5 Things You Don't Know About Bacteria l Bacteria That Heals l Is Bacteria Good?

Yuck! Bacteria can be gross for sure. They consist of only a single cell and are consistently looking for a host to help it thrive on earth. They are survivors and can live in sub-zero temperatures and in temperatures that no human could survive. But how can these things live? Some bacteria absorb nutrients from sulfur, plants, people, animals or from the environment. Some live in your gut like E. coli and help digest food. Some bacteria have strains of E. coli that can make you ill. Certain bacteria can cause colds, sore throats and infections. Bacteria is not always a bad guy, they can be beneficial. They are found in our yogurt, yeast and other fermented foods to maintain a healthy defensive tract. They are used to create antibiotics like penicillin, griseofulvin, griseofulvin, bacitracin and neomycin. Here are 5 facts on the ever mysterious bacteria.

Bacteria Has an Appetite

Chemosynthetic bacteria can eat and feed on decaying matter from their surrounding environment by breaking them down to gain nutrients. How can they do this? They absorb nutrients through channels in the walls of membranes and cells. "Bacteria can feed alone or in groups that cluster together, forming chains, squares or various pairs," Microbeworld.org explained. Bacteria are known to be decomposers as they break down dead organisms into smaller fragments. "These bacteria use the organic substrates that they break down to get their energy, carbon and nutrients they need for survival," the site added. Over the centuries, bacteria adapted to survive and eating anything helped them accomplished this feat.

It May Cure Disease

Research is finding that bacteria can be changed in your body! We are stuck with our DNA, so some diseases only respond to certain drugs to take care of it. Since we can alter bacteria in our bodies, any illness caused by bacteria can be altered and possibly cured. More scientists believe that bacteria, in general, could be causing diseases like stomach cancer (H pylori infection), giving more people optimism for a cure. Additionally, there is good news for people battling obesity. Researchers believe that a thin person's feces can be transplanted into an obese person to help them lose weight. The diversity of the bacteria feces is being linked to the amount of fat that the body stores. "Stool transplants from a person with a healthy microbiome have been proved to help cure antibiotic-resistant infections," CNN reported.