Brings the excitement, breadth, and power of the modern microbial sciences to the next generation of students and scientists. This new edition of Microbe is an eloquent and highly readable introduction to microbiology that will engage and excite science majors and pre-health professionals. The authors, all prominent scientists, have carefully crafted this lively narrative to bring key microbiology concepts to life and promote a lifelong passion for the microbial sciences. Far more than a comprehensive reference book, Microbe is replete with case studies, ranging from sauerkraut fermentation to the cholera outbreak in Haiti, that illustrate the impact of key microbiology concepts on real-world scenarios. To further engage students and deepen their understanding of both the principles and practice of science, each chapter includes multiple active learning exercises that encourage students to demonstrate their understanding and application of concepts, as well as video, spoken, and written resources. Questions are posed throughout the book to introduce the next key concept and to prompt students to actively participate in the learning experience. An equally valuable tool for instructors who teach a traditional lecture format and those who emphasize active learning in their classroom, Microbe integrates key concepts, learning outcomes, and fundamental statements directly from the ASM Recommended Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology Education.

Without microbes, no other forms of life would be possible. But what does it mean to be with microbes? In this book, 24 contributors attune to microbes and describe their multiple relationships with humans and others.

The COVID-19 pandemic that swept the planet in the early 2020s killed more than six million, delivered unimaginable human suffering and $22 trillion in lost global growth. We weren't prepared and should have been.Unraveling the secrets of microbes, an invisible parallel universe of tiny life forms all around us, is central to managing the big twenty-first-century challenges of pandemics, bioterrorism, food security and climate change. Scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs and political leaders are racing to decode this biological realm with powerful new tools to extend human lifespans and make the world safer and more prosperous. Yet such technologies need to be handled with care. The price of getting this wrong will be unbearable.Man Versus Microbe is about humanity's competitive, symbiotic and precarious relationship with the microbial world. Brian Bremner (Senior Executive Editor, Bloomberg) offers a book on the exhilarating fields of synthetic biology and genetics, abundant with material on emerging technologies to deepen one's understanding of how virus hunters chase bugs or how geneticists unlock the workings of a microbe's constituent DNA. This book is for readers who want to learn more about humanity's fight to contain future pandemics and better understand the risks and opportunities of living in the world of microbes. After navigating through a disruptive pandemic, we are all amateur epidemiologists now.

New York Times Bestseller New York Times Notable Book of 2016 • NPR Great Read of 2016 • Named a Best Book of 2016 by The Economist, Smithsonian, NPR's Science Friday, MPR, Minnesota Star Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian, Times (London) From Pulitzer Prize winner Ed Yong, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin—a “microbe’s-eye view” of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on earth. Every animal, whether human, squid, or wasp, is home to millions of bacteria and other microbes. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ed Yong, whose humor is as evident as his erudition, prompts us to look at ourselves and our animal companions in a new light—less as individuals and more as the interconnected, interdependent multitudes we assuredly are. The microbes in our bodies are part of our immune systems and protect us from disease. In the deep oceans, mysterious creatures without mouths or guts depend on microbes for all their energy. Bacteria provide squid with invisibility cloaks, help beetles to bring down forests, and allow worms to cause diseases that afflict millions of people. Many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us—the microbiome—build our bodies, protect our health, shape our identities, and grant us incredible abilities. In this astonishing book, Ed Yong takes us on a grand tour through our microbial partners, and introduces us to the scientists on the front lines of discovery. It will change both our view of nature and our sense of where we belong in it.

The new field of physical biology fuses biology and physics. New technologies have allowed researchers to observe the inner workings of the living cell, one cell at a time. With an abundance of new data collected on individual cells, including observations of individual molecules and their interactions, researchers are developing a quantitative, physics-based understanding of life at the molecular level. They are building detailed models of how cells use molecular circuits to gather and process information, signal to each other, manage noise and variability, and adapt to their environment. This book narrows down the scope of physical biology by focusing on the microbial cell. It explores the physical phenomena of noise, feedback, and variability that arise in the cellular information-processing circuits used by bacteria. It looks at the microbe from a physics perspective, to ask how the cell optimizes its function to live within the constraints of physics. It introduces a physical and information based -- as opposed to microbiological -- perspective on communication and signaling between microbes. The book is aimed at non-expert scientists who wish to understand some of the most important emerging themes of physical biology, and to see how they help us to understand the most basic forms of life.

