Pathogens anonymous

Found a funny video about campylobacter bacteria and how they divide, and under what conditions. This is a pretty basic but funny explanation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xi2Nc1UicQ

Where do I start?

I guess, after having looked at my booklet I might try and find out about micro-organisms and food poisoning.

Why I am thinking about this as the focus for my investigation?

• I got sick last year, but it only lasted a day and my mum said that it was probably just something I ate. I wonder what it could have been?
  
• Also a lot of my friends work in fast food restaurants and I wonder how clean those places are?
  
• There has been a lot of things on TV about E. Coli poisoning and I wonder what that is all about.
  

Beginning my research

I checked out this information from the NZFSA (New Zealand Food Safety Authority): http://www.foodsafe.org.nz/files/meet-the-bugs.pdf

That pamphlet had the best information because it listed all the pathogens that cause foodbourne illness. There is heaps of other stuff on the http://www.foodsafe.org.nz/ website! I may go back there later

Pathogens: Microorganisms (ie, bacteria, viruses or parasites) that can cause disease in humans, animals and plants.(www.egreenideas.com/glossary.php)

Foodbourne illness: Any ilness that comes from eating contaminated food...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodborne_illness has a lot of information but not all of it had to do with micro-organisms ...I might want to go back to get some ideas on what to further investigate from there later.

There is a stat on wikipedia "In the United Kingdom during 2000 the individual bacteria involved were as follows: Campylobacter jejuni 77.3%, Salmonella 20.9%, Escherichia coli O157:H7 1.4%, and all others less than 0.1%"

I wonder if this is true for NZ? Where will I find that information? Who could I talk to about it. If E. Coli only makes up 1.4% of the bacteria involved why is it always on the news?

NCEA Science 1.11

Science 1.11 - Investigate interactions between humans and micro-organisms

I found the standard (in case I lose my paper copy) here:

2011 NCEA Science Standards

--> Basically, I can investigate about viruses, bacteria or fungi and find out about how humans use or are affected by them.

My aim: I am going to aim for an excellence in this standard because it seems interesting already and there should be a lot of information out there PLUS what I have in my booklet.