Missing microbes : how the overuse of antibiotics is fueling our modern plagues / Martin J. Blaser, MD.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Blaser, Martin J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Antibiotics.

Antibiotics--Effectiveness.

Drug resistance in microorganisms.

Physical Description:

273 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2014.

Summary:

"A critically important and startling look at the harmful effects of overusing antibiotics, from the field's leading expert. Tracing one scientist's journey toward understanding the crucial importance of the microbiome, this revolutionary book will take readers to the forefront of trail-blazing research while revealing the damage that overuse of antibiotics is doing to our health: contributing to the rise of obesity, asthma, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin Blaser invites us into the wilds of the human microbiome where for hundreds of thousands of years bacterial and human cells have existed in a peaceful symbiosis that is responsible for the health and equilibrium of our body. Now, this invisible eden is being irrevocably damaged by some of our most revered medical advances--antibiotics--threatening the extinction of our irreplaceable microbes with terrible health consequences. Taking us into both the lab and deep into the fields where these troubling effects can be witnessed firsthand, Blaser not only provides cutting edge evidence for the adverse effects of antibiotics, he tells us what we can do to avoid even more catastrophic health problems in the future. "-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Modern plagues

Our microbial planet

The human microbiome

The rise of pathogens

The wonder drugs

The overuse of antibiotics

The modern farmer

Mother and child

A forgotten world

Heartburn

Trouble breathing

Taller

and fatter

Modern plagues revisited

Antibiotic winter

Solutions.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-256) and index.

ISBN:

9780805098105

0805098100

OCLC:

844728752

Online:

Cover image