So what is microbe? Another term is microorganism, those tiny living things too small to be seen by the naked eye. Is a virus a microbe? Yes. Is it alive? That remains debatable. As we have recently been overcome by just one, COVID-19, thought I'd deviate from the script and say few more things about viruses:
Is the smallest of microbes.- Walter Reed discovered the first human virus, a yellow fever virus, in 1901. He proved that this ailment was transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. That hospital in the DC area is named after him.
- 500 million rhinoviruses (cause the common cold) could fit on the head of a pin.
There are ten viruses for every bacterium or archaeon.- However, viruses are 1000 times smaller than bacteria or archaea.
- Some of you might not have previously heard of archaea, for Carl Woese only discovered it in 1977.
- Antonio van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria in 1676.
- As this is science day, a few more bits of info about bacteria and archaea.
- They are about the same size and have about equal numbers on Planet Earth. They form two of the three domains of life (and that should be kiNgdoms).
- There are 10 to the 31st power viruses, 10 million times more than all the stars out there.
- Virology Blog says that: IF YOU LINED UP END TO END ALL THESE VIRUSES, IT WOULD STRETCH OUT 200 MILLION LIGHT YEARS. The diameter of our Milky Way Galaxy is only 100,000 light years.
- You think that is incredible?
Line up end to end, all the bacteria on this tiny planet, and that tower would stretch out 10 billion light years...about from here to the edge of the universe!
- While the name virus was coined from the Latin for slimy liquid or poison, there is such a thing as a good virus. 380 trillion of them live on and in you. Ten times the number of bacteria.
Where was I? Oh, a new interest area is beginning to invade our state legislatures.
- The first state to declare an Official State Microbe, in 2013, was Oregon, which chose Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer's or baker's yeast).
- New Jersey was next in 2019 with Streptomyces griseus. Why? It was discovered in heavily manured soil. So what? It is the first antibiotic active against tuberculosis. Albert Schatz first isolated streptomycin in 1943 from Streptomyces griseus. He did this while a PhD student at The State University of Rutgers, which of course is in New Jersey. His major professor, Selman Waksman, who not only won a Nobel Prize in 1952 because of this discovery, but was sued by Schatz for not sharing in the royalties. Schatz won.
- In 2021, Penicillium rubens NRRL 1951 became the Illinois State Microbe.
- We all know that Alexander Fleming in 1928 found the mold Penicillium notatum, the first antiobiotic, which helped cure penicillium.
- However, during World War II, that microbe could not produce enough antibiotic cures.
- A team secretly came to Illinois and developed Penicillium rubens, which solved the problem. The company that succeeded was Pfizer, then a small chemical company that had been kicking around since 1849. Yes, that same Pfizer of pandemic fame. Read this fascinating article.
That's it, only three states have an official state microbe. Here is a fairly recent article reporting on what other states are doing, but nothing else has officially been approved:- Alabama: Vibrio vulnifuics.
- Alaska: Trichinella nativa, nematode worm that required you to cook bear and walrus meat to at least 160 F. Here is something you did and did not know: trichinosis is caused by a parasite called trichinella. For pork, it is Trichinella spiralis. Even today you should not consume under-cooked pork. Especially watch out for chitterlings, made from the large intestines of a pig. This problem is caused by a bacterium, Y. enterocolitica, which results in yersiniosis.
- Every state is in some stage of considering a State Microbe. Learn about your state here.
My orchids just behind me (you can see my computer monitor in the background) are blooming.
The top one, of course is Honohono, which has a heavenly fragrant smell. The other one on the bottom has a coconut aroma.
-
Comments
Post a Comment