Allies and Enemies: How the World Depends on Bacteria

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" "