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Asked by caitlin to David, Eva, Kate, Nicholas, Rachel on 16 Nov 2015.
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Eva Weiss answered on 16 Nov 2015:
Many bacteria need a host to survive and multiply. They take ‘food’ from the host and release their waste, which can be toxic to the host. What makes us ill is either the bacteria killing our cells by multiplying inside them or by releasing toxins or our immune cells reacting to the infection making us feel unwell. There are many illnesses caused by bacteria because there are many bacteria. Most are harmless or even beneficial. There are 10x more bacterial cells in/on our bodies than human cells! They help protect or skin or digest our food.
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Nicholas Pearce answered on 16 Nov 2015:
Hey Caitlin,
Bacteria like things to be their way, so if they manage to infect your body they will start making chemicals to stop other bacteria from moving in and can even kill the cells in your body. This causes illness and your body will try to get rid of the infecting bacteria.
It’s easier for bacteria to evolve, because they have simpler DNA and they can multiply much faster. Changes to DNA (evolution) can become apparent much quicker and this makes them hard to kill permanently. Because we can’t always kill them all, they can come back and infect us again, making us ill all over again. This means that lots of illnesses and diseases are caused by bacteria.
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Rachel McMullan answered on 16 Nov 2015:
Hi Catlin
Infections are like an arms race between the bacteria and the host (that’s you). We are constantly trying to defend ourselves and kill the bacteria and they are constantly trying to hide from our defences. Unfortunately for us bacteria grow so quickly they can easily take over and they can also evolve really fast. Every time we come up with a strategy to protect ourselves from infection the bacteria evolve to get around that defence and we get ill again.
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