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The lifespan of microbes in the home varies similarly. Generally bacteria and viruses require a wet environment with a humidity of over 10 percent. [70] E. coli can survive for a few hours to a day. [70] Bacteria which form spores can survive longer, with Staphylococcus aureus surviving potentially for weeks or, in the case of Bacillus ...
These microbes were again exposed to controlled doses of radiation. All the species survived weaker radiation doses with little damage, while only the gram-positive species survived much larger doses. The spores of gram-positive bacteria contain storage proteins that bind tightly to DNA, possibly acting as a protective barrier to radiation damage.
There has been a significant amount of research on the role that microbes play in various odors in the built environment. For example, Diekmann et al. examined the connection between volatile organic emissions in automobile air conditioning units. [73] They reported that the types of microbes found were correlated to the bad odors found.
Microbiology (from Ancient Greek μῑκρος (mīkros) 'small' βίος (bíos) 'life' and -λογία () 'study of') is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular (single-celled), multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or acellular (lacking cells).
Microbes are being studied and used to degrade organic and even nuclear waste pollution (see Deinococcus radiodurans) and assist in environmental cleanup. An application of geomicrobiology is bioleaching , the use of microbes to extract metals from mine waste.
A microbiologist examining cultures under a dissecting microscope. Medical microbiology, the large subset of microbiology that is applied to medicine, is a branch of medical science concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases.
Microorganisms have key roles in carbon and nutrient cycling, animal (including human) and plant health, agriculture and the global food web. Microorganisms live in all environments on Earth that are occupied by macroscopic organisms, and they are the sole life forms in other environments, such as the deep subsurface and ‘extreme’ environments.
Microbes are important in human culture and health in many ways, serving to ferment foods and treat sewage, and to produce fuel, enzymes, and other bioactive compounds. Microbes are essential tools in biology as model organisms and have been put to use in biological warfare and bioterrorism. Microbes are a vital component of fertile soil.