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Author
Series
Very short introductions volume 352
Summary
"Bacteria are the most abundant form of life on the planet. The first organisms to evolve, they include forms that can survive the toughest environments, from deep rocks to frozen wastes. No other organisms are as adaptable. We are most familiar with them as agents of disease, but benign bacteria are critical to ecosystems, as well as to human health. In this Very Short Introduction, Sebastian G.B. Amyes explores the nature of bacteria, tracing their...
Author
Summary
Microbiologists Brett Finlay and Marie-Claire Arrieta explain how the trillions of microbes that live in and on our bodies influence childhood development; why an imbalance of those microbes can lead to obesity, diabetes, and asthma, among other chronic conditions; and what parents can do -- from conception on -- to positively affect their own behaviors and those of their children. They describe how natural childbirth, breastfeeding, and solid foods...
Author
Summary
Public sanitation and antibiotic drugs have brought about historic increases in the human life span; they have also unintentionally produced new health crises by disrupting the intimate, age-old balance between humans and the microorganisms that inhabit our bodies and our environment. As a result, antibiotic resistance now ranks among the gravest medical problems of modern times. [This book] addresses not only this issue but also what has become known...
Author
Series
Very short introductions volume 413
Summary
Describes the expansions of microbiology; it's methods, from traditional microscopy and laboratory culture to the latest genomic analysis.
Author
Summary
"Vampire bats that regurgitate blood for roosting buddies. Mosquitoes that filch honeydew droplets from ants. Reptiles that enforce chastity on their lovers with copulatory plugs. Capuchin monkeys that use millipede secretions as mosquito repellent. The natural world is full of unusual relationships, and negotiation between life-forms striving to survive is evolution at its most diverse, entertaining, and awe-inspiring." "Picking up where her highly...