1 hour ago, drpaladin said:

The bacillus is a tiny aggressor, yet it can lay waste to the most powerful.

So right @drpaladin. Bacillus Cereus is a common cause of mild to serious food poisoning leading to vomiting at one end or diarrhea at the other end or worse. It is commonly associated with food that has been left out at room temperature for too long. A common culprit is boiled (or steamed} rice that has been left out and not refrigerated. Re-cooking will not kill the toxins produced. Australian food standards for food warn against cooked food being at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Just the facts:

Bacillus Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Bacillus, from late Latin, diminutive of Latin baculus ‘stick.  It's ’the plural of Modern Latin bacterium, from Greek bakterion "small staff," diminutive of baktron "stick, rod, staff, cudgel." So called because the first ones observed were rod-shaped.  This word entered English in 1848.  

"Bacillus" is the name of a genus of bacteria, while "bacillus" is a general term for rod-shaped bacteria. 

Bacillus anthracis, the organism that causes anthrax, derives its name from the Greek word for coal, B anthrakis, because of its ability to cause black, coal-like painless ulcers on the skin.