How do benign bacteria work? How are infectious bacteria fought? And how are scientists adapting both types of bacteria to good—or evil—uses? This program answers those questions through the observations and insights of Stanley Falkow, president of the American Society for Microbiology; Fred Tenover, chief of antibiotic resistance investigations at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and other specialists. The role of E. coli in digestion, the relationship between H. pylori and ulcers, medical applications of C. botulinum, the use of bacteria to clean up toxic waste, the exploitation of anthrax as a weapon, and the discovery of extraterrestrial bacteria are all considered. A Discovery Channel Production. (52 minutes)