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Bacteria are microbes. These are minute living things.
They are so tiny they can only be seen through a microscope.
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Microbes are found everywhere.
They are in the earth, water, air, plants and animals. Microbes are not green because they have no chlorophyll and so they do not depend on sunlight to make their food.
Some bacteria are beneficial.
When plants and animals die bacteria help the process of decay. The decayed plants and animals then pass back into the soil to give nutrients to new plants and animals.
Bacteria
do many important jobs. 
They help to make cheese and yoghurt and many other foodstuffs.
Yeast is
a microbe and is used in making bread. 
If bread has no yeast it will not rise.
Some bacteria
can cause tooth decay. 
Some bacteria
can make you ill.
Bacteria love warmth and moisture and rapidly reproduce themselves in these conditions.
They reproduce by splitting in two.
Bacteria are killed instantly by strong heat, sunlight and some poisons.
Viruses are also microbes.
You will often hear people call microbes - GERMS.
