What microbes do
John E. Peterson, Special to The Gazette
Thursday, December 4, 2008
WE REGULARLY blame insects, animals and other sources for transmitting the microbes to us and giving us our diseases. Well! It now appears that is not always the case.
My information, totally new to me, comes from the “Microbe,” a newsletter-type journal of the American Society for Microbiology. I would share a few to the things I learned, if I had my way.
Pet dogs and cats often show up at the veterinary clinic with infections that came from their owners. Elephants with tuberculosis are getting it from contact with their handlers. The article gave considerable detail of how these things happen.
Of course, the diseases do go back the other way also, from animals to humans. I found it very interesting, however, to learn that it can also go the other direction, from us to animals.
Back in May, the journal “Science” had an entire special section called “Microbial Worlds.” It was very interesting to me and gave me some rather new information. Permit me to share with you just a few of these places where microbes exist.
Oceans harbor a tremendous diversity of microbes. They are very, very important to the ocean habitat. Oceans could not exist as we now know them without their microbes. For example, sponges have a big relationship with certain microbes. They could not exist without them.
Microbes are involved in, and very important to, almost all biochemical cycles out there in nature. Most biochemical cycles are very important to our world. Many could not exist without the microbes.
Then, there is the human skin and body. Bacteria and other microbes on our skin and in other tissues outnumber the human body’s cells 10 to one. Imagine that. Each of us is a microbial world. Interestingly, the spaces between our toes, which I thought to be heavy with bacteria, has nowhere as many as does the nose and belly button.
Here is a newly-discovered fact about human bacteria. Women’s hands have a greater variety than do men’s hands. And it is a great diversity of bacteria. The researchers are not sure why this is so. Maybe it is the acidity of male skin. It is usually more acid than women’s skin.
I have always been a bit concerned about handshaking. That is because of my microbiological background. I have often wondered what that fellow had just been doing with his hands. But I never felt so concerned about shaking hands with women. I suppose I should think about that now, if I had my way.
There was an article in a recent “Science” which told how certain bacteria are essential to converting sterile lava fields from volcanoes back into areas where plants and other organisms can exist. The microbes start the process. They colonize the lava and provide nutrients for plants. That, it seems to me, is a very important function in our world.
Back to the human situation again. About 600 species of bacteria live in the human mouth. What they are and how they function is now being studied. Some are involved in mouth disorders. Others are very beneficial. Current studies are going to be helpful in understanding the microbial role. In the meantime, do keep on kissing, microbes or not.
We have known for a long time that microbes develop a resistance to antibiotics. Now, we know that some bacteria can use some antibiotics as food sources. Some of the antibiotics are from natural sources, but some bacteria can feed on synthetic chemicals. It is no wonder that we have a tough time controlling some detrimental microbes.
We know that we humans and other animals have lots of bacteria in our stomachs, some hundred trillion or so. How do we manage to coexist with all those microbes? Well! We now know that the intestinal tissue produces an enzyme which defuses dangerous toxins the microbes produce. Hence, we can live with our microbes. That would keep happening, if I had my way.
I heard on the radio that the bats in eastern United States were being attacked by a new fungus. It was turning them white and killing them. The radio said an article in “Science” told about this. So far, I have not been able to find the article in my “Science” numbers.
So what, you say? Bats are bats. True, but they are a big part of our environment. They are involved in keeping insects in control, in pollinating some plants and other beneficial things. An epidemic which may be wiping out bat populations could be important to our world.
There, then, you have some of the thoughts about microbes I have gained recently. I found them fascinating, but, of course, I am biased. I hope that they are of interest to some of you, too. They surely would be, if I had my way.
Comments
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
Posted by madpoet (anonymous) on December 4, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Very nicely written. A certain former co-worker of mine would read this and finally believe that we have microbes living on and in us, if I had my way. She would not believe me, maybe she will take the word of someone else.
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)