• Do You Enjoy the Subject on Bacteria and Fungi Like Me

    September 18, 2010 // Comments Off

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    Due to the limited knowledge that many people have on living micro-organisms, it is usually easy for us to confuse between bacteria and fungi.Little do we know that there are very clear distinctions between the two that make them to be differentiated easily.To begin with, these two organisms have different cell wall structures that portray a distinctive difference between them.Fungi usually contain nitrogenous substances known as “chitin” on their cell walls same as in the outer shells of crabs and mollusks. Bacteria on the other hand, contain a substance known as peptidoglycan polymers on their outer cell walls which helps provide the bacteria with a proper structural definition.

    The other way for you to distinguish the differences between bacteria and fungi is through their size.Fungi are said to be larger in size and are plant like organisms.They lack chlorophyll which makes them absorb food from whatever source they are growing on due to the fact that they are not capable of manufacturing their own food independently.For the case of bacteria,we are able to notice that they are smaller in size and contain all necessary genetic information that they need to reproduce.Unlike fungi, bacteria do not need a host for them to survive.

    To help you further differentiate between bacteria and fungi, research has it that bacteria are unicellur micro-organisms which are typically a few micrometres in length and have a very wide range of shapes which range from spheres to rods and even to spirals.On the part of fungi, the same is not true.They are said to be multicellular with the exception of the yeast.These cells make up a proper network of branching tubes well known as “hyphae”. They do not have a wide range of shapes as compared to their bacteria counter parts.

    Something that is common though between bacteria and fungi,is that both of them a great decomposers.Scientists have proven that, for every gram of soil,about five million bacteria exist in it.As a result of this,when animals die and fall to the ground, these bacteria get to feed on it and usually within a short period of time, one can only see the bones of the dead animal.This is achieved because the bacteria helped in decomposing the animal.Fungi on the other hand being heterotrophy,secrete digestive enzymes and absorb the resulting soluble nutrients from their host. This occurrence helps facilitate the decomposition process as the host will be deprived off its soluble nutrients gradually until it finally decomposes.

    Bacteria and fungi can also be said to be differing in cell composition. Bacteria are said to be prokaryotes meaning their cells are different from the cells of other animals.They do not contain a nucleus and rarely harbor membrane-bound organelles.Fungi on the other hand, has its cells much more similar to the other animals who most of the times are the host animals.This factor has led to scientists having a had time developing anti fungal medicine because it is very hard to develop medicine that would kill the fungus’s cell and at the same time not being able to harm the host cell.

    Be on the look out for these characteristics as you learn more about bacteria and fungi.

    Wangeci Kinyanjui is an expert on research and reporting on Health Matters for years.To get more information on bacteria and fungi visit her site at BACTERIA AND FUNGI

    Wangeci Kinyanjui is an expert on research and reporting on Health Matters for years.To get more information visit her site at www.goshriek.com

    Posted in Bacteria News

    Mouth Bacteria is Like a Two Sided Blade

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    It is believed that every living organism flourishes well in particular types of ecosystems and for bacteria, our mouths are a heaven for them. The mouth bacteria are offered a conducive environment for them to exist in as whatever food we ingest, they also feed on it. Surrounding conditions also remain constant for example, the temperatures are always the same unless we get sick or have some type of illness, the levels of humidity in the mouth are also said to be constant hence the bacteria not needing to relocate and adopting regularly to different locations in the mouth due to changing surrounding conditions. With mouth bacteria present in our mouths, we are supposed to be prepared for two kinds of realities. One is that, bacteria come with them harmful experiences and at the same time you may have the harmless or even helpful bacteria.

    To start with the harmful side of bacteria, we only have the Streptococcus mutants as the only type in that category of mouth bacteria. These types of bacteria are believed to be the root cause of cavity in our teeth. The bacteria are known to do well with refined sugar that we frequently consume on a day to day basis. The species is said to also consume the refined sugar when we ingest it and as the bacteria undertakes its digestive process, it produces acid as a product after converting the refined sugar.

    Scientists believe that the mouth bacteria produce this acid in very large quantities that the saliva released by our glands from our bodies is not enough to counter-react with all of it. The excess acid is therefore said to react with our teeth and in the process being able to erode the teeth and subsequently causing presence of teeth cavity. The teeth cavities can be treated by dentists if caught early enough.

