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Thiswebsitewouldliketoremindyou:Yourbrowser(AppleSafari4)isoutofdate.Updateyourbrowserformore security,comfortandthebestexperienceonthissite. × Video MEDIASPOTLIGHT MisunderstoodMicrobes MostMicrobesAreHeretoHelp,NotHarm Forthecompletevideoswithmediaresources,visit: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/media/misunderstood-microbes/ PROGRAM Microbesareorganismsthatcannotbeseenwiththenakedeye.Theyincludebacteria,archaebacteria,protists, viruses,prions,andsomefungi.TheyaccountformostofthediversityoflifeonEarth.Farmoremicrobesinhabita singleperson’sbodythantherearepeopleontheplanet.Microbesalsodominateintermsoftheirabilitytolive andthriveinextremeenvironments,includingclouds,deepseavolcanoes,hotwatersprings,polaricecaps,and humanintestines. Mostanimals,includinghumans,exhibitnumerousassociationswithmicrobes.Microbesliveinandontheirskin, hair,mouths,andguts.Infact,manyanimalscontainfeweroftheirowncellsthanmicrobecells.Microbesplayan importantroleinthehealthandsurvivalofmostanimals. Humanstypicallyassociatemicrobeswithdisease.However,mostmicrobesaremorebeneficialthanharmfulto humans.Often,theireffectsareneutralfortheirhumanhosts.Microbeshelptodigestfood,absorbnutrients,and out-competeharmfulbacteriaintheintestines.Theyproducevitaminsandproteinsthathumangenescannot produce.Theypreventthegrowthofharmfulskinbacteriaandfurtheraidtheimmunesysteminfightinginfections anddiseasesthroughoutthehumanbody. FASTFACTS Liceareparasitic,blood-feedinginsectsfoundonhumanheadsandbodies.Theyarespreadthroughclosehuman-tohumancontact. E.coliisoneofthemostwell-studiedbacteriabecauseitcancausesevereintestinalillnesses.Whenkeptincheck, however,itplaysanimportantroleinprovidinghumanswithKandBvitamins. Streptococcusbacteriaareresponsibleformosttoothcavitiesandarealeadingcauseoforalinfections. Themicrobesthatinhabitasinglepersonoutnumberthehumancellstentooneandcanweighapproximatelythree pounds. 1of2 VOCABULARY Term PartofSpeech Definition bacteria pluralnoun (singular:bacterium)single-celledorganismsfoundineveryecosystemonEarth. fungi pluralnoun (singular:fungus)organismsthatsurvivebydecomposingandabsorbingnutrientsin organicmaterialsuchassoilordeadorganisms. microbe noun tinyorganism,usuallyabacterium. protist noun typeofmicroscopicorganism. virus noun tinyorganismthatlivesandmultipliesinalivingcell. ForFurtherExploration Articles&Profiles NationalGeographic:Armpitsare“RainForests”forBacteria,SkinMapShows Video NationalGeographic:WeirdScience–IDidn’tKnowThat:DustMites Websites NationalPublicRadio:Archives–Microbes MichiganStateUniversity:CommTechLabandCenterforMicrobialEcology–TheMicrobeZoo NationalGeographic:TheNewAgeofExploration–Small,SmallWorld Funder ThismaterialisbasedinpartuponworksupportedbytheNationalScienceFoundationunderGrant No.DRL-0840250.Anyopinions,findings,andconclusionsorrecommendationsexpressedinthis materialarethoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsoftheNationalScience Foundation. Partner MadePossibleinPartBy ©1996–2015NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved. 2of2
