Infection, Detection, Protection

They're super small! Some can multiply and mutate in minutes! And they're EVERYWHERE! Meet the Microbes
Microbes are the oldest form of life on Earth. Some types have existed for billions of years. These single-cell organisms are invisible to the eye, but they can be seen with microscopes. Microbes live in the water you drink, the food you eat, and the air you breathe. Right now, billions of microbes are swimming in your belly and crawling on your skin! Don't worry, over 95% of microbes are harmless. Three major types of microbes are BACTERIA,VIRUSES, and PROTOZOA.

Microbes come in different sizes: Small! Smaller!! Smallest!!! Come visit the
Size-O-Meter
and get a sense of scale!

Picture of a girl with a voice bubble that says, "All of the microbe pictures in this magazine were taken with a powerful microscope. The pictures were then colored to make the details stand out."

If you sneeze on your computer, can it catch a computer virus? Computer viruses are not microbes, but they behave like them. A computer virus is a sneaky software program that someone creates to mess up other people's computers. These computer viruses can take over a computer's files similar to the way that microbe viruses take over healthy cells. Picture of a sick computer
Picture of a finger on a button
Check out these Web sites for more cool pictures of microbes:
www.cellsalive.com and commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/dlc-me/index.html