Bacteria and Virus Facts |
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There are thousands of species of bacteria. Bacterium are single-cell, living microorganisms that get nutrients from their surrounding environment in order to live, and come in three different shapes, Cocci (round), Bacilli (rod shaped) or Spirilla (spiral shaped). Some bacteria have been found to live in temperatures well below the freezing point, and others can live in temperatures above the boiling point as well. In fact one species of bacteria (Deinococcus radiodurans) is able to withstand exposure to radiation 1,000 times greater than would kill a human being. Bacteria live in, or on just about everything in the environment including air, water, soil, on door knobs, and on kitchen countertops. Bacteria are able to live directly on one's skin and reproduce both inside and outside of one's body. Bacteria will grow in length, form a new cell wall down the middle and split in half forming two new bacterium. Given the right environment, each new daughter cell is able to reproduce once every twenty minutes, which means that in four hours there could be more that 4,000 new bacterium present (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096). With the ability to replicate within your body at speeds like this, there is no wonder why these germs make humans so ill. All bacteria species are not necessarily bad for you. Some bacteria found in your digestive track helps your body to extract all the nutrients from the food you eat, while others are used to make vital medicines and vaccines. Though some bacteria prove to be helpful to the human race, others are the causes of horrible sicknesses such as ear infections, strep throat, skin infections, pneumonia, and even death. What is a Virus?
What do Viruses Do? Viruses exist only to make more viruses, and with the exception of a small number of bacterial viruses that kill bacteria, all viruses are harmful. A virus first enters a host cell by attaching to the cell wall and eventually the virus will pump its DNA or RNA into the host cell to replicate itself, which is called a viral infection. Essentially the DNA or RNA that the virus has injected into the cell has instructions imprinted on it which forces the host cell to stop producing itself, and start to produce viral parts. The healthy host cell will get "taken over" and begin to produce only viral parts which soon form complete viruses. Viruses are able to produce many, many times within a healthy cell because they are so much smaller than the host cells (for example, the polio virus is able to make over one million copies of itself inside a single human intestinal cell). Once the reproduction is completed and the viruses are mature they will eventually grow and leave, killing the host cell. The new viruses that were released into the body work to find new healthy cells to take over, so they can continue to reproduce. The fact that host cell is destroyed in the process of viral replication is the reason why all viruses are considered harmful. Do Viruses Mutate?
What is the Difference Between Bacteria and a Virus?
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Simply put, bacteria and viruses are germs that invade our body and make us sick. These pathogenic microorganisms are so small you need a microscope to see them, and they invade your home and body without notice. Unfortunately, you won't know you have been infected until you feel the symptoms of the sicknesses that these germs cause. Science is proving that hand washing and conventional cleaning is just not enough when it comes to keeping your family healthy, and your home free of these harmful and dangerous invaders. Did you know one sneeze can generate an aerosol of enough cold viruses to infect thousands of people! Did you know the influenza virus evolves into an entirely different strain each year!
What are Bacteria? 
To truly understand what a virus IS, you need to understand what a virus is NOT. A virus is not a bacterium or an independently living organism. Viruses are incredibly tiny particles that float around the air and sit on things like furniture, door knobs, and remote controls until they come into contact with a living cell. A virus is unable to survive in the absence of another living cell, and they have only one purpose: to reproduce. Viruses will sit inert, on structures in the environment until they come in contact with a living cell, and then they will infect and take over the cell in order to reproduce themselves. 
Yes, and that is why antibiotics don't work against viruses. Many treatments for the "flu" or the common cold, just ease the symptoms, they don't work to kill the virus that is making you sick. Although vaccines have neutralized the effects of some viruses like polio, others viruses like the influenza virus produce mutations so quickly that last year's vaccine for the "flu" won't be effective this year. The influenza virus mutates so quickly the cold you have today could be a completely different strain than the cold you had last month!
Sometimes during viral replication mutations will occur. If the mutation was harmful to the virus, the offspring may no longer be infectious. In some cases however, mutations may not leave the virus completely ineffective. Viruses replicate themselves many thousands of times and even if 500,000 particles are no good 500 might still be infectious. These 500 infectious offspring will be sufficiently different from the parent virus, creating a brand-new strain of virus. Each new strain will render past vaccines useless. 
Bacteria are much larger than viruses and much more complex.
In fact the biggest virus is only as large as the smallest bacterium. A typical bacterium has a rigid cell wall containing a cell membrane, which holds cytoplasm (water like substance that fills the cell). Within that fluid are chromosomes that hold instructions for making new bacteria and performing a host of other functions.
Bacteria Virus Facts 
Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and are measured in millions of a millimeter.
