Do you think you’re ever alone? Think again. Even when you close your bedroom door or take a shower, there’s an audience. Trillions of microscopic animals, called microbes, are all over you. They’re in your mouth, on your skin, and even in important organs.
Believe it or not, that’s good. Without the millions of kinds of microbes in the world, you couldn’t live. For instance, some microbes help digest food and make vitamins. The bad news? Not all microbes are helpful or harmless. Some can kill. Microbes are also called germs, especially the ones that cause diseases you can catch.
We used to think science could beat illnesses carried by germs. In the late 1900s, new vaccinations and drugs seemed to have won the battle. But germs have bounced back. Drugs that used to work don’t do the job anymore. New diseases are showing up. Medicine has helped a lot in fighting germs. But for now, Earth’s tiniest creatures are still our biggest enemies.