    The other types of mouth bacteria present in your mouth could be used for several beneficial purposes. One of these purposes is preventing newborn babies from getting the HIV virus from their mothers through breast milk. Although the possible treatment has not yet been tried on people and animals, research has it that, developing the treatment could actually have very few side effects because of the bugs being harmless. A team of researchers led by Mr. Lim Tao in Illinois Chicago, screened about 170 strains of the Lactobacillus bacteria from the mouths of people for their bugs ability of binding the sugar mannose. They found that chains of these sugars are present in about gp120 glycoprotein which is on the exterior of the HIV virus.

    As they had thought,the six mannose binders believed to be the best, effectively stack to the gp120 from the 7 different HIV-1 strains which are said to be the most spread type of the HIV-AIDS virus. The kind of flexibility seen here was significant for the research team as they explained that the treatment would not be particular on a type of strain. The research team says that the mouth bacteria would be able to capture the possible HIV virus and stop it from infecting any of the baby’s cells. According to Mr. Tao’s team, the best Lactobacillis strain helped to reduce the HIV level of infection by over 90%.

    Learning and knowing about the mouth bacteria is of great importance to all of us because we have to live with them whether we like it or not.Understanding better about what bacteria type causes what illness will help you a great deal should you happen to visit a doctor.

    Wangeci Kinyanjui is an expert on research and reporting on Health Matters for years.To get more information on mouth bacteria visit her site at MOUTH BACTERIA

    Wangeci Kinyanjui is an expert on research and reporting on Health Matters for years.To get more information visit her site at www.goshriek.com

    Posted in Bacteria News

    E.coli Bacteria is Living Among Us Like Never Before

    April 16, 2010 // Comments Off

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    The E.coli bacteria also known as the Escherichia coli bacteria are bacteria that are mainly found in human and animal intestines and also in their feces. They are usually regarded as harmless bacteria to humans but just like any other type of bacteria, they are able to contain strains that may in the long run prove to be dangerous to people. An example of such a strain that may cause problems to people is the serotype strain believed to be the main cause of food poisoning.

    However, the E.coli bacteria are not always confined in the intestines. The bacteria are said to have the ability to survive outside the body of the host organism for some estimated period. This ability makes them ideal organisms to be used in the environmental tests of fecal contamination. One of these tests is the coliform bacteria count in water. The E.coli bacteria are checked out for in the water samples obtained from water bodies being tested and once they are spotted, the water is confirmed to be recently contaminated with feces.

    The E.coli bacteria belongs to the facultative group of the anaerobic bacteria and just as the name of the group suggests, the bacteria are able to survive in places where oxygen is present and when it is not available the bacteria can use other electron acceptors like iron, sulfate and possibly carbon monoxide which appears not to harm the organism. This way, the bacteria are able to continue to survive in the two kinds of environments something that is not common for many organisms on earth.

    When subjected to the Gram stain experiment, the E.coli bacteria stains pink in color meaning that the bacteria would be categorized in the group of the thin layered bacteria commonly referred to as the “Gram-negative” bacteria. This explains why the E.coli bacteria is somehow resistant to the varying types of antibiotics. It is believed that the Gram-negative bacteria are more resistant to antibiotics compared to their Gram-positive bacteria counterparts.

    Due to the ability of the E.coli bacteria to possess several strains, different types of antibiotics are needed to be administered each time a certain infection belonging to a particular strain is diagnosed by the doctor. This usually proves to be tricky to many doctors as they are supposed to know each kind of antibiotic that is required to treat a given kind of infection that is caused by a particular strain.

    Some of the antibiotics that are commonly used to treat the infections caused by the E.coli bacteria include; aztreonam, amoxicillin, cephalosporins, nitrofurantoin, semi-synthetic penicillins and even the aminoglycosides.

    To avoid being infected by the E.coli bacteria, always ensure that you maintain high standards of sanitation whenever you handle food. This could mean that you wash both your hands and the food that you are about to eat with running water and if you are cooking it, make sure that it is properly cooked. Another thing to do, is to always treat drinking water either by boiling it or disinfecting it by recommended disinfectants in order to prevent ingesting any form of the E.coli bacteria.

    Now that you know and understand about the E.coli bacteria, ensure that you avoid consuming it in whatever way.

    Wangeci Kinyanjui is an expert on research and reporting on Health Matters for years.To get more information on E.Coli bacteria visit her site at E.COLI BACTERIA

    Wangeci Kinyanjui is an expert on research and reporting on Health Matters for years.To get more information visit her site at www.goshriek.com

    Posted in Bacteria News