Microbiology category: 1351 books

Reverse genetics, the genetic manipulation of RNA viruses to create a wild-type or modified virus, has led to important advances in our understanding of viral gene function and interaction with host cells. Since many severe viral human and animal pathogens are RNA viruses, including those responsible...

A renaissance of virus research is taking centre stage in biology. Empirical data from the last decade indicate the important roles of viruses, both in the evolution of all life and as symbionts of host organisms. There is increasing evidence that all cellular life is colonized by exogenous and/or...

Although the phenomenon of lateral gene transfer has been known since the 1940's, it was the genomics era that has really revealed the extent and many facets of this evolutionary/genetic phenomenon. Even in the early 2000s with but a handful of genomes available it became clear that the nature of...

Communication is defined as an interaction between at least two living agents which share a repertoire of signs. These are combined according to syntactic, semantic and context-dependent, pragmatic rules in order to coordinate behavior. This volume deals with the important roles of soil bacteria in...

The insect!1 remain in symbiotic associations with a tremendous number of microorganisms, and some of them could be classified as parasitic/pathogenic. Without question, insect pathogens act as natural mortality agents and represent the third leg of the triad of biological control which is an environmentally...

Koki Horikoshi — discoverer of the alkaliphiles, microbes that thrive in alkaline environments — describes in his autobiography how the research on extremophiles started and developed. He is a pioneer in the study of these microorganisms that thrive in extreme conditions, and in his book he opens...

Microbes and their biosynthetic capabilities have been invaluable in finding solutions for several intractable problems mankind has encountered in maintaining the quality of the environment. They have, for example, been used to positive effect in human and animal health, genetic engineering, environmental...

The study of the human microbiome has revealed the most revolutionary concept ever discovered in health sciences: Our gut bacteria, brain and immune system are in constant communication, each influencing the others. Science has shown we are not a singular organism but function as a superorganism (also...

It has become commonplace to say that the decline of rheu­ matic fever in Europe and North America has little, if any­ thing, to do with medicine; but to conclude that efforts to control the disease are futile would be an error leading to what could be termed public health malpractice. The need...

Today rheumatic fever is still the most common cause of heart disease in children and young adults in developing countries. This disease is typically associated with poverty, in particular with poor housing, overcrowding and inadequate medical care. Rheumatic fever has almost disappeared from economically...

Praise for the Series"In perusing these chapters, I found much of interest. It is worth investigating."--P. Brickell in Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry"Full of interst not only for the molecular biologist--for whom the numerous references will be invaluable--but will also appeal to a much wider...

At the close of the 1970s, the two-domain classification scheme long used by most biologists—prokaryotes versus eukaryotes—was upended by the discovery of an entirely new group of organisms: archaea. Initially thought to be bacteria, these single-celled microbes—many of which were first found...

Microorganisms in Foods 8: Use of Data for Assessing Process Control and Product Acceptance is written by the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods with assistance from a limited number of consultants. The purpose of this book is to provide guidance on appropriate testing...

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the most notorious pathogens on earth, causing the death of approximately 1.5 million people annually. A major problem in the fight against tuberculosis is the emergence of strains that have acquired resistance to all available antibiotics. One key to the success...