The Steps of Bacterial Growth

Boy, bacteria have a very bad reputation. You just mention the word and people reach out for their bottles of hand sanitizer. Every anti bacterial product on the market today is to aid us in becoming a germ free society.

But there is a catch to this bad reputation. Not all bacteria are bad. Some are actually good and help scientists and the medical community to understand what and how bacterial growth happens, so they can learn how to combat the effects that harmful bacteria can have on the human body.

Bacterial growth begins with two clone daughters that will multiply and divide rather rapidly. The goal for them is to make as many replicas of themselves that the environment will support. Of course, the conditions of the environment have to be pretty favorable to their liking in order for this to happen.

The type of environment will play a factor in their exponential growth, but there are four phases that the bacteria must go through.

The first stage is called the Lag Phase. During this phase there must be a favorable climate in which the bacteria live. They require water, food, oxygen, the right temperature, as well as a proper pH balance to ensure that the environment is not too acidic.

If all these conditions are present, the bacterium will enter the second stage called the Exponential Phase. This is the time when the bacteria will multiply rapidly.

The growth phase ends with the Stationary Phase. This slowing down is due to food sources becoming depleted and the waste begins corrupting their environment.

The last phase is the Death Phase. This phase is where the bacteria die due to lack of food and a benevolent environment. The catch is that there is no definitive timeline as long as conditions are favorable. This could spell out thousands of bacterial disease clones just looking to find a better environment in which to thrive.

The only way to be rid of the bacterium is to kill them off or take one of their basic needs away.

Bacterial growth can be stopped easily with a few precautions. The first is to never eat contaminated food that has been exposed to prime temperatures.

The second is by practicing good sanitary practices, such as washing your hands thoroughly before every meal and once again after the meal. You can kill bacteria by eliminating just one of their necessities and not letting them divide exponentially.