Do germs have color and what do they eat?....our preschool son would
like to know this???
Pictures (other than cartoons) would be appreciated.  Thank-you

Hello momo2002-ga,

Germs are defined as "Any microscopic organism that can potentially
cause disease; includes viruses, bacteria, and fungi."

There are many pictures available on Google Images of the above. Take
a look at these links:

Virus medical: http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLJ%2CGGLJ%3A2006-10%2CGGLJ%3Aen&q=virus+medical&btnG=Search

Bacteria: http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLJ%2CGGLJ%3A2006-10%2CGGLJ%3Aen&q=bacteria

Fungi: http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLJ%2CGGLJ%3A2006-10%2CGGLJ%3Aen&q=fungi

I have selected some specific examples for you: 

The Flu Virus: http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/mmi/stannard/flucolo3.gif
Asian Flu Virus: http://www.medicalprogress.org/uploads/images/Asian%20flu%20virus.jpg
E. Coli: http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/bacecoli.jpg
Tuberculosis: http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/bactub.jpg

Don't put too much faith in the colors because images are often
stained to make them more visible through a microscope. Most germs are
transparent as they are often single cells.

I hope this helps! 

All the best,

tisme-ga


Search Strategy:

used Google Images to search for relevant keywords

---

Request for Answer Clarification by momo2002-ga on 31 Aug 2006 18:24 PDT

what do they eat???

---

Clarification of Answer by tisme-ga on 31 Aug 2006 20:54 PDT

Viruses basically reproduce by invading the host cell and tricking the
cell to reproduce its DNA. Technically, they do not eat because the
host cell eats for them.

Fungi generally break down dead organic material and that is how they perpetuate.

Some bacteria can make their energy from the sun, and others rely on
organic compounds and other materials to produce their energy. There
are many different types of bacteria and they are all different.

tisme-ga

In the words of our 3 year old "Isn't this cool".  Thanks for your
help with our budding scientist!

Great answer but what do they eat? My reading of the question was
focused on what they ate and pictures was secondary.

If your little one likes bugs check out this site. I got an assortment
for the daughter of a friend/scientist. Mononucleosis was a big hit.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/6708/?cpg=froogle