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Microbes Fight Back: Antibiotic Resistance
Antibiotics are familiar drugs to us all, so familiar that we may take them for granted. They allow us to survive life-threatening infections, and allow us to protect the animals we farm for food. Many antibiotics have now become ineffective against common diseases, and there are few alternative treatments to replace them. In this topical book, Laura Bowater, Professor of Microbiology Education and Engagement at Norwich Medical School, considers the past, present and uncertain future of antibiotics. This book begins by looking back at how infectious diseases, such as smallpox and The Plague, were able to wreak havoc on populations before the discovery of the first antibiotics. These then revolutionised the medical world. In an engaging and accessible style, Professor Bowater takes the reader through how antibiotics are made, how bacteria are able to mutate and develop resistance and she explains why there is now a lack of new antibiotic drugs coming to market. What will a future of continued antibiotic resistance look like? How can human activities prevent the rise of 'superbugs'? Professor Bowater highlights the need for universal cooperation in order to tackle this global health challenge, which, if not addressed, could transport us back to the medical dark ages.
289 pages, Paperback
Published December 16, 2016
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About the author
Laura Bowater
4 books2 followersI am a new Professor of Microbiology Education and Engagement at the Norwich Medical School but I started my career as a young scientist who studied bacteria for more than twenty years before I moved to the University of East Anglia in 2007. I am lucky enough to teach medical students about microbiology and infectious diseases. I am passionate about communicating science to a diverse audience and I try to encourage other scientists to do the same. I am genuinely worried about the escalating problem of global antibiotic resistance and I am working hard to raise awareness about this approaching threat and to let everyone know what they can do to combat this looming problem.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 18, 2017
Just when you thought mankind had its hands full with global crises, Professor Laura Bowater has elucidated another terrifying spectre – antibiotic resistant bacteria. The author warns that unless concerted action is taken, our species may be pulled back under the dominion of the pathogens that have plagued us for millennia. Almost disconcertingly, her book The Microbes Fight Back weaves the case so engagingly that the reader almost forgets the danger.
The book starts with a thorough review of the history behind man’s conquest of microbes. Bowater skilfully weaves a narrative of personal histories against a backdrop of the incorrect beliefs, so pig-headedly maintained in the face of emerging discovery. Personal rivalries, stolen glory and the moral ambiguity of a one-woman typhoid epidemic are among the beguiling gems in this vital narrative.
Having apprised the reader of the relevant history, Bowater gets to specifics. She begins with a lucid explanation of the biochemical machinery ticking inside bacteria. This sets the stage for the reader to learn about the arms race long ago waged between man and microbe. She lists the cellular targets of common antibiotics, before explaining all of the ways that bacteria can fortify their defences.
There are many surprises along the way, the most notable of which for me was the finding that antibiotic resistance predates human antibiotic use. Long before Alexander Fleming cultivated the mould that yielded the wonder drug pencillin, microorganisms were already releasing and responding to antimicrobial compounds. Even more interesting is that emerging research data suggests that at the bacterial level, these compounds may serve other roles than killing. In one of the most interesting sections of the book, Bowater describes a kind of microbial cooperative called a biome, in which antimicrobial compounds seem to act as communicative signals.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book not only because of its interesting content, but because the information is so relevant in my role as a sometime teacher of biology. Students and teachers from GCSE upwards would benefit from reading the book, as would anyone with any interest in microbes or the ticking time bomb of antibiotic resistance. The book states the case and provides invaluable advice for moving forward with a problem that should concern us all.
Tom Husband, author of The Chemistry of Human Nature
The book starts with a thorough review of the history behind man’s conquest of microbes. Bowater skilfully weaves a narrative of personal histories against a backdrop of the incorrect beliefs, so pig-headedly maintained in the face of emerging discovery. Personal rivalries, stolen glory and the moral ambiguity of a one-woman typhoid epidemic are among the beguiling gems in this vital narrative.
Having apprised the reader of the relevant history, Bowater gets to specifics. She begins with a lucid explanation of the biochemical machinery ticking inside bacteria. This sets the stage for the reader to learn about the arms race long ago waged between man and microbe. She lists the cellular targets of common antibiotics, before explaining all of the ways that bacteria can fortify their defences.
There are many surprises along the way, the most notable of which for me was the finding that antibiotic resistance predates human antibiotic use. Long before Alexander Fleming cultivated the mould that yielded the wonder drug pencillin, microorganisms were already releasing and responding to antimicrobial compounds. Even more interesting is that emerging research data suggests that at the bacterial level, these compounds may serve other roles than killing. In one of the most interesting sections of the book, Bowater describes a kind of microbial cooperative called a biome, in which antimicrobial compounds seem to act as communicative signals.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book not only because of its interesting content, but because the information is so relevant in my role as a sometime teacher of biology. Students and teachers from GCSE upwards would benefit from reading the book, as would anyone with any interest in microbes or the ticking time bomb of antibiotic resistance. The book states the case and provides invaluable advice for moving forward with a problem that should concern us all.
Tom Husband, author of The Chemistry of Human Nature
February 12, 2017
Professor Laura Bowater hits a home run with her book The Microbes Fight Back: Antibiotic Resistance. Any one interested in human health, from the layman to serious students starting studies in health sciences, will be well served by reading this book. The book explains our fight to stop the spread of infectious diseases through the development of medicines (antibiotics) and the beginning of cracks in the usefulness of antibiotics as protection from diseases. Professor Bowater's writing allows the concerned layman to understand the fundamental message; that our collective health is in jeopardy from a resurgence of previously treatable diseases due to our misuse, overuse and apathy toward antibiotics. Society must be informed and citizens MUST insist big pharma and governments are tasked with continued medical research in our collective fight against infectious diseases.
Medical science students, government legislators, health care policy makers and those who care about the future would be well served reading this book.
Medical science students, government legislators, health care policy makers and those who care about the future would be well served reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews