Download or read book Thriving with Microbes written by Sputnik Futures and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the remarkable minds of Sputnik Futures, this visually engaging exploration of the microbes that surround us and how these unseen powerhouses are shaping our future is perfect for readers of I Contain Multitudes and 10% Human. Let’s face it, microbes rule the world! Bacteria, fungi, archaea, protozoa, algae, even viruses—these microorganisms may go unseen, but the impact they have on our lives is unmistakable. From panspermia (the bacteria dust from our galaxy) and the microbiomes of our homes and our environments, to emerging research on microbes’ role in our social emotions of love and empathy, and the realization that we are a superorganism, made up of trillions of bacteria that may be what makes us “human,” the authors take you through a fascinating revelation of how microbial populations play a crucial role in every aspect of our life. Breakthroughs in our understanding of microbes are shaping the frontier of medicine and health, technology, environmentalism, wellness, architecture, and more. Microbes are talking to us, and we are learning to speak to them in turn. For example, did you know: -That the mind and the gut talk to each other? -That your personality may be shaped by your microbiome? -That a lack of biodiversity can make you sick? -That microbes can reverse climate change and reduce plastic waste? -That our first microbes came from the universe, and we are taking our microorganisms back to space? In Thriving with Microbes, the brilliant minds of Sputnik Futures reveal cutting-edge discoveries from biologists, doctors, ecologists, technologists, and thought leaders as they explore the vast network of microorganisms around and within us. With expert voices, bold discoveries, and engaging visuals, this captivating addition to the Alice in Futureland® series is a must-read guide to the vibrant microbial world we inhabit, how it is shaping our individuality, and the miraculous future these microorganisms are showing us.
Download or read book Thriving with Microbes written by Sputnik Futures and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the remarkable minds of Sputnik Futures, this visually engaging exploration of the microbes that surround us and how these unseen powerhouses are shaping our future is perfect for readers of I Contain Multitudes and 10% Human. Let’s face it, microbes rule the world! Bacteria, fungi, archaea, protozoa, algae, even viruses—these microorganisms may go unseen, but the impact they have on our lives is unmistakable. From panspermia (the bacteria dust from our galaxy) and the microbiomes of our homes and our environments, to emerging research on microbes’ role in our social emotions of love and empathy, and the realization that we are a superorganism, made up of trillions of bacteria that may be what makes us “human,” the authors take you through a fascinating revelation of how microbial populations play a crucial role in every aspect of our life. Breakthroughs in our understanding of microbes are shaping the frontier of medicine and health, technology, environmentalism, wellness, architecture, and more. Microbes are talking to us, and we are learning to speak to them in turn. For example, did you know: -That the mind and the gut talk to each other? -That your personality may be shaped by your microbiome? -That a lack of biodiversity can make you sick? -That microbes can reverse climate change and reduce plastic waste? -That our first microbes came from the universe, and we are taking our microorganisms back to space? In Thriving with Microbes, the brilliant minds of Sputnik Futures reveal cutting-edge discoveries from biologists, doctors, ecologists, technologists, and thought leaders as they explore the vast network of microorganisms around and within us. With expert voices, bold discoveries, and engaging visuals, this captivating addition to the Alice in Futureland® series is a must-read guide to the vibrant microbial world we inhabit, how it is shaping our individuality, and the miraculous future these microorganisms are showing us.
Download or read book Cultured written by Katherine Harmon Courage and published by Avery. This book was released on 2020-05-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revealing look at the 300 trillion microorganisms that keep us healthy--and the foods they need to thrive These days, probiotic yogurt and other "gut-friendly" foods line supermarket shelves. But what's the best way to feed our all-important microbiome--and what is a microbiome, anyway? In this engaging and eye-opening book, science journalist Katherine Harmon Courage investigates these questions, presenting a deep dive into the ancient food traditions and the latest research for maintaining a healthy gut. Courage's insights include: * Meet your microbiome: What it is, how it works, and why it's essential for our immune system--and overall health * Gut-friendly food traditions: A guided tour of artisanal makers of yogurt, kimchi, kefir, kombucha, olives, cocoa, and other vibrant, ancient foods from around the world that feed our microbiome (along with simple recipes for curious at-home cooks) * Cutting-edge science: A first-hand look at some of the top lab facilities where microbiologists are working to better understand the human gut and how to feed it for good health Equal parts science explainer, culinary investigation, and global roadmap for healthy eating, Cultured offers a wealth of information for anyone interested in making smart food choices in our not-so-gut-friendly modern world.
