1. What
are
Microbes?

2. Microbes
Are invisible to the naked eye, you need a powerful microscope to see them.
Are everywhere around us, inside us, on us, in our food, in our homes, in the air we breathe and the water we wash in.
Are mostly useful, but some are harmful
Have been around for 3.8 bn years.
Are vital for life on Earth.

3. What do Microbes look like ?
Magnified 1000’s of times and coloured using
dye, we see -

4. Microbes exist in huge numbers
In one single teaspoon of garden soil, there are over 100,000 microbes. In 1ltr of seawater, there are over 1bn microbes.
On your hands there are more microbes than there are people in the world.
There are so many microbes, that scientists have only named 0.5% of them.
Microbes outnumber all other species and make up most of the living matter on the planet.

5. Microbes – three types Bacteria strep bacteria Virus rotavirus Fungi
mold

6. Microbes are living organisms
What
Microbes?
are
Microbes are living organisms
They are so small we need a microscope to see them
They come in different shapes and sizes
They are found EVERYWHERE!
Some microbes are useful or even good for us
Some microbes can make us ill

7. Bacteria Have three main shapes
spira l(boriella) little balls(-cocci) rods (-bacilli)
Can move about on their own

8. There are three different types of bacteria. They look like:
What
Microbes?
are
BACTERIA
There are three different types of bacteria. They look like:
Spirals Rods Balls
(Campylobacter) (Lactobacillus) (Staphylococcus)
They are so small that 1000s of bacteria could fit on the full period at the end of this sentence.
Some bacteria are helpful in cooking, for example, making yogurt and cheese.
Some bacteria are harmful and cause infection.
Bacteria multiply very fast.

9. What can bacteria do ?
Bacteria in the Cafeteria - lets find out using this webpage.
We have learned that bacteria do many good things, such as decompose waste and give texture and flavour to food. However, they can also cause illness. They give off oxygen when they ‘eat’. Half of all the oxygen in the world, comes from bacteria.

10. Virus Come in 1000s of different shapes and sizes.
They hang about waiting to meet a ‘host’ which they then invade, hijacking the host’s cells. Beware the air you breathe and door handles !

11. Influenza What Microbes? are VIRUSES
Viruses are even smaller than bacteria and can sometimes live INSIDE bacteria!
Most viruses make us sick.
Diseases like CHICKENPOX and the FLU are caused by viruses.
Viruses are easily spread from one person to another.
VIRUSES

12. Fungi Not just mushrooms – athlete’s foot, penicillin, and yeast.
Yeast is used in bread making,
and brewing

13. Penicillium Dermatophyte
What
Microbes?
are
FUNGI
Penicillium Dermatophyte
Fungi are the largest of all microbes.
Fungi can be found in the air, on plants and in water.
Mould, which grows on bread, is a type of fungi.
Some antibiotics are made by fungi!

14. Microbes live among us In our food Cleaning up our waste Killing pests
Making medicines
In the making of such things as leather, soy sauce, cheese and paper.
In our bodies Microbes in
our mouths

15. And finally
Without microbes, life on this planet would be entirely different – they generate oxygen, are part of the carbon and nitrogen cycles, and can survive the harshest conditions.
Without microbes, our bodies would not process the food we eat.
They drive the chemistry of life, breaking things down into their parts so that life can being again.
Microbes are small but mighty !

16. Also Protists are a type of Microbe
Types of Microbes
Bacteria
Virus
Fungi
Also Protists are a type of Microbe

17. There is one more type
Protist- There are some microbes that do not fit into any of the other types. These are put into a category called Protists.

18. One last thing….
Pseudopods-false feet