infectious diseases. material from the site

Pathogenic microbes can overcome the body's defenses. Then the person gets sick. In most cases, an infectious disease begins with an increase in body temperature, weakness occurs, a headache may occur, a runny nose, cough, etc. appear. In case of signs of illness, call a doctor.

Influenza is the most common infectious disease caused by viruses. It can cause complications, i.e. cause other diseases. For example, a sore throat, pneumonia, etc. may occur. Therefore, the flu must be treated, clearly following all the doctor's prescriptions.

During sneezing and coughing, a person sprays about 40,000 small drops that scatter three or even five meters. The droplets are very light, they can stay in the air for a long time. People nearby inhale these droplets along with the millions of microbes that are in them. Droplets fall on various objects, food.

Can you imagine how many people can get sick from one person if she sneezes, for example, in a classroom or on a bus?

But "disease-causing landings" can be blocked. This will help to make a regular handkerchief folded in four layers. Cover your coughs and sneezes with your mouth and nose.

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