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A hint of the Greek word bios, meaning "life", can be seen in microbe. Microbes, or microorganisms, include bacteria, protozoa, fungi, algae, amoebas, and slime molds. Many people think of microbes as simply the causes of disease, but every human is actually the host to billions of microbes, and most of them are essential to our life. Much research is now going into possible microbial sources of future energy; algae looks particularly promising, as do certain newly discovered or created microbes that can produce cellulose, to be turned into ethanol and other biofuels.
Examples of microbe in a Sentence
Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
Faster digestion may help get more fiber and other undigested nutrients to the lower part of the gut, providing a feast for the microbes that live there, Damman says.
—Maria Godoy, NPR, 27 Nov. 2024
For example, undigested nutrients in the intestinal tract are metabolized by gut microbes.
—Alessandra Signorelli, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2024
Public health departments, as well as the CDC have long warned against the dangers of consuming raw milk, which has been responsible for outbreaks of Listeria, E. coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella, among other microbes.
—Victoria Forster, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near microbe
Cite this Entry
“Microbe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microbe. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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microbe
noun
Medical Definition
microbe
noun
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