I herd on the radio about bad germs and good germs but cant find any where that tell's what the oppasite of a bad germ pathogen is like nobody ever named a good germ.
A pathogen (Greek: πάθος pathos “suffering, passion” and γενής genēs “producer of”) or infectious agent (colloquially known as a germ) is a microorganism—in the widest sense, such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus—that causes disease in its host.
arnie, this is from your Wikipedia site. Doesn't that infer a "bad" germ to you - since it causes a disease in the host? Many microorganisms are natural (causing no disease), but I've always thought of a pathogen as a "bad" germ, so to speak.
It doesn't worry me, arnie. To me, the Wikipedia page is in total agreement with my views. It essentially says what I said, and that is, pathogens are "bad" germs.
Good question! Microorganism is the general word that includes both pathogens and those non-infectious sorts of "germs." But right off the top of my head, I can't come up with a name for a non-infectious microorganism.
I am not a pathologist - or even close - but I am thinking no, arnie. Here is an article , for example, about Streptococcus faecalis var. zymogenes, which of course is a pathogen. Interestingly, I found lots of articles on Google Scholar about this variety of Streptococcus until about 2000, but not much since. Then there are articles about zymogen, which is an enzyme precursor.
Originally posted by arnie: Apparently pathogen doesn't mean a "bad" germ, just a germ. According to Wikipedia
quote:
Not all pathogens are necessarily undesirable to humans.
The following sentence explains what is meant: "In entomology, pathogens are one of the "Three P's" (predators, pathogens and parasitoids) that serve as natural or introduced biological controls to suppress arthropod pest populations."
A pathogen that causes an infectious disease in an insect pest is a "good" germ, as far as I'm concerned. One that causes a disease in me is a "bad" germ.
Originally posted by Kalleh: Good question! Microorganism is the general word that includes both pathogens and those non-infectious sorts of "germs." But right off the top of my head, I can't come up with a name for a non-infectious microorganism.
A non-infectious microorganism would be a harmless or beneficial microorganism.
Some plants, fungi, and animals are also microorganisms.
Micro-animal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
quote:
Micro-animals are animals that are microscopic and thus cannot be seen with the naked eye. Mostly these microorganisms are multicellular but none are vertebrates. Microscopic arthropods include dust mites, spider mites, and some crustaceans such as copepods and the cladocera. Another common group of microscopic animals are the rotifers, which are filter feeders that are usually found in fresh water. Some nematode species are microscopic,[1] as well as many loricifera, including the recently discovered anaerobic species, which spend their entire lives in an anoxic environment.[2][3]
Although most microscopic animals are multicellular, myxozoa, jelly fish relatives from the phylum Cnidaria, are unicellular.[4]
This site, which classifies microorganisms as "harmless, beneficial or pathogenic, which means harmful," talks about "beneficial microorganisms."
A pathogen that causes an infectious disease in an insect pest is a "good" germ, as far as I'm concerned. One that causes a disease in me is a "bad" germ.
That is a good point, Tinman. Perhaps "bad" germ is a matter of perspective.
Halal, I am not sure why it underlines "microflora". Perhaps it's not in the Microsoft dictionary. I bet it's in Apple's.
