Eric is the proud father of a happy, healthy baby, so he is probably very well acquainted with diapers. And because he is a molecular biologist, he has long been familiar with their contents. After all, Theodor Escherich isolated the bacterium that bears his name from the diapers of happy, healthy, German babies all the way back in 1885. He noted that it grew very well on all kinds of food—a convenient property for a laboratory bug. And the rest, as they say, is history... a history very engagingly presented in Carl Zimmer's new book Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life, (Amazon) which I highly recommend.
Zimmer's book has something for everyone who is interested in or acquainted with this famous bacterium. Those who, like myself, primarily know E. coli as a tool will recognize several names along the way and learn a great deal about how it came to be such a powerful resource for us. Many will be surprised to learn how controversial some activities we take for granted (transfection of exogenous genetic material into bacteria, for example) were 20-30 years ago. Readers who have very little biology background need not fret, of course. Carl Zimmer is an excellent writer (check out his blog, The Loom) who introduces all the material carefully. Only some very basic knowledge about DNA, proteins, and bacteria is necessary. Zimmer will carry you the rest of the way, from bacteriophages and flagella all the way to synthetic biology, GM crops, and gene circuits.
Whether you work with E. Coli every day or just cringe when you hear those words on the evening news, Microcosm will be an engaging, rewarding, and informative read. And it just might reassure Eric that something good and useful can be found in those smelly diapers.
Zimmer's book has something for everyone who is interested in or acquainted with this famous bacterium. Those who, like myself, primarily know E. coli as a tool will recognize several names along the way and learn a great deal about how it came to be such a powerful resource for us. Many will be surprised to learn how controversial some activities we take for granted (transfection of exogenous genetic material into bacteria, for example) were 20-30 years ago. Readers who have very little biology background need not fret, of course. Carl Zimmer is an excellent writer (check out his blog, The Loom) who introduces all the material carefully. Only some very basic knowledge about DNA, proteins, and bacteria is necessary. Zimmer will carry you the rest of the way, from bacteriophages and flagella all the way to synthetic biology, GM crops, and gene circuits.
Whether you work with E. Coli every day or just cringe when you hear those words on the evening news, Microcosm will be an engaging, rewarding, and informative read. And it just might reassure Eric that something good and useful can be found in those smelly diapers.
2 comments:
I [heart] Carl Zimmer; I haven't read a book by him I didn't like.
I will certainly read this one.
If it's as engrossing as "Everyone Poops", I'm there.
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