Jack Ellington
4/27/12
In the life
as we know it bacteria is a terrible organism that threatens our daily lives.
The average American believes that bacteria should be eliminated and put out of
the way, but there is much more to it than that. Yes that is true, but we
should be thankful for bacteria’s existence, because it helps survive us every
day.
Bacteria is
a prokaryotic cell and their shapes are like spheres, rods, and spirals.[1]
The size of a cell is very tiny, it is invisible to the naked eye, but able to
be seen in a microscope.[2]
They consist of a coat of protein and DNA in the middle.[3]
It has the capability to latch on to other cells and invade them and take
control over their reproductive system.[4]
It is incompatible to reproduce, so it must take over host cell to produce more
bacteria.
Right about
now you are probably thinking that bacteria are an enemy that we should avoid
them completely, but then life would be a lot harder. Bacteria helps us in our
everyday life. Like lysosomes, bacteria is in your stomach; breaking down food
and helping with digestion.[5]
And some of the most popular foods that people eat are cheese and yogurt, which
bacteria breaks down and makes the milk harden, or make it soft.[6]
Lastly it breaks down and kills disease spreading cells.[7]
There are
very little bad types of bacteria. Surprisingly only 1% of bacteria cause
diseases.[8]
But, But infectious bacteria can make you very sick. Bacteria can reproduce
very quickly in your system. Many give off chemicals called toxins, which can
damage tissue and make you sick.[9]
Bacteria
can certainly make you sick and threaten your health, and freak you out a lot,
but it is essential for everyday life. There many types of bacteria out there,
but most are human friendly. So I hope you understand that bacteria isn’t that much of a bad guy.
Bibliography
National Institution of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases. "Bacterial Infections." 9 April 2012. Medline Plus.
19 April 2012
<http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bacterialinfections.html>.
Waggoner, Ben. "Introduction to Bacteria."
15 10 1996. UCMP. 23 April 2012
<http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/bacteria.html>.
Worden, Jeni. "Viruses and Bacteria." 4
November 2011. Netdocter. 17 April 2012
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/virusbacteria.htm>.
