What are Bacteria and Viruses? The most palpable variance between bacteria and viruses is their size. Whereas both bacteria and viruses are too tiny to notice with the naked eye, most bacteria are about one micrometer in length and can be perceived with a good optical microscope. On the other hand, viruses are smaller than the wavelength of visible light, which implies that they can be solely perceived by using an

Environmental Hazards What are toxicants and how do they affect living organisms? According to Dr. Celine Godard, toxicants and toxins both reference substances that are toxic; however, toxins are made in nature (like in poisonous mushrooms or in the poisonous venom that snakes use to kill their prey) and toxicants are human made (Godard, et al., 2001). Examples of toxicants would be "industrial waste products and pesticides" -- along with pollutants that

Gram Stain Bacteria Identification Following standard procedure for Gram staining, a slide was prepared by heat fixing the sample and applying the primary crystal violet stain (Bruckner, 2012). After incubation in the primary stain for a period of one minute, the stain was rinsed under a slow stream of water for four seconds before fixing the remaining dye with Gram's iodine, with immersion in this mordant lasting one minute (Bruckner, 2012). Following

Salmonella Salmonellosis is an infection with bacteria called Salmonella. Salmonella germs have been known to cause illness for over 100 years. The bacteria were first isolated in 1885 by Theobald Smith from pigs. The genus name was derived from the last name of D.E. Salmon, who was Smith's director. In 1896 Salmonella infection was diagnosed in humans. Salmonella is the genus name for over 2,500 types of bacteria. Though each type

healthy individual is infected with a bacteria or virus, the body identifies the virus as an invader, and therefore produces the antibodies, which is the human body's immune system, to destroy the virus to assist the person to recover and become healthy. Meanwhile, vaccination is the process of stimulating the active immune system to fight disease in the body, and vaccine will boost the body active immunity to fight

Diseases and Pathogens Pathogens Pathogens are disease-causing or infectious microorganisms (EPA 2011, Kennedy 2012). Some of them are often found in water from sewage discharges, leaking septic tanks, or runoff from feedlots. They enter the body and cause disease every day through the air we breathe, food, water or direct personal contact. The body's immune system is able to destroy many pathogens. When it cannot, infection occurs and the person gets sick.