Download or read book I Contain Multitudes written by Ed Yong and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Never Home Alone written by Rob Dunn and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2018-11-06 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements Even when the floors are sparkling clean and the house seems silent, our domestic domain is wild beyond imagination. In Never Home Alone, biologist Rob Dunn introduces us to the nearly 200,000 species living with us in our own homes, from the Egyptian meal moths in our cupboards and camel crickets in our basements to the lactobacillus lounging on our kitchen counters. You are not alone. Yet, as we obsess over sterilizing our homes and separating our spaces from nature, we are unwittingly cultivating an entirely new playground for evolution. These changes are reshaping the organisms that live with us -- prompting some to become more dangerous, while undermining those species that benefit our bodies or help us keep more threatening organisms at bay. No one who reads this engrossing, revelatory book will look at their homes in the same way again.
Download or read book What You Need to Know about Infectious Disease written by Madeline Drexler and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bugs as Drugs written by Robert A. Britton and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-02-01 with total page 725 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Microbiomes of the Built Environment written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-10-06 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People's desire to understand the environments in which they live is a natural one. People spend most of their time in spaces and structures designed, built, and managed by humans, and it is estimated that people in developed countries now spend 90 percent of their lives indoors. As people move from homes to workplaces, traveling in cars and on transit systems, microorganisms are continually with and around them. The human-associated microbes that are shed, along with the human behaviors that affect their transport and removal, make significant contributions to the diversity of the indoor microbiome. The characteristics of "healthy" indoor environments cannot yet be defined, nor do microbial, clinical, and building researchers yet understand how to modify features of indoor environmentsâ€"such as building ventilation systems and the chemistry of building materialsâ€"in ways that would have predictable impacts on microbial communities to promote health and prevent disease. The factors that affect the environments within buildings, the ways in which building characteristics influence the composition and function of indoor microbial communities, and the ways in which these microbial communities relate to human health and well-being are extraordinarily complex and can be explored only as a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem by engaging the fields of microbial biology and ecology, chemistry, building science, and human physiology. This report reviews what is known about the intersection of these disciplines, and how new tools may facilitate advances in understanding the ecosystem of built environments, indoor microbiomes, and effects on human health and well-being. It offers a research agenda to generate the information needed so that stakeholders with an interest in understanding the impacts of built environments will be able to make more informed decisions.
Download or read book Cheese and Microbes written by Catherine W. Donnelly and published by ASM Press. This book was released on 2014-04-30 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A scientific overview of the association of microbes with cheese, through the lens of select cheese varieties that result due to surface mold ripening, internal mold ripening, rind washing, cave aging, or surface smear rind development. Over the past decade, there has been explosive growth in the U.S. artisan cheese industry. The editor, Ms. Donnelly, was involved in developing a comprehensive education curriculum for those new to cheese making, which focused on the science of cheese, principally to promote cheese quality and safety. Many of the chapters in this book focus on aspects of that requisite knowledge. • Explains the process of transformation of milk to cheese and how sensory attributes of cheese are evaluated. • Provides an overview of cheese safety and regulations governing cheese making, both in the US and abroad, to ensure safety. • Explores how the tools of molecular biology provide new insights into the complexity of the microbial biodiversity of cheeses. • Examines the biodiversity of traditional cheeses as a result of traditional practices, and overviews research on the stability of the microbial consortium of select traditional cheese varieties. • Key text for cheese makers, scientists, students, and cheese enthusiasts who wish to expand their knowledge of cheeses and traditional foods.
Download or read book Teaming with Microbes written by Jeff Lowenfels and published by Hachette+ORM. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A breakthrough book. No comprehensive horticultural library should be without it.” —American Gardener When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains plants, and then become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of toxic substances. Teaming with Microbes offers an alternative to this vicious circle, and details how to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web. You’ll discover that healthy soil is teeming with life—not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. This must-have guide is for everyone, from those devoted to organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy plants without resorting to chemicals.
Download or read book Molecular Biology of the Cell written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Missing Microbes written by Martin J. Blaser, MD and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2014-04-08 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “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
Download or read book The New Science of Metagenomics written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-06-24 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although we can't usually see them, microbes are essential for every part of human life-indeed all life on Earth. The emerging field of metagenomics offers a new way of exploring the microbial world that will transform modern microbiology and lead to practical applications in medicine, agriculture, alternative energy, environmental remediation, and many others areas. Metagenomics allows researchers to look at the genomes of all of the microbes in an environment at once, providing a "meta" view of the whole microbial community and the complex interactions within it. It's a quantum leap beyond traditional research techniques that rely on studying-one at a time-the few microbes that can be grown in the laboratory. At the request of the National Science Foundation, five Institutes of the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy, the National Research Council organized a committee to address the current state of metagenomics and identify obstacles current researchers are facing in order to determine how to best support the field and encourage its success. The New Science of Metagenomics recommends the establishment of a "Global Metagenomics Initiative" comprising a small number of large-scale metagenomics projects as well as many medium- and small-scale projects to advance the technology and develop the standard practices needed to advance the field. The report also addresses database needs, methodological challenges, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in supporting this new field.