Examining the enormous potential of microbiome manipulation to improve health Associations between the composition of the intestinal microbiome and many human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and cancer, have been elegantly described in the past decade. Now, whole-genome sequencing, bioinformatics, and precision gene-editing techniques are being combined with centuries-old therapies, such as fecal microbiota transplantation, to translate current research into new diagnostics and therapeutics to treat complex diseases. Bugs as Drugs provides a much-needed overview of microbes in therapies and will serve as an excellent resource for scientists and clinicians as they carry out research and clinical studies on investigating the roles the microbiota plays in health and disease. In Bugs as Drugs, editors Robert A. Britton and Patrice D. Cani have assembled a fascinating collection of reviews that chart the history, current efforts, and future prospects of using microorganisms to fight disease and improve health. Sections cover traditional uses of probiotics, next-generation microbial therapeutics, controlling infectious diseases, and indirect strategies for manipulating the host microbiome. Topics presented include: How well-established probiotics support and improve host health by improving the composition of the intestinal microbiota of the host and by modulating the host immune response. The use of gene editing and recombinant DNA techniques to create tailored probiotics and to characterize next-generation beneficial microbes. For example, engineering that improves the anti-inflammatory profile of probiotics can reduce the number of colonic polyps formed, and lactobacilli can be transformed into targeted delivery systems carrying therapeutic proteins or bioengineered bacteriophage. The association of specific microbiota composition with colorectal cancer, liver diseases, osteoporosis, and inflammatory bowel disease. The gut microbiota has been proposed to serve as an organ involved in regulation of inflammation, immune function, and energy homeostasis. Fecal microbiota transplantation as a promising treatment for numerous diseases beyond C. difficile infection. Practical considerations for using fecal microbiota transplantation are provided, while it is acknowledged that more high-quality evidence is needed to ascertain the importance of strain specificity in positive treatment outcomes. Because systems biology approaches and synthetic engineering of microbes are now high-throughput and cost-effective, a much wider range of therapeutic possibilities can be explored and vetted. If you are looking for online access to the latest clinical microbiology content, please visit www.wiley.com/learn/clinmicronow.

Drawing on expert opinions from the fields of nutrition, gut microbiology, mammalian physiology, and immunology, Diet-Microbe Interactions for Human Health investigates the evidence for a unified disease mechanism working through the gut and its resident microbiota, and linking many inflammation-related chronic diet associated diseases. State of the art post-genomic studies can highlight the important role played by our resident intestinal microbiota in determining human health and disease. Many chronic human diseases associated with modern lifestyles and diets — including those localized to the intestinal tract like inflammatory bowel disease and celiac disease, and more pervasive systemic conditions such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease — are characterized by aberrant profiles of gut bacteria or their metabolites. Many of these diseases have an inflammatory basis, often presenting with a chronic low-grade systemic inflammation, hinting at persistent and inappropriate activation of inflammatory pathways. Through the presentation and analysis of recent nutrition studies, this book discusses the possible mechanisms underpinning the disease processes associated with these pathologies, with high fat diets appearing to predispose to disease, and biologically active plant components, mainly fiber and polyphenols, appearing to reduce the risk of chronic disease development. - One comprehensive, translational source for all aspects of nutrition and diet's effect on gastrointestinal health and disease - Experts in nutrition, diet, microbiology and immunology take readers from the bench research (cellular and biochemical mechanisms of vitamins and nutrients) to new preventive and therapeutic approaches - Clear presentations by leading researchers of the cellular mechanisms underlying diet, immune response, and gastrointestinal disease help practicing nutritionists and clinicians (gastroenterologists, endocrinologists) map out new areas for clinical research and structuring clinical recommendations

This is the only book that tells both sides of the story of germs: that they are critically important for our health and that the dangers of emerging pathogens continue to wreak havoc in our bodies and around the world. With straight-forward and engaging writing, infectious diseases physician Phillip Peterson surveys how our understanding of viruses has changed throughout history, from early plagues and pandemics to more recent outbreaks like HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Zika, and Coronavirus. Microbes also takes on contemporary issues like the importance of vaccinations in the face of the growing anti-vaxxer movement, as well as the rise of cutting-edge health treatments like fecal transplants. Peterson relays his first-hand experience dealing with an unprecedented emergence of new microbial threats. Yet at the same time he has witnessed the astounding recent discoveries of the crucial role of the microbes that colonize our body surfaces in human health. Microbes explains for general readers where these germs came from, what they do to and for us, and what can be done to stop the bad actors and foster the benefactors.

An accessible introduction to the world of microbes—from basic microbe biology through industrial applications Microbes affect our lives in a variety of ways—playing an important role in our health, food, agriculture, and environment. While some microbes are beneficial, others are pathogenic or opportunistic. Microbes: Concepts and Applications describes basic microbe biology and identification and shows not only how they operate in the subfields of medicine, biotechnology, environmental science, bioengineering, agriculture, and food science, but how they can be harnessed as a resource. It provides readers with a solid grasp of etiologic agents, pathogenic processes, epidemiology, and the role of microbes as therapeutic agents. Placing a major emphasis on omics technology, the book covers recent developments in the arena of microbes and discusses their role in industry and agriculture, as well as in related fields such as immunology, cell biology, and molecular biology. It offers complete discussions of the major bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic pathogens; includes information on emerging infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, and bioterrorism; and talks about the future challenges in microbiology. The most complete treatment of microbial biology available, Microbes features eye-opening chapters on: Human and Microbial World Gene Technology: Application and Techniques Molecular Diagnostic and Medical Microbiology Identification and Classification of Microbes Diversity of Microorganisms Microbes in Agriculture Microbes as a Tool for Industry and Research Complete with charts and figures, this book is an invaluable textbook for university teachers, students, researchers, and people everywhere who care about microorganisms.