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by microbes!
Biology of HUMAN
by microbes!
Biology of HUMAN
by microbes!
HUMAN HUMAN
Our bodies are home to more microbes than human cells. The balance of helpful to harmful microbes in our bodies can make us sick or healthy. The Biology of Human project focuses on helping people understand themselves by exploring scientifi c principles that underlie modernresearch in human biology.Biology of Human is an allianceof science educators, artists, sciencewriters, and biomedical researchers working to increase public understanding about viruses and infectious disease.For information see http://biologyofhuman.unl.edu.
Graphic NovelStory by Martin Powell, Rebecca Smith, & Judy Diamond Art by Tom FloydInks & colors by Nick Poliwko
AppDevelopment by Wa Kalonji, Nathan Kimmel, Mike Ravenelle, Zeth Schlenker, Jacob Armstrong, iLab, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Nebraska–LincolnComic Narration by Ford Clark, Adam Wagler and the students in the Microbe Maniacs afterschool program at Culler Middle SchoolText by Ann Downer-Hazell, Rebecca Smith & Judy Diamond Evaluation by Amy Spiegel Art and Production by Angie Fox
World of Viruses is funded by the National Institutes of Health through the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Grant No. 1R25OD010506. Its content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the offi cial views of the National Institute of Health.
The University of Nebraska is an Affi rmative Action/Equal Opportunity institution.© 2014, The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. All rights reserved.
Our world.
Earth is home to many kinds of plants and animals…
…including humans.
1
Humans think they are Number One…
… but looks are deceiving.
There are whole universes of invisible life we humans overlook.
Myriads of microbes crowd every nook and craNNy of Earth.
2
I can’t huntfor your lost
shoe now, Maria.I’m late!
ButI’ve looked
everywhere,Miguel..!
Ifyou’d really
looked everywhere,then you would’ve
alreadyfound it. That’s
not fuNNy. C’mon,
help me.
Pleeeeeeeeease?
3
You lookedeverywhere, huh?
Here you are. Yay!
I’vegotta
get a moveon!
Hastaluego miMiguel!
Hey, Miguel!Been waitin’
for ya. You’relate, man!
heydaniel,Yeah,
I know!
Let’sget goingbefore the
bellrings!
4
Uh oh…
C’mon,daniel we’ve gotta stopthis jerk.
Are younuts, Miguel?That guy isbigger than
both ofus!
Yeah,but watchwhen weteam up!
Hey—leave himalone!!
BACKOFF!!
Mindyer ownbizneSS,twerps!
5
This is ourbusineSS!
Hey--!
Notso tough
now that it’sthree against
one, areyou?
EHH,go on andgit outta
here.
I’msick oflookin’at ya.
Later, claSS has begun…
Human cells are greatly outnumbered
in your body. You are mostly made
of microbes. Do you agree or disagree
with these statements? Why?
6
7
Thatwas acloseone.
Youcan say
thatagain.
Goodmorning, claSS.Today we begin
our study of ourmicrobialcousins.
Microbialcousins?
You may berelated tomicrobes –
not me!
Oh yes,you are, Miguel.
All living things onEarth evolved
from a coMMonancestor.
So weare all related
on the treeof life.
Justlike cousinson a family
tree
Listenclosely, claSS.Handle these
petri dishes verycarefully.
Use yourmarkers to drawa line down the
miDDle, separatingit into two
halves.
Nowunwrap
your cottonswabs…
…and rubone end onyour cheekinside your
mouth.
8
All right…now rub the otherend of the swabacroSS the skin
outside yourmouth.
After you’vedone that, rub
each side of the yourpetri dish with adiFFerent end of
the swab.
Okay, we’reputting these awayin the cabinet for
a week to seewhat grows.
The next week…
Allright, claSS.
Let’s take a look atyour petri dishes
now.
Beprepared
for a bit ofa shock.
That way,half of the dish
has microbes frominside your mouth
and the other halfcontains microbes
from outsideon your skin.
9
Whoa…!
Eww.
Thereis a whole
world in each petridish: the good microbes
and the bad ones arestruggling to survive...just like animals and
plants hereon Earth.
Whenyou are healthy,
the good bacteriagang up on the harmful
bacteria, and keepthem in check.
Hey,Miguel…
just like lastweek, when we
teamed upagainst thatjerk in the
alley!
10
Whatthe
heck –
-- isgoingon?!
Wh-whereare we??
Somehowwe’ve shrunkdown inside
the petridish…!
11
We’rein the world
of themicrobes!
Hithere.
Come onover.
I’m‘The Roid.’
12
Uh, hey.Um, what’s
up?
Whoareyou?
Meetthe gang!
Wekeep
thingsruNNingsmootharoundhere.
YuMM-MMy!I have thebest job,I get to
break downsugars inthe human
gut.
I travelto humanbabies’
intestinesthrough
mom’s milk.I make an
acid that keepsout badbacteria!
If youare healthy,
your gut hasenough ofmy buDDiesto keep badmicrobes
out.
That’sright,
together,bugs
like uskeep
microbebulliesaway!
Just callme ‘E. coli.’Most of my
familymembers
are helpful(but some
of my siblings
giveus a
bad rep).
I makeVitamin K – a vitamin
you humans need butcan’t make
yourselves - fromfood in human
guts!
I usuallylive in themouths of
humans….and I make a toxinthat poisonsdangerousmicrobes!
andStrepSally!
E. coli…
LongoBiFFi…
THE ROIDLONGO BIFFI
E. COLISTREP SAllY
13
meanwhileback in theclaSSroom...
Howmany of you
grew out sometype of funguson,your petri
dishes?
Good.Let’s talkabout that
next…
Back in themicrobe world…
Eh, thosebacteria thinkthey’re tough!
They haveno idea! Call me
‘Candi’,guys.
Most folksthink all fungi are
mushrooms, but thereare more than a
hundred types offungi that can live on
people’s feetalone!
We tendto hangout in
the spacebetweentoes…orinside the
nose.
Wefungi
can becomplicated.
You mightsay I have a
splitpersonality.
I can beyour friend
or yourenemy.
SometimesI go with mybuDDy form…
othertimes…
…I growwild…andturn intoa hypha!
CANDI
14
A dose ofantibiotics knocks
the competitionright out,
but it doesn’tstop me!
…With nobacteria in the
way…my two formscause double
trouble…
…more powerfulthan many other
microbes!
15
In thesickest people,I can turn into
a deadlykiller…
…capable ofinvading nearly
all body systemsand organs!!!
16
H-howcan Candi bestoPPed
before it getsout of
control?!
Here’sone way.
C’mon!
We’vegot to getthe goodbacteria
back!!
No…NO!!
Not that!Stay back!
Keepaway frommeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
17
Remember claSS,there are about
100 trillion life formsliving inside us
humans.
Every singleone of you are awhole universeof organisms…
…all livingtogether.
18
To keepour human
cells haPPy, wehave to keep our
microbes inbalance.
That’show we
stayhealthy.
Nope,I’m notgone,guys.
I’m justwaiting for my
chance to get theuPPer hand… andtransform intomy other self!
the endthe end
19