Download or read book The Microbial State written by Stefanie R. Fishel and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2017-07-15 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For three centuries, concepts of the state have been animated by one of the most powerful metaphors in politics: the body politic, a claustrophobic and bounded image of sovereignty. Climate change, neoliberalism, mass migration, and other aspects of the late Anthropocene have increasingly revealed the limitations of this metaphor. Just as the human body is not whole and separate from other bodies—comprising microbes, bacteria, water, and radioactive isotopes—Stefanie R. Fishel argues that the body politic of the state exists in dense entanglement with other communities and forms of life. Drawing on insights from continental philosophy, science and technology studies, and international relations theory, this path-breaking book critiques the concept of the body politic on the grounds of its very materiality. Fishel both redefines and extends the metaphor of the body politic and its role in understanding an increasingly posthuman, globalized world politics. By conceiving of bodies and states as lively vessels, living harmoniously with multiplicity and the biosphere, she argues that a radical shift in metaphors can challenge a politics based on fear to open new forms of global political practice and community. Reframing the concept of the body politic to accommodate greater levels of complexity, Fishel suggests, will result in new configurations for the political and social organization necessary to build a world in which the planet’s inhabitants do not merely live but actively thrive.
Download or read book A Field Guide to Bacteria written by Betsey Dexter Dyer and published by Comstock Publishing Associates. This book was released on 2003 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written for curious souls of all ages, this title opens readers eyes--and noses and ears--to this hidden world. Useful illustrations accompany Dyer's lively text.
Download or read book Diversity of the Microbial World written by Angélica Cibrián-Jaramillo and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2020-07-17 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microbes, or microorganisms, are tiny living beings that cannot be seen by the naked eye. These little guys are one of the oldest living things on Earth, and are extremely diverse in how they live and what they can do. They, for example, can live in many places, from the freezing iciness of glaciers, to the insides of other organisms, like termites or humans. Since they are virtually everywhere, microorganisms are essential for the biological processes that allow plants and animals to breath, eat and thrive. But how were they able to endure, adapt and flourish constantly over millions of years? The secrets of their success are still within them, coded into their genomes, waiting for us to understand them. Now, genomes, bacterial or otherwise, are the repositories of life. These repositories store almost every bit of information that allows living beings to live in discrete units called genes. Genes are strung together like the sentences in a book, interacting with each other to create meaning, saving the story of that particular book—or that particular living organism’s genome—so it can be copied, modified, corrected or enhanced, and then passed on to new generations. After many, many years of studying these “books,” we have learned to read and understand them, thanks to the technological innovations of the last decade. Nowadays, it is possible to get the full genomic sequence of practically any organism, and compare it with thousands of genomes from other organisms, letting us peek at the secrets that make each organism who it is. With the current technical abilities, the challenge now is not to obtain the information but to interpret all those chunks of the story. Finding ways to untangle the riddles of genomic information is the work of Genomics, the science that allows us to obtain, analyze and prioritize information among the many stories that we sequence everyday. To do this, Genomics draws from many sciences, like mathematics and computing sciences, making it a truly interdisciplinary endeavor. Right now , genomics are one of the most important areas of biology, and many, if not most, of current biological studies use at least a little bit of genomics. For example, genomics can be used to identify a microbe and give it a name, to learn about what types of things it can do or places it can live, and to figure out the mechanisms that enable it to survive under particular conditions. Here, we will dwell on some of the basic questions about microbial adaptation, biodiversity, and their relationships with other living beings using a genomic approach. We will also focus on the environment, trying to understand how such tiny little creatures are capable of solving their daily problems, and how they can alter the places in which they live. Learning about these mechanisms will not only provide us with knowledge about life in general but will also help us to understand these organisms as a fundamental component of our ecosystem, including their harmful and beneficial effects in all aspects of our daily life, which can be translated into useful applications in almost any imaginable way.
Download or read book WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care written by World Health Organization and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care provide health-care workers (HCWs), hospital administrators and health authorities with a thorough review of evidence on hand hygiene in health care and specific recommendations to improve practices and reduce transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to patients and HCWs. The present Guidelines are intended to be implemented in any situation in which health care is delivered either to a patient or to a specific group in a population. Therefore, this concept applies to all settings where health care is permanently or occasionally performed, such as home care by birth attendants. Definitions of health-care settings are proposed in Appendix 1. These Guidelines and the associated WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy and an Implementation Toolkit (http://www.who.int/gpsc/en/) are designed to offer health-care facilities in Member States a conceptual framework and practical tools for the application of recommendations in practice at the bedside. While ensuring consistency with the Guidelines recommendations, individual adaptation according to local regulations, settings, needs, and resources is desirable. This extensive review includes in one document sufficient technical information to support training materials and help plan implementation strategies. The document comprises six parts.
