Post #14 Microbes. For Beginners.

 

 

I am Not a microbiologist. I am highly interested personally in optimal health. I have done some beginner research & I share here some of my layperson (beginner) understandings about microbes. We study them more all the time, & for good reasons it seems.

 

Microorganisms are also known as microbes. They are tiny (microscopic) living organisms including yeast, bacteria & viruses. Are all microbes harmful to humans? Not really. Some microbes are the ‘bad guys’, & some of them wear a white hat (are ‘good guys’).

 

Some microbes do create human disease: germs. I have seen the term “germs” defined as the microscopic bacteria, viruses, fungi, & protozoa that can cause disease. And then there are other microbes considered to be beneficial to humans.

 

Examples on the good side. Some common beneficial uses of microbes in food production include:  in bread-making, cheese-making, beer-making, yogurt-making. Microbes are found in dietary probiotic supplements, currently quite widely believed to be good for us. And there are other beneficial microbes (e.g. resident in our intestines) which help our digestive system to function.

 

Why should we study microbes, or care to? Here are some of the newest discoveries (from approx. 2 years ago) regarding microbes:

 

1. Discovered: over 70,000 previously unknown viruses in the human gut. On discovery, it was unclear if/how these affect our bodies (though likely that most of them are not harmful to humans);

2. Deep beneath the seabed we have found puny bacteria that exhale electricity; these bacteria might someday inspire e.g. a new type of batteries; &

3. Bacteria drawn from cows’ stomachs were found able to break down certain plastics, such as PET used in food packaging, soda bottles & some fabrics.

 

In other science news, microbes estimated to be around 100 million years old (!) were found on the ocean floor off the west coast of South America. What might we learn about how they manage to live this long?