The biological description of bacteria and the different types

Most probiotics are bacteria, which are small, single-celled organisms.

See Article History Alternative Title: The direct use of infectious agents and poisons against enemy personnel is an ancient practice in warfare. Indeed, in many conflicts, diseases have been responsible for more deaths than all the employed combat arms combined, even when they have not consciously been used as The biological description of bacteria and the different types.

Biological weapons, like chemical weaponsradiological weapons, and nuclear weaponsare commonly referred to as weapons of mass destructionalthough the term is not truly appropriate in the case of biological armaments.

Lethal biological weapons may be capable of causing mass deaths, but they are incapable of mass destruction of infrastructurebuildings, or equipment.

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Nevertheless, because of the indiscriminate nature of these weapons—as well as the potential for starting widespread pandemicsthe difficulty of controlling disease effects, and the simple fear that they inspire—most countries have agreed to ban the entire class.

As of a total of states and Taiwan had signed the Biological Weapons Convention BWC and of those states and Taiwan had signed and ratified the treaty, which was opened for signature in Under the terms of the BWC, member states are prohibited from using biological weapons in warfare and from developing, testing, producing, stockpiling, or deploying them.

However, a number of states have continued to pursue biological warfare capabilities, seeking a cheaper but still deadly strategic weapon rather than following the more difficult and expensive path to nuclear weapons.

In addition, the threat that some deranged individual or terrorist organization will manufacture or steal biological weapons is a growing security concern. Biological warfare agents Biological warfare agents differ greatly in the type of organism or toxin used in a weapons systemlethality, length of incubation, infectiousness, stability, and ability to be treated with current vaccines and medicines.

There are five different categories of biological agents that could be weaponized and used in warfare or terrorism. Bacteria —single-cell organisms that cause diseases such as anthraxbrucellosistularemiaand plague.

Rickettsiae —microorganisms that resemble bacteria but differ in that they are intracellular parasites that reproduce inside cells. Typhus and Q fever are examples of diseases caused by rickettsia organisms. Fungi —pathogens that can be weaponized for use against crops to cause such diseases as rice blast, cereal rustwheat smut, and potato blight.

Toxins —poisons that can be weaponized after extraction from snakesinsectsspidersmarine organisms, plants, bacteria, fungi, and animals. An example of a toxin is ricinwhich is derived from the seed of the castor bean. Some of these biological agents have properties that would make them more likely candidates for weaponization, such as their lethality, ability to incapacitate, contagiousness or noncontagiousness, hardiness and stability, and other characteristics.

Among the agents deemed likely candidates for biological weapons use are the toxins ricin, staphylococcal enterotoxin B SEBbotulinum toxin, and T-2 mycotoxin and the infectious agents responsible for anthrax, brucellosis, cholerapneumonic plague, tularemia, Q fever, smallpoxglandersVenezuelan equine encephalitis, and viral hemorrhagic fever.

Various states at various times have looked into weaponizing dozens of other biological agents in addition. Defense against biological weapons Military defense Most weaponized lethal biological agents are intended to be delivered as aerosolswhich would cause infections when breathed by the targeted personnel.

Protective overgarments, including boots and glovesare useful for preventing biological agents from contacting open wounds or breaks in the skin. Also, decontaminants can neutralize biological agents in infected areas after a biological attack. Developing and fielding effective biological weapon sensors that can trigger an alarm would allow personnel to don masks before exposure, get into protective overgarments, and go inside, preferably into toxic-free collective protection shelters.

Medical teams could then immediately go into action to check and treat those who may have been exposed. Biological warfare attacks can be made less effective, or ineffective, if the targeted persons have been vaccinated against the specific disease-causing agent used in an attack.

Civil defense Civil defense against biological weapons has greatly improved since the September 11,attacks in the United Statesbut progress does not necessarily equal success. A successful civil defense against major biological attacks requires that significant progress be made in sensors, warning systems, vaccines, medicines, training of responders, and public education as well as in planning of emergency procedures.

These aspects of civil defense are described briefly in this section, using as examples certain practices put into effect in the United States since September The foundation of any civil defense against a biological weapons attack is the medical system that has already been set up to deal with naturally occurring diseases.

Special vaccines have been created, tested, and approved to deal with the two most lethal biological agents that can also be most easily weaponized: For example, the U. Effective vaccines for plague and cholera now exist and have been approved for use, but only small quantities have been produced, far short of what might be needed if large numbers of people were to be infected.

Included among these are vaccines for Q fevertularemiaVenezuelan equine encephalitisviral hemorrhagic feverand botulism.Biological Safety Cabinets (BSCs) are primary containment devices utilized in laboratories for the handling of biohazardous agents.

They are routinely used for a wide variety of applications, such as human and animal tissue culture, bacterial and viral work, transfection or infection of cells with. Biological Weapons. Biological weapons are toxic materials produced from pathogenic organisms (usually microbes) or artificially manufactured toxic substances that are used to intentionally interfere with the biological processes of a host.

Abstract. Traces of life are nearly ubiquitous on Earth.

However, a central unresolved question is whether these traces always indicate an active microbial community or whether, in extreme environments, such as hyperarid deserts, they instead reflect just dormant or dead cells.

Why are viruses important? Viruses cause many diseases of international importance. Amongst the human viruses, smallpox, polio, influenza, hepatitis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-AIDS), measles and the SARS coronavirus are particularly well known.

However, many important natural enemies are rarely seen, such as parasitic wasps and flies (more than 8, species), nematodes and pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Augmentation The release of natural enemies (predators, parasites and pathogens) to control pests is .

acquired trait: A phenotypic characteristic, acquired during growth and development, that is not genetically based and therefore cannot be passed on to the next generation (for example, the large.