Microbiology: A 40-year-old male called 911 stating that he was having difficulty breathing and felt too nauseated to drive himself to the hospital. He said he had type I diabetes and had not been able to afford insulin on a consistent basis, especially over the past week, since he lost his job. Fortunately, the emergency medical team promptly got to the patient and took him to the hospital. His blood work revealed an exceedingly high blood glucose level, a finding consistent with the fact that the body relies on insulin to get glucose into cells. The patient was diagnosed as suffering from ketoacidosis. This is a metabolic state in which the body perceives that it is starving for glucose and so switches to mainly catabolizing fats. In ketoacidosis, ketones, which are byproducts of fat catabolism, rapidly build up in the body and dangerously lower the blood’s pH level. After stabilizing the patient, the physician performed a thorough physical examination. Upon physical examination, the physician noticed the man had an infected ulcer on his foot. A bacterial specimen was collected, and analysis showed Gram-positive rods that form endospores. The doctor said it was fortunate that the man had sought medical assistance