1. The good, the bad, and the ugly!
Micro-organisms
The good, the bad, and the ugly!

2. What is a micro-organism?
They are living things visible only with the aid of a microscope.
They are single to multi-cellular.
Most micro-organisms do not cause disease.
Most micro-organisms are beneficial.
They require food, water, air, ways to get rid of waste, and an environment to live in.
Microbes eat up toxic wastes such as battery acid, old paint, oil, pesticides and even radioactive material.

3. Bacteria: single celled organisms that exist all around you and inside you.

4. Good
Bad
Help in digestion of food, crowd out harmful bacteria, produce vitamins
Can cause strep throat, botulism, tetanus, and E. Coli
Help us make food, such as yogurt, bread, soda, chocolate, pickles, sauerkraut, and cheese
Viruses cause illness, like rabies, pneumonia, and meningitis
Help plants grow by absorbing nitrogen from the surrounding soil, act as pest killers, turn waste into fertilizer
Are decomposers: break down dead organisms
Used in medicines to help us get well, such as penicillin (Alexander Fleming, 1928)
Help cows break down cellulose in plants
Break down oil in water and waste in water plants

5. Fungi: organisms that are not plants or animals, but have characteristics of both, and absorb food from whatever source they are growing on.

6. Good Bad Mushrooms: can eat on pizza, in salads, and other recipes
Mushrooms: can be poisonous
Yeast: a fungi that helps bread to rise and gives it flavor
Yeast can also be found in your body and can cause a rash or itchiness if you have too much of it
Mushrooms also decompose leaves or rotting bark on the ground in nature
Athlete’s foot: a fungus that causes itchy, burning on the feet.
Fungi can rot wood in homes.

7. Protozoan: are microscopic organisms that usually live in water

8. Good Bad Some are producers like plants
Don’t drink stream/pond water. It can contain a protozoa called Giardia that can make you sick
Eat smaller things, like bacteria and mold
Important food source for many pond creatures
Algae (red, brown, yellow, and green) provide food for fish, whales, and other sea animals
Phytoplankton are algae that provide over half the oxygen on earth
Algae are eaten by people, such as sea weed and ice cream