The Good Virus: The Amazing Story and Forgotten Promise of the Phage PDF Download
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Author: Tom Ireland
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324050845
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307
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Book Description
How a mysterious, super-powerful—yet long-neglected—microbe rules our world and can rescue our health in the age of antibiotic resistance. At every moment, within our bodies and all around us, trillions of microscopic combatants are waging a war that shapes our health and life on Earth. Countless times per second, viruses known as phages attack and destroy bacteria while leaving all other life forms, including us, unscathed. Vastly outnumbering the viruses that do us harm, phages power ecosystems, drive evolutionary innovation, and harbor a remarkable capacity to heal life-threatening infections when conventional antibiotics fail. Yet most of us have never heard of them, thinking of viruses only as enemies to be feared. The Good Virus prompts us to reconsider, and to discover, how these viruses could save countless lives if we can learn to harness their extraordinary abilities. Taking us inside the ongoing quest to use phages’ powers for good, Tom Ireland introduces us to the brilliant, often eccentric, scientists who have fought to realize phages’ potential in the face of doubt and political intrigue. We meet the renegade French-Canadian scientist who discovered phages and pioneered their use as medicine over a century ago, leading them to be hailed as the world’s first genuine antibiotic years before penicillin. We learn why, in some pockets of the former Soviet Union, drinking a vial of phages remains as common as taking an over-the-counter drug. We follow the intrepid scientists and doctors now racing to make “phage therapy” work worldwide as the threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria grows ever more urgent—even as other researchers uncover how phages bolster our everyday immunity, help generate the oxygen we breathe, and furnish the origins for breakthrough technologies like CRISPR. Unveiling the hidden rulers of the microbial world and celebrating the surprising power of viruses to heal, not harm, The Good Virus forever changes how we see nature’s most maligned life forms.
Author: Tom Ireland
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324050845
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307
Get Book Here
Book Description
How a mysterious, super-powerful—yet long-neglected—microbe rules our world and can rescue our health in the age of antibiotic resistance. At every moment, within our bodies and all around us, trillions of microscopic combatants are waging a war that shapes our health and life on Earth. Countless times per second, viruses known as phages attack and destroy bacteria while leaving all other life forms, including us, unscathed. Vastly outnumbering the viruses that do us harm, phages power ecosystems, drive evolutionary innovation, and harbor a remarkable capacity to heal life-threatening infections when conventional antibiotics fail. Yet most of us have never heard of them, thinking of viruses only as enemies to be feared. The Good Virus prompts us to reconsider, and to discover, how these viruses could save countless lives if we can learn to harness their extraordinary abilities. Taking us inside the ongoing quest to use phages’ powers for good, Tom Ireland introduces us to the brilliant, often eccentric, scientists who have fought to realize phages’ potential in the face of doubt and political intrigue. We meet the renegade French-Canadian scientist who discovered phages and pioneered their use as medicine over a century ago, leading them to be hailed as the world’s first genuine antibiotic years before penicillin. We learn why, in some pockets of the former Soviet Union, drinking a vial of phages remains as common as taking an over-the-counter drug. We follow the intrepid scientists and doctors now racing to make “phage therapy” work worldwide as the threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria grows ever more urgent—even as other researchers uncover how phages bolster our everyday immunity, help generate the oxygen we breathe, and furnish the origins for breakthrough technologies like CRISPR. Unveiling the hidden rulers of the microbial world and celebrating the surprising power of viruses to heal, not harm, The Good Virus forever changes how we see nature’s most maligned life forms.
Author: Tom Ireland
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1529365260
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 479
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Book Description
CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 BY WATERSTONES AND THE TIMES The viruses that do us harm are vastly outnumbered by viruses that can actually save lives. These good viruses are called 'phages', and they are the most abundant life form on Earth. The Good Virus reveals how these weird and wonderful microbes shape our health, support our ecosystems and could be the future of medicine.
