ACADEMIC
BIOLOGY
BACTERIA & ARCHAEA
Bacteria
The word bacteria can cause many people to cringe. After all, many of the illness that affect humans are from bacteria. But what if I were to tell you that bacterial cells are mostly good? What if I was to tell you that bacterial cells are EVERYWHERE, even on your eyeballs? Many people are unaware that there are more bacterial cells on and in your body than any other cell. It may gross you out, but bacterial cells are extremely important for human existence.
Interesting Facts about Bacteria
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There are around 40 million bacteria in a gram of soil.
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Bacteria can survive in very harsh conditions including deep areas of the Earth's crust and in radioactive waste.
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There are around as many bacteria cells in a human body as there are human cells.
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Bacteria are used to help the environment by treating sewage and breaking down oil from oil spills.
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Some bacteria have chemicals that can generate light. This is called bioluminescence.
Parts of the Bacteria Cell
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Capsula
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Outer membrane
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Periplasm and Cell wall
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Cytoplasmic (inner) membrane
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Cytoplasm
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Ribosome
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Reserve food supplies
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Chromosome
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Mesosome
Archaea
Archaea are organisms that you may not have heard of before. Archaea are tiny, simple organisms. They were originally discovered in extreme environments, but are now thought to be common to more average conditions. Many can survive at very high (over 80 °C) or very low temperatures, or highly salty, acidic or alkaline water. Some have been found in geysers, black smokers, oil wells, and hot vents in the deep ocean. Recent research has found ammonia-eating archaea in soil and seawater. (https://kids.kiddle.co/Archaea)
Interesting facts about archaea:
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No archaean species can do photosynthesis.
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Archaea only reproduce asexually.
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Many archaea live in extreme environments.
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Archaea are common in the ocean, and especially in the plankton. They make up to 20% of all microbial cells in the ocean.
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Archaea are prokaryotes just like bacteria
“Brent Cornell.” Archaea vs Eubacteria | BioNinja, ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-5-evolution-and-biodi/53-classification-of-biodiv/archaea-vs-eubacteria.html.