Synopses & Reviews
Ninety percent of the cells in the human body are bacteria, and humans may be host to many thousands of different species of bacteria. These striking statistics are part of a new paradigm in microbiology in which bacteria are no longer viewed as disease-causing killers but more as lifelong partners which are often essential for the survival of their host. This book brings together a group of diverse scientists - evolutionary biologists, immunologists, molecular biologists, microbiologists, pathologists and mathematicians - to discuss the evolution and mechanisms of bacteria-host interactions at all levels of complexity. Chapters deal with the evolution of these interactions over the last 60 years (since the introduction of antibiotics) to a period of 3.8 billion years (since the evolution of single-celled life) and discuss bacterial interactions with multicellular life forms from coral reefs to humans. Researchers and graduate students across the life sciences will find this book of interest.
Synopsis
When we think of bacteria our thoughts immediately turn to disease. However, scientists are increasingly likely to study how bacteria get along with us. This book is the first to discuss how bacteria cooperate with their animal hosts and how this cooperation can be beneficial to both bacteria and host.
About the Author
Margaret J. McFall-Ngai is Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine.Brian Henderson is Professor of Cell Biology and head of the Cellular Microbiology Research Group in the Division of Microbial Diseases, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London. He is the co-editor of Molecular Chaperones and Cell Signalling (2005), Bacterial Evasion of Host Immune Responses (2003), and Bacterial Disease Mechanisms (2002).Edward G. Ruby is Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine.