OK, I'm not used to seeing the word 'bacteria' in this context. It doesn't sound right to me, or the use of the word bacterium. In the first instance you might say: "...this bacterial growth to be Gnallia,..." I don't know the correct grammatical term for this, but we do not normally use "this/these" in front of a word like bacteria, its actually too generic of a term. But then, I typically refer to individual species in my work. Come to think of it, its the same with "people", its rare to hear someone say "These people." The word "Bacillus" is a genus name, it should be capitalized (ie our genus is Homo, our species is sapiens.) Ironically, the use of the word bacteria fits better than in the other two places. In the second context, I think saying "The" instead of "This" fits better. On an unrelated point, it seems incredible that there's enough for 5 meals. Bacteria grow on surfaces, they don't grow in volume, only where there's food in direct contact. Imagine for 1 meal, you'd need enough bacteria to fill the volume of your average apple, the surface area required to grow bacteria to fulfill this requirement for one meal alone is staggering. S On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 8:50 AM, Simon Osborne <outspaced@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On 26/04/2011 14:20, Sam Seaver wrote: >> >> As a recent graduate of bacterial metabolism, I can tell you with >> confidence that you should be saying 'these bacteria'. A bacterium >> is a single micro-organism which, of course, you can only distinguish >> under a microscope. > > Well, the text reads: "At once you recognize this bacteria to be Gnallia, a > benign bacillus that is often used to prevent and cure infections of the > blood. This raw bacteria is edible and rich in protein, and there is > sufficient here for 5 Meals." > > Are both occurrences of "bacteria" correctly used here? If so, let's leave > as-is. Otherwise, which should we change to 'bacterium', or both? ;-) > > -- > Simon Osborne > Project Aon > > ~~~~~~ > Manage your subscription at //www.freelists.org/list/projectaon > > > -- Postdoctoral Fellow Mathematics and Computer Science Division Argonne National Laboratory 9700 S. Cass Avenue Argonne, IL 60439 http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sam-seaver/0/412/168 samseaver@xxxxxxxxx ~~~~~~ Manage your subscription at //www.freelists.org/list/projectaon