A noted medical historian places recent outbreaks of deadly diseases in historical perspective, with accounts of other alarming and recurring diseases throughout history and of the ways in which humans have adapted. Reprint. 17,500 first printing.

Five startling discoveries about how bacteria grow were recently made -- about 100 yr after they should have been made. Scientists back then misled themselves by not vetting out a new method for growing bacteria developed by a New Jersey woman while working in the Berlin lab of a soon-to-be Nobel Laureate. Oddly, he never used it. But everyone else did, and a faulty paradigm emerged from its use and is still in vogue today. The missed discoveries and faulty paradigm had little impact on the achievements of Science during the 20th Century but not so regarding those required in the 21st. The imbedded paradigm must be corrected if we are to effectively combat epidemics and bioterrorism. This is a true story told first hand of the discoveries and frustrations to correct this faulty paradigm.

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.

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.

Shows how the scientific knowledge about the role of microorganisms in disease made its way into American popular culture.

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.

Was diabetes evolution's response to the last Ice Age? Did a deadly genetic disease help our ancestors survive the bubonic plagues of Europe? Will a visit to the tanning salon help lower your cholesterol? Why do we age? Why are some people immune to HIV? Can your genes be turned on—or off? Survival of the Sickest is fi lled with fascinating insights and cutting-edge research, presented in a way that is both accessible and utterly absorbing. This is a book about the interconnectedness of all life on earth—and especially what that means for us. Read it. You're already living it.

“In Missing Microbes, Martin Blaser sounds [an] alarm. He patiently and thoroughly builds a compelling case that the threat of antibiotic overuse goes far beyond resistant infections.”—Nature Renowned microbiologist Dr. Martin J. Blaser invites us into the wilds of the human microbiome, where for hundreds of thousands of years bacterial and human cells have existed in a peaceful symbiosis that is responsible for the equilibrium and health of our bodies. Now this invisible Eden is under assault from our overreliance on medical advances including antibiotics and caesarian sections, threatening the extinction of our irreplaceable microbes and leading to severe health consequences. Taking us into the lab to recount his groundbreaking studies, Blaser not only provides elegant support for his theory, he guides us to what we can do to avoid even more catastrophic health problems in the future. “Missing Microbes is science writing at its very best—crisply argued and beautifully written, with stunning insights about the human microbiome and workable solutions to an urgent global crisis.”—David M. Oshinsky, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Polio: An American Story