Author: Steffanie Strathdee
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 0316418072
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 346
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Book Description
An electrifying memoir of one woman's extraordinary effort to save her husband's life-and the discovery of a forgotten cure that has the potential to save millions more. "A memoir that reads like a thriller." -New York Times Book Review "A fascinating and terrifying peek into the devastating outcomes of antibiotic misuse-and what happens when standard health care falls short." -Scientific American Epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee and her husband, psychologist Tom Patterson, were vacationing in Egypt when Tom came down with a stomach bug. What at first seemed like a case of food poisoning quickly turned critical, and by the time Tom had been transferred via emergency medevac to the world-class medical center at UC San Diego, where both he and Steffanie worked, blood work revealed why modern medicine was failing: Tom was fighting one of the most dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the world. Frantic, Steffanie combed through research old and new and came across phage therapy: the idea that the right virus, aka "the perfect predator," can kill even the most lethal bacteria. Phage treatment had fallen out of favor almost 100 years ago, after antibiotic use went mainstream. Now, with time running out, Steffanie appealed to phage researchers all over the world for help. She found allies at the FDA, researchers from Texas A&M, and a clandestine Navy biomedical center -- and together they resurrected a forgotten cure. A nail-biting medical mystery, The Perfect Predator is a story of love and survival against all odds, and the (re)discovery of a powerful new weapon in the global superbug crisis.
Author: William C. Summers
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300174250
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
A self-taught scientist determined to bring science out of the laboratory and into the practical arena, French-Canadian Felix d’Herelle (1873-1949) made history in two different fields of biology. Not only was he first to demonstrate the use and application of bacteria for biological control of insect pests, he also became a seminal figure in the history of molecular biology. This engaging book is the first full biography of d’Herelle, a complex figure who emulated Louis Pasteur and influenced the course of twentieth-century biology, yet remained a controversial outsider to the scientific community. Drawing on family papers, archival sources, interviews, and d’Herelle’s published and unpublished writings, Dr. William C. Summers tells the fascinating story of the scientist’s life and the work that took him around the globe. In 1917, d’Herelle published the first paper describing the phenomenon of the bacteriophage and its biological nature. A series of more than 110 articles and 6 major books followed, in which d’Herelle established the foundation for the later work of the Phage Group in molecular biology. Yet d’Herelle sometimes inspired animosity in others--he was drummed out of the Pasteur Institute, he held only one brief permanent position in the scientific establishment (at Yale University from 1928 to 1933), and he was bewildered by the social nuances of the world of international science. His story is more than the biography of a single brilliant scientist; it is also a fascinating chapter in the history of biology.
Author: T. Häusler
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230552285
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307
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Book Description
Each year thousands of people die from bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Alternative drugs are urgently needed. A surprising ray of hope from the past are viruses that kill bacteria, but not us. Award-winning science journalist Thomas Häusler investigates how these long-forgotten cures may help sick people today.
Author: Matt McCarthy
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735217513
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 306
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Book Description
International Bestseller "An amazing, informative book that changes our perspective on medicine, microbes and our future." --Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies A New York Times bestselling author shares this exhilarating story of cutting-edge science and the race against the clock to find new treatments in the fight against the antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs. Physician, researcher, and ethics professor Matt McCarthy is on the front lines of a groundbreaking clinical trial testing a new antibiotic to fight lethal superbugs, bacteria that have built up resistance to the life-saving drugs in our rapidly dwindling arsenal. This trial serves as the backdrop for the compulsively readable Superbugs, and the results will impact nothing less than the future of humanity. Dr. McCarthy explores the history of bacteria and antibiotics, from Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin, to obscure sources of innovative new medicines (often found in soil samples), to the cutting-edge DNA manipulation known as CRISPR, bringing to light how we arrived at this juncture of both incredible breakthrough and extreme vulnerability. We also meet the patients whose lives are hanging in the balance, from Remy, a teenager with a dangerous and rare infection, to Donny, a retired New York City firefighter with a compromised immune system, and many more. The proverbial ticking clock will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Can Dr. McCarthy save the lives of his patients infected with the deadly bacteria, who have otherwise lost all hope?
