Understanding Disease and Pathogens
Ever wondered why you get ill? It's all down to tiny troublemakers called pathogens - microscopic organisms that cause disease and spread easily between people, plants, and animals.
Bacteria are incredibly small cells that make you feel rough by releasing toxins that damage your body's cells. Viruses are even sneakier - they're not even proper cells! They sneak inside your cells, replicate like crazy, and cause your cells to burst, which definitely makes you feel awful.
Protists are single-celled organisms that act as parasites, living on or inside other organisms and causing damage. They often need a vector (like a mosquito) to spread from one host to another. Fungi come in different shapes and can be single cells or have thread-like structures called hyphae that penetrate skin and plant surfaces, producing spores that spread disease.
Key Insight: Pathogens spread through water, air, and direct contact - which is why washing your hands and covering coughs is so important!
Common diseases include measles (viral, spreads through coughs), HIV (viral, spreads through body fluids), tobacco mosaic virus (affects plants), and malaria (caused by protists carried by mosquitoes).