What if I told you there were trillions of tiny bacteria all around you? It’s true. Microorganisms called bacteria were some of
the first life forms to appear on earth. Though, they consist of only a single cell, their total biomass is greater than that of all plants and animals combined. And they live virtually everywhere: on the ground, in the water, on your kitchen table, on your skin, even inside you. Don’t reach for the panic button just yet. What is the main idea of this? in 10 words or less.
Although you have 10 times more bacterial cells inside you within your body has human cells, many of these bacteria are harmless or even beneficial, helping digestion and immunity.
But there are a few bad apples that can cause harmful infections, from minor inconveniences to deadly epidemics.
Fortunately, they were amazing medicines designed to fight bacterial infections. Synthesized from chemicals or occurring naturally in things like mold, these antibiotics kill or neutralize bacteria by interrupting cell wall synthesis or interfering with vital processes like protein synthesis, all while leaving human cells unharmed. The deployment of antibiotics over the course of the 20th century has rendered many previously dangerous diseases easily treatable.
