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.

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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.

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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?

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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!

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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!

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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!

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Whatthe

heck –

-- isgoingon?!

Wh-whereare we??

Somehowwe’ve shrunkdown inside

the petridish…!

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We’rein the world

of themicrobes!

Hithere.

Come onover.

I’m‘The Roid.’

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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

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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

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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!

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In thesickest people,I can turn into

a deadlykiller…

…capable ofinvading nearly

all body systemsand organs!!!

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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!!

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Remember claSS,there are about

100 trillion life formsliving inside us

humans.

Every singleone of you are awhole universeof organisms…

…all livingtogether.

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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

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