Deadly Companions: How Microbes Shaped Our History

Science News,  Feb 23, 2008  

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DEADLY COMPANIONS: HOW Microbes Shaped Our History DOROTHY H. CRAWFORD

Humans have always coexisted with microbes. By causing disease, infection, and pandemics, microbes shape human history. Despite medical advances, these microscopic germs are still responsible for some 14 million deaths each year. Here, the history of microbes and their role in human cultural evolution is traced. Crawford, a professor of medical microbiology at the University of Edinburgh, examines what makes humans so vulnerable to microbial attack. The growth of trade and political conquests helped spread malaria and smallpox. Today, crowded cities, air travel, and widespread use of antibiotics aid the opportunistic spread of microbes. Crawford suggests that when it comes to microbes, despite our scientific knowledge, we are not better-off than our ancestors. Oxford Univ. Press, 2007, 250 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $35.95.

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