Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Cells, Microbes & Viruses => Topic started by: neilep on 05/10/2004 20:37:09

Title: We are not alone...Bacteria keep us company !!
Post by: neilep on 05/10/2004 20:37:09

Hello lovely people of science orientated niceness...

I'd just thought I'd throw a few mind boggling numbers at ya with regards to our happy cohabitees through life ...microbes and bacteria, without whom we just can't live without.

The average healthy person has about one trillion bacteria grazing upon your skin, they feed off the ten billion flakes of skin you shed every day...that's just on the outside.

Inside, there are trillions and trillions in your gut, nose, mouth and other places !

There's about a hundred trillion microbes in your digestive system alone, of at least 400 types......

Your body consists of about ten quadrillion cells, but is host to about hundred quadrillion bacterial cells.

So, next time you feel lonely.....don't get too upset cos you're amongst friends

'Men are the same as women...just inside out !' (https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.world-of-smilies.de%2Fhtml%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2FSchilder2%2Finsanes.gif&hash=4f18432872d0188852a6f4a3170ec758)

Title: Re: We are not alone...Bacteria keep us company !!
Post by: chris on 06/10/2004 08:33:20

and when you die...they eat you !

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

Title: Re: We are not alone...Bacteria keep us company !!
Post by: Ylide on 08/10/2004 22:57:15

Fungi do a lot of the decomposition, too.  =)  

A good post, though, Neil.  Most people don't realize they host more bacterial cells than they have cells in their own body.  



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Title: Re: We are not alone...Bacteria keep us company !!
Post by: Kiss on 13/10/2004 12:41:59

This post is also good for understanding why people abusing antibiotics are so often sick. Our bacteria play an important protective role. Thinking that this kind of relationships did occur since the beginning of life on Earth.

Bacteria are our friends.

Title: Re: We are not alone...Bacteria keep us company !!
Post by: Ylide on 14/10/2004 08:43:52

Indeed.  Your enteric bacteria take up valuable nutrients and "real estate" which hostile bacteria need to get a foothold in your body.  If you kill them off with excess antibiotics or (even worse) allow them to create plasmids carrying genetic defenses that they can pass on to harmful bacteria, you're at risk of seriously bad drug-resistance infections.  





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