Talk:FHSST Biology/Contents/Index/TCMS/Cells and genetics/Micro-organism structure

Biology/Micro-organisms
A microorganism, or microbe,[a] is a microscopic organism, which may exist in its single-celled form or in a colony of cells.



Microorganisms include all unicellular organisms and so are extremely diverse. The scientific study of microorganisms began with their observation under the microscope in the 1670s by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. In the 1880s, Robert Koch discovered that microorganisms caused the diseases tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax. They live in almost every habitat from the poles to the equator, deserts, geysers, rocks and the deep sea. Microbes are important in human culture and health in many ways, serving to ferment foods, treat sewage, produce fuel, enzymes and other bio-active compounds. They are essential tools in biology as model organisms and have been put to use in biological warfare and bio-terrorism. They are a vital component of fertile soils. In the human body microorganisms make up the human microbiota including the essential gut flora. They are the pathogens responsible for many infectious diseases