Microbes and Man

Microbesareeverywhere.Normallyinvisible,theyareabundantintheairwebreathe,insoil,inwater,onourskinandhair,inourmouthsandintestines,onandinthefoodweeat.Theymakethesoilfertile;theycleanuptheenvironment;theychange,oftenimprove,ourfood;someprotectusfromlessdesirablemicrobes.Yetmostpeoplearescarcelyawarethattheyexist-exceptwhentheybecomeill.Microbes,as\'germs\',arewidelyregardedasnasty,unpopularbecauseafewcancausediseaseandafewcanspoilfood.Yetcollectivelymicrobespresentafascinatingworldofminisculecreatures,whotogetherencompassalltheprocessesofwhichterrestriallifeiscapable:creatureswhohaveprofoundeffectsonourlivesandsurroundings.Inthisup-datededition,theextraordinaryimpactwhichthemicrobialcommunityhasonoureverydaylivesisdescribedinanaccessibleandeasytoreadstyle.