Book Review: The Invisible War

Book Review: The Invisible War

The graphic novel “The Invisible War: A Tale on Two Scales” tells stories of the macroscopic (nurses) and microscopic (bacteriophage) heroes fighting dysentery at the Western Front of World War I. Interweaving Views of Tales, Scales, and Heroes “The Invisible War: A Tale of Two Scales” works its magic, interweaving the stories of two rarely discussed topics – dysentery and bacteriophage – and two rarely intertwined fields of study – science and history. The resulting story is a rich tapestry full of action and information at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels. “The Invisible War” tells about Annie, a nurse at a field hospital at the Western Front of World War I. In her nursing experience, Annie has learned the symptoms and consequences of dysentery, at a time when the cause wasn’t well understood and no reliable cure was known.

Book review: The Hidden Half of Nature

Book review: The Hidden Half of Nature

Our Little Hidden Helpers What do the human gut and plant roots have in common? Interactions with helpful microorganisms. How do both influence human health? Interactions with helpful microorganisms. In The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health by David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé weave a fascinating story of their journey understanding the importance of microbes in agricultural and human health. Hidden Half weaves together stories of science and society, data and personalities to explore how manufactured diets – whether chemical fertilizers for agriculture or high-fat, high-sugar, low fiber diets for people – have damaged our health.The authors use excellent examples and analogies to deliver the science to a general audience. 

Bacterial Farts – Whoopie!

Bacterial Farts – Whoopie!

Of all the bacterial communities in and on humans, we know the most about the digestive system bacteria. These microbes are extremely important for proper digestion of plant fibers, synthesizing vitamins, short-chain fatty acids, protecting our gut lining, breaking down medicines, and many other properties we are still learning about. One of my favorite science podcasts, Brains’s On!, does a fun job talking about our gut bacterial friends from a different perspective – farts! Depending on your microbial community and what you feed it, sometimes as your microbes are doing their work breaking down the foods we eat they give off gaseous compounds.

Book Review: Welcome to the Microbiome

Book Review: Welcome to the Microbiome

Welcome to the Microbiome is at the top of my list of recommended books about the human microbiome. Written by scientists and museum curators, Dr. Susan Perkins and Dr. Rob DeSalle to accompany the American Museum of Natural History’s microbiome exhibit “The Secret World Inside You”, Welcome to the Microbiome, introduces readers to not only to the human microbiome, but also to the science behind the research. It is aimed at people interested in the process and findings of the newly emerging field of microbiome biology and its importance for human existence and health. This book introduces anyone interested in basic cell biology, genomics, and microbiology to these subjects while weaving stories about human-microbiome interactions.  

GIANTmicrobes – When Teachers Throw Things

GIANTmicrobes – When Teachers Throw Things

  Think these little critters are cute? Enter a comment below for a chance to win one!  (contest closed 2/14/2016) How do you understand something you can’t see? That’s the inspiration behind GIANTmicrobes ™, those adorable stuffed microbes 1 million times the size of the actual microbes. Yes, microbe “stuffies”. Better than that, they are plush microbe stuffies based on the shape and features of real microbes, from flagella on E. coli to buds on the Saccharomyces yeast. Additionally, they have cute big eyes and some accessories such as a cape for MRSA and a knife and fork for flesh-eating bacteria to make them even more fun. Be still your beating heart? There are heart cells and all other sorts of microscopic cells too. Why would anyone want a gigantic stuffed microscopic cell? Good question. GIANTmicrobes make teaching, outreach, and every day fun and educational. What are GIANTmicrobes? Microscopic organisms often have an image problem with macro-organisms like us. People either don’t know about them or think they are shapeless blobs. However, microorganisms come in a variety of shapes and interesting structures. Ranging from rods, spheres, chains, or spirals typical of bacteria to bizarre shapes of protists. Cilia, pilli, and flagella