Good Germs, Bad Germs : Health and Survival in a Bacterial World

Public sanitation and antibiotic drugs have brought about historic increases in the human life span; they have also unintentionally produced new health crises by disrupting the intimate, age-old balance between humans and the microorganisms that inhabit our bodies and our environment. As a result, antibiotic resistance now ranks among the gravest medical problems of modern times.Good Germs, Bad Germstells the story of what went terribly wrong in our war on germs. It also offers a hopeful look into a future in which antibiotics will be designed and used more wisely, and beyond that to a day when we may replace antibacterial drugs and cleansers with bacterial ones. Jessica Snyder Sachsis a freelance science writer. Her first book,Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death, was published in 2001. She lives in New Jersey. AChoiceOutstanding Academic Title Public sanitation and antibiotic drugs have brought about historic increases in the human life span; they have also unintentionally produced new health crises by disrupting the age-old balance between humans and the microorganisms that inhabit our bodies and our environment. As a result, antibiotic resistance now ranks among the gravest medical problems of modern times. Good Germs, Bad Germsaddresses not only this issue but also what has become known as the "hygiene hypothesis"--an argument that links the over-sanitation of modern life to now-epidemic increases in immune and other disorders. Jessica Snyder Sachs explores our emerging understanding of the symbiotic relationship between the human body and its resident microbes. She also looks into a future in which antibiotics will be designed and used more wisely, and beyond that, to a day when we may replace antibacterial drugs and cleansers with bacterial ones--each custom-designed for maximum health benefits. "Jessica Snyder Sachs successfully weaves story-telling, history, microbiology and evolution into an exciting account of the two aspects of microbes for humankind--the good and the bad. Through direct interviews and other primary sources, she provides the reader with up-to-date reporting in the areas of drug resistance, infection and new therapeutics."--Stuart B. Levy, M.D., author ofThe Antibiotic Paradox: How the Misuse of Antibiotics Destroys their Curative Powers"Snyder Sach's capable overview could hardly be more timely."--Abigail Zuger, M.D.,The New York Times "Snyder Sachs brings the battle against dirt firmly into the twenty-first century, when our worries focus less on unsightly (and malodorous) dirt than on invisible, microscopic foes."--Frances Stead Sellers,The Washington Post "Snyder Sachs explains how our obsession with cleanliness led us to this point and details how science may still find a way past the danger."--O, The Oprah Magazine"All germs are bad. Or are they? InGood Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World, Jessica Snyder Sachs, a freelance science writer, explores the symbiotic relationship that we, as humans, have with germs, and what has recently gone terribly wrong with this relationship. With the ever increasing rise in food allergies, asthma, antibiotic resistance bacterial infections, and chronic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as lupus, Chrohn's disease, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. In the course of this engaging and somewhat scary study, Sachs chronicles the search for antibiotics and examines why they worked so well when they were first discovered--and why they no longer do so. She also devotes a s

Jessica Snyder Sachs is a freelance science writer. Her first book, Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death, was published in 2001. She lives in New Jersey.

“Ground-breaking.” —Newsweek “Could hardly be more timely.” —The New York Times  “Brings the battle against dirt firmly into the 21st century.” —The Washington Post  “Explains how our obsession with cleanliness led us to this point and details how science may still find a way past the danger.” —O, The Oprah Magazine