When I was a kid, my parents told me that everyday items are always filled with bacteria, such as banknotes, tabletops, keyboards, smartphones, floor (pick up your fallen food within 5 seconds or it will be infected with bacteria), I grew up told there are millions of bacteria under the fingernails all the time, is this really true? How can they be always there and survive that long if they are on the floor, banknotes etc.? They are living organisms, need to eat something, right? For my thinking there is nothing to eat on the banknotes normally. Can anyone bust this myth or confirm? Thanks in advance.
In: Biology
In an ELI5 way: Some bacteria hibernate in a variety of really impressive ways that can make them really resistant to a lot of threats. They can form a “shell” (ie become a spore). There are also specialized bacteria that eat basically every substance on earth, from each individual element to incredibly complex molecules like plastics.
Bacteria are also really good at forming symbiotic relationships which makes them even more adaptable.
The percent of bacteria that is harmful to any specific organism, like humans, is pretty low. So citrus canker (Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri) is really bad for citrus trees but doesn’t harm almost any other organism. Cholera mostly makes humans, rodents, and rabbits sick but isn’t going to sicken plants, insects, fungi, etc.
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