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The Good Virus Tom Ireland

The Good Virus By Tom Ireland

The Good Virus by Tom Ireland

Reviews:
£22.00
Condition - Very Good
Only 3 left
Very Good£22.00New£19.29

Summary

The untold story of the most abundant life form on Earth, bacteriophages, and how they play a crucial role in our lives, our health and the health of our planet.

The Good Virus Summary

The Good Virus: The Untold Story of Phages: The Most Abundant Life Forms on Earth and What They Can Do For Us by Tom Ireland

'Superb ... This is luxury-class science writing'
TELEGRAPH, 5* review

'Full of gems of information and hope for the future.'
SUZANNE O'SULLIVAN

'This thrilling book will amaze you.'
MATTHEW COBB

Not all viruses are out to get us - in fact, the viruses that do us harm are vastly outnumbered by viruses that can actually save lives.

At every moment, within your body and all around you, trillions of microscopic combatants are fighting an invisible war. Countless times per second, 'good' viruses known as phages are infecting and destroying bacteria. These phages are the most abundant life form on the planet and have an incredible power to heal rather than harm. So why have most of us never even heard of them?

The Good Virus reveals how personalities, power and politics have repeatedly crashed together to hinder our understanding of these weird and wonderful life forms. We explore why Stalin's Soviet Union embraced using phages to fight disease but the rest of the world shunned the idea. We find out why scientists only recently realised phages are central to all ecosystems on Earth. And we meet the often eccentric phage heroes who have shaped the strange history of this field and are unlocking its exciting future.

Faced with the threat of antibiotic resistance, we need phages now more than ever. The Good Virus celebrates what phages could do for us and our planet if they are at last given the attention they deserve.

'A new scientific frontier that couldn't be more fascinating or vital. This book is ahead of the curve and deserves to become a classic.'
DANIEL M. DAVIS

'Incredible and though provoking. Phages are the superheroes of the human biome.'
SUE BLACK

The Good Virus Reviews

Incredible and thought provoking. Phages are the superheroes of the human biome. A truly enlightening read that makes you realise what we really don't yet know. -- Professor Dame Sue Black
A new scientific frontier that couldn't be more fascinating or vital. Phages are critical to our health, and the health of the whole planet. Brilliantly written and profound, this book is ahead of the curve and deserves to become a classic. -- Daniel M. Davis, author of The Beautiful Cure and The Secret Body
Most viruses do no harm to humans - and, as this fascinating book explains, a large class of them might even prove our saviours ... [Phages] regulate our gut microbiome, are crucial to marine ecosystems, and inspired the modern Crispr technique of gene-editing ... All this and more is thrillingly recounted in Tom Ireland's superb book. This is real luxury-class science writing, exploring how a Stalin-tainted idea from long ago can be rehabilitated, alternating scientist interviews and vivid case studies of miraculous-seeming cures with historical narrative and limpid biotechnological explanations ... He also demonstrates excellent comic timing. -- Steven Poole * Telegraph *
It is rare to find such a rich seam of science that is so pertinent to modern health concerns yet feels so under recognised. Everybody knows about good bacteria but I doubt they have heard of good viruses (I hadn't). Environmental pollution and antibiotic resistance are two of the world's biggest problems and to think the solution to those may have been with us all along is both fascinating and exciting to learn. This book is full of gems of information and hope for the future. I thoroughly enjoyed it. -- Suzanne O'Sullivan
This thrilling book will amaze you. Viruses have been attacking bacteria since the dawn of time, but in the last century some scientists have been able to enlist them in the fight against bacterial infections. Tom Ireland's limpid writing tells the exciting story of the past and future of phage therapy, balanced by a sober exploration of the problems involved in turning the good viruses into treatments. Highly recommended. -- Professor Matthew Cobb
A masterful blend of jaw-dropping science and absorbing storytelling shows that we live on a planet run by super-abundant, sub-microscopic biological entities. Besides revealing a fundamental aspect of how life on Earth really works, this book reminds us of the missed opportunities we simply cannot afford to miss again. It is both incredibly well researched and very timely. -- George McGavin
A fascinating and absorbing guide to this abundant but rarely studied life form, the book takes us through the discovery of bacteriophages, their use in laboratory research and highlights their increasingly likely future as a weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. -- Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert
Outstanding. The Good Virus is a fascinating, original and timely work. -- Clive Myrie

About Tom Ireland

Tom Ireland is a freelance science journalist and award-winning magazine editor. Tom's passion for all things microscopic began with him hiding jars of mouldy food around the house as a young child. From microbes to mental health, biohacking to bioethics, Tom specialises in making difficult scientific topics accessible and fun to read. As a freelance journalist he has written science stories for outlets including BBC News, New Scientist and the Observer. He is the editor of The Biologist, the magazine of the Royal Society of Biology. In 2021 he won the Giles St Aubyn Award for Non-Fiction for The Good Virus.

Additional information

GOR013151285
9781529365245
1529365244
The Good Virus: The Untold Story of Phages: The Most Abundant Life Forms on Earth and What They Can Do For Us by Tom Ireland
Tom Ireland
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Hodder & Stoughton
2023-06-29
400
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - The Good Virus