22 Terrifying Facts You Didn’t Know About Bacteria

Researchers have identified a naturally occurring bacteria named Clostridia in the human gut that keeps people from developing food allergies. This beneficial gut bacteria diminished with frequent antibiotic use at a young age — making children more susceptible to food allergies later in life.

Researchers have discovered bacteria that have naturally evolved to eat away at polyethylene terephthalate, the plastic known as PET or polyester. While studying the structure of an enzyme found in that bacteria, they accidentally created a “mutant enzyme” that can break down plastic within a few days.

A microbiologist examined samples from 33 keyboards and found a variety of bugs including E coli and S aureus, which can cause skin infections and make people ill. One of the keyboards had to be removed from the office because it was five times dirtier than a toilet.

There is a species of bacteria named Deinococcus radiodurans which is so resistant to radiation that scientists have nicknamed it “Conan the Bacterium.”

There is a bacteria named Tersicoccus phoenicis that can survive with almost no nutrients in a spacecraft assembly clean room and is resistant against the sterilization measures used there.

A bacteria named Paracoccus denitrificans not only survived in an ultracentrifuge with high speeds corresponding to 403,627 g, but actually had robust cellular growth. Hyperaccelerations like this are found in very massive stars and the shockwaves of supernovas.

Magnetospirillum magneticum is a free-living bacteria which has the ability to actively take in iron, convert it to magnetic magnetite, align it like a backbone along its body, and travel through its environment using magnetic fields.

A bacteria named Streptomyces hygroscopicus from Easter Island saves lives by preventing organ rejection and now may help curb Alzheimers.

Geobacter metallireducens is a bacterium eats or excretes pure electricity. If you stick an electrode in the ground and pass electrons down it, soon the electrode will be coated with feeding bacteria. Experiments show that these bacteria essentially eat or excrete electricity.

Because of different bacteria living on man/woman's body, man's sweat smells like cheese and woman's smells like onions.