The Role of Bacteria in the World
By: MacLean Bowie & Nathan Gantchev
Introduction
Thousands of bacteria inhabit the Earth and they include everything from strep throat to dental cavities. Yet only a couple hundred of them cause disease and are harmful. Most bacteria are helpful or necessary for life.
Food
Almost all living things depend on plants to survive. Without them the entire food chain would collapse. Plants need nitrogen to grow, but although 78% of the atmosphere is nitrogen, they need a different form of nitrogen, and cannot get it directly fro the air. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria take nitrogen from the air and transform it into a usable form for the plants to grow. Without this bacteria all living things would starve. Bacteria is in every dairy product there is whether it is yogurt, sour cream and everything in between. Bacteria in these products take the lactose in milk and produce lactic acid, which preserves and adds to the flavor.
Medicine
Many bacteria are used to antibiotics that can help to treat everything from cholera to a wound infection or food poisoning. Bacteria is a very necessary ingredient in making insulin for diabetics. Insulin breaks down sugar and carbohydrates, but diabetics don't get enough of it. However in the 70s scientists found a way to put genes into bacteria and have the bacteria produce insulin. Bacteria also fight off viruses.
Clean Up
Bacteria breaks down dead matter from plants and animals which is then usable by other living things. With out it dead things would stay around for a lot longer and the nutrients from these dead animals would be useless to things that rely on it. Bacteria also can change harmful chemicals into harmless ones in a process called bioremediation. This process can be used to clean hazardous waste from an oil spill, a factory of some sort, or a residential area.
The Harmful Side
Most bacteria are necessary for life, but some bacteria are pathogenic and take nutrients from a host, harming it in the process. Humans can be protected by vaccines and antibiotics, but harmful bacteria is still killing people, crops (grains, fruit, and vegetables) and other animals.
Conclusion
Bacteria is a huge element in life. Without it the food chain would be destroyed, slowly killing of every living thing, many diseases couldn't be treated, dead things would lay around for long periods of time, and oil spills would be harder to clean up. Although many diseases and sickness would not exist.