Author: James E. Darnell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781936113194
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
RNA molecules could function as catalysts. --
Author: Lorrence H Green
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000245039
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 2032
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Book Description
Practical Handbook of Microbiology, 4th edition provides basic, clear and concise knowledge and practical information about working with microorganisms. Useful to anyone interested in microbes, the book is intended to especially benefit four groups: trained microbiologists working within one specific area of microbiology; people with training in other disciplines, and use microorganisms as a tool or "chemical reagent"; business people evaluating investments in microbiology focused companies; and an emerging group, people in occupations and trades that might have limited training in microbiology, but who require specific practical information. Key Features Provides a comprehensive compendium of basic information on microorganisms—from classical microbiology to genomics. Includes coverage of disease-causing bacteria, bacterial viruses (phage), and the use of phage for treating diseases, and added coverage of extremophiles. Features comprehensive coverage of antimicrobial agents, including chapters on anti-fungals and anti-virals. Covers the Microbiome, gene editing with CRISPR, Parasites, Fungi, and Animal Viruses. Adds numerous chapters especially intended for professionals such as healthcare and industrial professionals, environmental scientists and ecologists, teachers, and businesspeople. Includes comprehensive survey table of Clinical, Commercial, and Research-Model bacteria. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Chapter 21, "Archaea," of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com See Emanuel Goldman's Open Access article: "Lamarck redux and other false arguments against SARS-CoV-2 vaccination," https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.15252/embr.202254675
Author: Tom Ireland
Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks
ISBN: 9781529365283
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 BY WATERSTONES AND THE TIMES 'The book that might change the world ... This is luxury-class science writing' TELEGRAPH 'One of the best books of any genre that I've read in 2023, this superbly-written book ... will fascinate absolutely everyone.' FORBES 'A delight. To learn more about phages is to discover fascinating details about a hidden world' NATURE 'Outstanding' CLIVE MYRIE The viruses that do us harm are vastly outnumbered by viruses that can actually save lives. These good viruses are called 'phages', and they are the most abundant life form on Earth. The Good Virus reveals how these weird and wonderful microbes shape our health, support our ecosystems and could be the future of medicine.
Author: Ina Park
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ISBN: 1250206650
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
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Book Description
"Joyful and funny . . . Park uses science, compassion, humor, diverse stories and examples of her own shame-free living to take the stigma out of these infections." —The New York Times With curiosity and wit, Strange Bedfellows rips back the bedsheets to expose what really happens when STDs enter the sack. Sexually transmitted diseases have been hidden players in our lives for the whole of human history, with roles in everything from World War II to the growth of the Internet to The Bachelor. But despite their prominence, STDs have been shrouded in mystery and taboo for centuries, which begs the question: why do we know so little about them? Enter Ina Park, MD, who has been pushing boundaries to empower and inform others about sexual health for decades. With Strange Bedfellows, she ventures far beyond the bedroom to examine the hidden role and influence of these widely misunderstood infections and share their untold stories. Covering everything from AIDS to Zika, Park explores STDs on the cellular, individual, and population-level. She blends science and storytelling with historical tales, real life sexual escapades, and interviews with leading scientists—weaving in a healthy dose of hilarity along the way. The truth is, most of us are sexually active, yet we’re often unaware of the universe of microscopic bedfellows inside our pants. Park aims to change this by bringing knowledge to the masses in an accessible, no-nonsense, humorous way—helping readers understand the broad impact STDs have on our lives, while at the same time erasing the unfair stigmas attached to them. A departure from the cone of awkward silence and shame that so often surrounds sexual health, Strange Bedfellows is the straight-shooting book about the consequences of sex that all curious readers have been looking for.
