Bacteria live in our soil, streams, food, in us, and in virtually all habitable (and some seemingly inhabitable) locations on earth. They can make us wine, yogurt, and garden compost, and without them we couldn’t even digest our food. All nitrogen would eventually be lost to the atmosphere without them. Bacteria are increasingly used as research tools and in biotechnology, supplying us with recombinant DNA, enzymes, and designer drugs. We are even increasingly using them to rid ourselves of toxic wastes
