Bacteria Facts
Bacteria is something we are all reminded of on a daily basis by
merely switching on our televisions where we are bombarded with
advertisements for both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria contrary to the view
of the past when only so-called ‘bad’ bacteria was ever talked about,
so what has changed? This essay will address the facts about bacteria
including their ideal conditions for growth as well as looking at
specific examples of how they can be both helpful and harmful to
humans. So what are bacteria? In simple terms bacteria are
microscopic, single-celled organisms lacking a nucleus and other
organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts which are common
place in eukaryotes. Bacteria are classified as prokaryotes and have
been around for billions of years pre-dating dinosaurs never mind
humans (1). Their minute size prevented them from being seen until
1683 when Antony van Leeuwenhoek invented a simple single-lens
microscope though it wasn’t until much later, 1828 in fact that the
word bacterium was introduced by a man named Ehrenberg having been
derived from a Greek word meaning ‘small stick’ (2). One thing that
is clear is that bacteria are more often than not referred to as
‘germs’ which are best eliminated but how many people live happily and
healthily without realising that they are carrying at least10,000 more
bacteria than there are people on earth (3)? So if the majority of us
can carry so many bacteria and are virtually unaffected do bacteria
deserve the bad press they tend to receive?
There is no doubt that some bacteria are harmful and have been
responsible for causing diseases such as Tuberculosis...
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...nia?’
(7) Hui, Y H & Bruinsma, Bernard L & Graham, J Richard Food
Plant Sanitation (2002) Marcel Dekker Publishers, New York, USA
ISBN 0-8247-0793-1
(8) The Guardian Unlimited
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1676855,00.html, 3rd January
2006, ‘Label Watch’, London, UK
(9) Moss, Brigid Saturday May 8th 2004 ‘Battle of the germs’, The
Guardian
(10) Clarke, Jane April 1st 2001 ‘Gut Reactions’, The Observer
(11) FDA Consumer Magazine, (December 1995), Botulinum Toxin: A
Poison That Can Heal
(12) Peter Moore& Markus Naumann, Handbook of Botulinum Toxin
Treatment (2003) Blackwell Publishing, Massachusetts, USA ISBN
0-6320-5957-5
(13) Visit4info
http://www.visit4info.com/details.cfm?adid=28049, Dettol Surface
Cleanser – Fact Ad. By JWT, uploaded 30th December 2005