Related topics: proceedings of the national academy of sciences , immune system , bacteria
Microorganism
hideA microorganism (from the Greek: μικρός, mikrós, "small" and ὀργανισμός, organismós, "organism"; also spelled micro organism or micro-organism) or microbe is an organism that is microscopic (usually too small to be seen by the naked human eye). The study of microorganisms is called microbiology, a subject that began with Anton van Leeuwenhoek's discovery of microorganisms in 1675, using a microscope of his own design.
Microorganisms are very diverse; they include bacteria, fungi, archaea, and protists; microscopic plants (called green algae); and animals such as plankton, the planarian and the amoeba. Some microbiologists also include viruses, but others consider these as non-living. Most microorganisms are unicellular (single-celled), but this is not universal, since some multicellular organisms are microscopic, while some unicellular protists and bacteria, like Thiomargarita namibiensis, are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye.
Microorganisms live in all parts of the biosphere where there is liquid water, including soil, hot springs, on the ocean floor, high in the atmosphere and deep inside rocks within the Earth's crust. Microorganisms are critical to nutrient recycling in ecosystems as they act as decomposers. As some microorganisms can fix nitrogen, they are a vital part of the nitrogen cycle, and recent studies indicate that airborne microbes may play a role in precipitation and weather.
Microbes are also exploited by people in biotechnology, both in traditional food and beverage preparation, and in modern technologies based on genetic engineering. However, pathogenic microbes are harmful, since they invade and grow within other organisms, causing diseases that kill millions of people, other animals, and plants.
For more information about Microorganism, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with microbes
New Vaccines May Help Thwart E. coli O157:H7
Dec 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Immunizing calves with either of two forms of a vaccine newly developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists might reduce the spread of sometimes deadly Escherichia coli O157:H7 ...
New Bacterial Behavior Discovered
Dec 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Bacteria dance the electric slide, officially named electrokinesis by the USC geobiologists who discovered the phenomenon.
'Rock-breathing' bacteria could generate electricity and clean up oil spills
Dec 14, 2009 |
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A discovery by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) could contribute to the development of systems that use domestic or agricultural waste to generate clean electricity.
Think again about keeping little ones so squeaky clean
Dec 08, 2009 |
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A new Northwestern University study suggests that American parents should ease up on antibacterial soap and perhaps allow their little ones a romp or two in the mud --- or at least a much better acquaintance with everyday ...
Self-destructing bacteria improve renewable biofuel production
Dec 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing lower-cost, renewable biofuels. The team has programmed a photosynthetic microbe ...
Microbes help mothers protect kids from allergies
Dec 07, 2009 |
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A pregnant woman's exposure to microbes may protect her child from developing allergies later in life. Researchers in Marburg, Germany find that exposure to environmental bacteria triggers a mild inflammatory response in ...
Bacterial gut symbionts are tightly linked with the evolution of herbivory in ants
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Broadly speaking, ants have two different feeding strategies. A large proportion of all species are "carnivorous," meaning that they are generalist predators feeding on other small animals or scavenging on ...
Will copper keep us safe from the superbugs?
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Three papers scheduled for publication in the January issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection, published by Elsevier, suggest that copper might have a role in the fight against healthcare-associated infections.
Probing life's extremes in Yellowstone (w/ Podcast)
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Idaho National Laboratory biologist Frank Roberto squats on a bare, gravelly patch of ground in Yellowstone National Park's rolling backcountry. At his feet, scalding water churns in a mustard-yellow ...
LSU gets to the bottom of things -- in Antarctica
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Antarctica has long held secrets of the earth's history locked in its icy depths, and until recently, there has been very little information on the environments that have been sealed beneath miles of ice for millions of years. ...
Microbes to Take Over Ethanol Production?
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Not too long ago, it seemed that ethanol production was the wave of the future. The use of trash, wood chips or different types of plants -- usually grass or corn -- to make ethanol was considered ...
Microorganism may provide key to combating giant salvinia throughout Louisiana
Nov 19, 2009 |
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A team of researchers at Louisiana Tech University has found that a naturally occurring microorganism acts as a natural herbicide against giant salvinia.
Bacterial 'ropes' tie down shifting Southwest
Nov 17, 2009 |
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Researchers from Arizona State University have discovered that several species of microbes (cyanobacteria), at least one found prominently in the deserts of the Southwest, have evolved the trait of rope-building ...
Watching Lyme disease-causing microbes move in ticks
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Lyme disease is caused by the microbe Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to humans from feeding ticks.
Students Send Microbe Experiment on Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An experiment by college students that will study how microbes grow in microgravity is heading to orbit aboard space shuttle Atlantis.
