Bacteria are invisible, mysterious, deadly, self-sufficient...and absolutely essential for all life, including yours. No other living things combine their elegant simplicity with their incredibly complex role: Bacteria keep us alive, supply our food, and regulate our biosphere. We can't live a day without them, and no chemical, antibiotic, or irradiation has ever successfully eradicated them. They're our partners, like it or not--even though some of them will happily kill us. Allies and Enemies tells the story of this amazing, intimate partnership. Authored by Anne Maczulak, a microbiologist who's hunted and worked with an extraordinary array of bacteria, this book offers a powerful new perspective on Earth's oldest creatures. You'll discover how bacteria work, how they evolve, their surprising contributions and uses, the roles they've played in human history, and why you can't survive without them. No form of life is more important, and in Maczulak's hands, none is more fascinating. Outlasted, outnumbered, outsmarted They've been here four billion years--and they even outnumber you in your own body How bacteria keep you alive... ...and how to keep them from killing you “Humans Defeat Germs!” But not for long... The Invisible Universe The stunning hidden relationships between bacteria and the rest of nature

Maczulak, Anne E. (Anne Elizabeth), 1954- author

Financial Times/Prentice Hall ; Pearson Education [distributor

Globe Fearon Educational Publishing

Longman Publishing

Cengage Gale

Upper Saddle River, N.J, New Jersey, 2010

United States, United States of America

Upper Saddle River, N.J., London, 2011

1, PS, 2010

Includes bibliographical references and index.

<p><P>&ldquo;In Allies and Enemies, Anne Maczulak takes the mystery out of bacteria. Practical, useful, and very readable, Maczulak demystifies the world of bacteria and viruses. A fascinating book on an important subject. Highly recommended.&rdquo;<p>&#151;Sheldon Siegel, author of The New York Times best-selling Judgment Day<p>&ldquo;No nucleus? No problem! As a microbiologist, Anne Maczulak deeply appreciates the astonishing abilities of the ultra-simple organisms that rule our world and help operate our bodies. As a writer, she inspires her readers to want to know more about their secret realm. Allies and Enemies is both fun and practical as it interweaves science with history and popular culture.&rdquo;<p>&#151;Jessica Snyder Sachs, author of Good Germs, Bad Germs&#58; Health and Survival in a Bacterial World<p>&ldquo;Anne Maczulak engagingly achieves the often difficult task to present the scope of modern microbiology in a nontechnical manner for general reading. Allies and Enemies covers the scope of the microbial world, from the continuing battle against microbe enemies who never give up the fight to the frontiers of how microbes create a livable environment for us. For those whose interest is perked for more about microbes, an excellent list of references and websites is provided.&rdquo;<p>&#151;Charles P. Gerba (also known as &ldquo;Dr. Germ&rdquo;), University of Arizona, Tucson<p>&ldquo;Anne Maczulak has done a masterful job of explaining the complex nuances of microbes in simple, easy-to-understand language. She explains the &lsquo;yin and yang&rsquo; of the diverse microbial world with text that is rich with numerous historical vignettes. She takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the benefits of microbes to human existence, describing their finely articulated chemical mechanisms, their intricate dances of cooperation, their lightning speed adaptations, and their genetic plasticity, offering a glimpse of the underlying principles of the miracle of life.&rdquo;<p>&#151;Philip M. Tierno Jr., Ph.D., Director, Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, New York University Langone Medical Center and New York University School of Medicine<p>Bacteria&#58; How they keep you alive. How they can kill you. How we can all live together happily.<p>Bacteria are invisible, mysterious, deadly, self-sufficient&hellip;and absolutely essential for all life, including yours. No other living things combine their elegant simplicity with their incredibly complex role&#58; Bacteria keep us alive, supply our food, and regulate our biosphere. We can&rsquo;t live a day without them, and no chemical, antibiotic, or irradiation has ever successfully eradicated them. They&rsquo;re our partners, like it or not&#151;even though some of them will happily kill us.<p>Allies and Enemies tells the story of this amazing, intimate partnership. Authored by Anne Maczulak, a microbiologist who&rsquo;s hunted and worked with an extraordinary array of bacteria, this book offers a powerful new perspective on Earth&rsquo;s oldest creatures. You&rsquo;ll discover how bacteria work, how they evolve, their surprising contributions and uses, the roles they&rsquo;ve played in human history, and why you can&#39;t survive without them. No form of life is more important, and in Maczulak&rsquo;s hands, none is more fascinating.<p> <p>Outlasted, outnumbered, outsmarted<p>They&rsquo;ve been here four billion years&#151;and they even outnumber you in your own body<p> <p>How bacteria keep you alive&hellip;<p>&hellip;and how to keep them from killing you<p>&ldquo;Humans Defeat Germs!&rdquo; <p>But not for long&hellip;<p> <p>The Invisible Universe<p>The stunning hidden relationships between bacteria and the rest of nature<p> <p></p>

