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Bacteria



Bacteria
Click on image for full size (22K jpeg)
Image courtesy of JPL/NASA
The largest class of creatures on Earth are known as procaryotes, commonly called bacteria. Bacteria are very simple organisms which are made of cells with no nucleus. They can have as simple a form as strings of protein molecules held together around an RNA molecule (RNA stands for ribonucleic acid - it is a simpler form of DNA, the gene-code of life).

Bacteria have a metabolism, they are capable of reproducing themselves, and they have a membrane which separates the inside of themselves from the outside world. Blue-green algae, also known as "cyanobacteria", are an example.

Bacteria were among the first life forms on Earth. Other planets which contain an environment wherein bacteria might survive include Venus, Mars, especially the past environment of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, Jupiter's moon Europa, Saturn's moon Titan, and Neptune's moon Triton.


Bacteria



Bacteria
Click on image for full size (22K jpeg)
Image courtesy of JPL/NASA
The largest class of creatures on Earth are known as procaryotes, commonly called bacteria. Bacteria are very simple organisms which are made of cells with no nucleus. They eat, they are capable of reproducing themselves, and they have a membrane which separates the inside of themselves from the outside world. Blue-green algae are an example of one kind of bacteria.

Bacteria were among the first life forms on Earth. Other planets which contain an environment wherein bacteria might survive include Venus, Mars, especially the past environment of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, Jupiter's moon Europa, Saturn's moon Titan, and Neptune's moon Triton.


Bacteria



Bacteria
Click on image for full size (22K jpeg)
Image courtesy of JPL/NASA
The largest category of creatures on Earth are known as bacteria. Bacteria are very simple organisms. They have a membrane which separates the inside of themselves from the outside world, and they are capable of reproducing themselves. Blue-green algae are an example of one kind of bacteria.

Bacteria were among the first life forms on Earth. Other planets which contain an environment wherein bacteria might survive include Venus, Mars, especially the past environment of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, Jupiter's moon Europa, Saturn's moon Titan, and Neptune's moon Triton.




Last modified December 17, 1998 by the Windows Team

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