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Animals
Mostly animals are multicellular, but some are too small to be seen
by the naked eye. Microscopic arthropods include dust mites and
spider mites. Microscopic crustaceans include copepods and the
cladocera, while many nematodes are too small to be seen with the
naked eye. Another particularly common group of microscopic
animals are the rotifers, which are filter feeders that are usually
found in fresh water. Micro-animals reproduce both sexually and
asexually and may reach new habitats as eggs that survive harsh
environments that would kill the adult animal. However, some
simple animals, such as rotifers and nematodes, can dry out
completely and remain dormant for long periods of time
Importance
Microorganisms are vital to humans and the environment, as they
participate in the Earth's element cycles such as the carbon cycle
and nitrogen cycle, as well as fulfilling other vital roles in virtually all
ecosystems, such as recycling other organisms' dead remains and
waste products through decomposition. Microbes also have an
important place in most higher-order multicellular organisms as
symbionts. Many blame the failure of Biosphere 2 on an improper
balance of microbes.
Use in food
Use in energy
Use in science
Use in warfare
Evolutionary tree showing the common ancestry of all three domains of life.[23]
Bacteria are colored blue, eukaryotes red, and archaea green. Relative positions of
some phyla are shown around the tree.
Microorganisms are very diverse; they include bacteria, fungi, archaea, and protists;
microscopic plants (green algae); and animals such as plankton and the planarian.
Some microbiologists also include viruses, but others consider these as non-living.[1][2]
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.[3]
ANTIBIOTICS
Scientists have even discovered fungi that will help you battle bacterial
diseases. So you get sick, the doctor looks at you and says you have a
bacterial infection, maybe bronchitis. He prescribes an antibiotic to help you
get better. Antibiotics are drugs designed to destroy bacteria by weakening
their cell walls. When the bacterial cell walls are weak, your immune cells
can go in and destroy the bacteria. Although there are many types now, one
of the first antibiotics was called penicillin. It was developed from a fungus (a
fungus named Penicillium found on an orange, to be exact).
Microbes are much more our friends than our enemies. Although
some microbes cause health problems such as strep throat,
chickenpox and the common cold, most microbes make our lives
better such as:
There are many other important jobs microbes do. They are used to
make medicine. They break down the oil from oil spills. They make
about half of the oxygen we breathe. They are the foundation of the
food chain that feeds all living things on earth.
Over the past 50 years, we've begun using microbes to do all kinds
of new work for us. Here are some examples of microbes at work in
pollution control and medicine.
Useful Microbes