x, 210 pages : 24 cm
Bacteria: they are invisible, mysterious, deadly, self-sufficient and absolutely essential for all life. The author, a microbiologist who has hunted and worked with an extraordinary array of bacteria, offers a powerful new perspective on Earth's oldest creatures. They are the Earth's bacteria, and they have been here for four billion years. They are our partners, like it or not, even though some of them will happily kill us. This book tells the story of this amazing, intimate partnership
Includes bibliographical references and index
Why the World Needs Bacteria. -- Tricks in bacterial survival -- Bacterial communities -- Under the microscope -- The size of life -- The bacteria of the human body -- The origins of our bacteria -- One planet -- Bacteria in History. -- The ancients -- The legacy of bacterial pathogens -- The plague -- Microbioligists save the day -- Unheralded heroes of bacteriology -- On the front -- Humans Defeat Germs!? (But Not for Long). -- What is an antibiotic? -- Inventing drugs is like making sausage -- Mutant wars -- Bacteria share their DNA -- The opportunists -- Bacteria in Popular Culture. -- Bacteria and art -- Bacteria in the performing arts -- Friends and enemies -- Do bacteria devour art? -- An Entire Industry From a Single Cell. -- E. Coli -- The power of cloning -- A chain reaction -- Bacteria on the street -- Anthrax -- Why we will always need bacteria -- The Invisible Universe. -- Versatility begets diversity -- Cyanobacteria -- Bacterial protein factories -- How to build an ecosystem -- Feedback and ecosystem maintenance -- Macrobiology -- Climate, Bacteria, and a Barrel of Oil. -- The story of oil -- Bacteria power -- How is a cow like a cockroach? -- Microscopic power plants -- The waste problem -- Bacteria on Mars -- Shaping the planet -- How Microbiologists Grow Bacteria. -- Serial dilution -- Counting bacteria -- Logarithms -- Anaerobic microbiology -- Aseptic technique

Bacteria are invisible, mysterious, deadly, self-sufficientand absolutely essential for all life, including yours . No other living things combine their elegant simplicity with their incredibly complex Bacteria keep us alive, supply our food, and regulate our biosphere. We cant live a day without them, and no chemical, antibiotic, or irradiation has ever successfully eradicated them. Theyre our partners, like it or not--even though some of them will happily kill us. Allies and Enemies tells the story of this amazing, intimate partnership. Authored by Anne Maczulak, a microbiologist whos hunted and worked with an extraordinary array of bacteria, this book offers a powerful new perspective on Earths oldest creatures. Youll discover how bacteria work, how they evolve, their surprising contributions and uses, the roles theyve played in human history, and why you can't survive without them. No form of life is more important, and in Maczulaks hands, none is more fascinating. Outlasted, outnumbered, outsmarted Theyve been here four billion years -- and they even outnumber you in your own body How bacteria keep you alive and how to keep them from killing you Humans Defeat Germs! But not for long The Invisible Universe The stunning hidden relationships between bacteria and the rest of nature

Why the world needs bacteria
Bacteria in history
Humans defeat germs!? : (but not for long)
Bacteria in popular culture
An entire industry from a single cell
The invisible universe
Climate, bacteria, and a barrel of oil
Epilogue : how microbiologists grow bacteria.

2023-10-08