| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xi, 302 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 22 cm |
| Summary |
"A remarkable story of the scientists behind a long-forgotten and life-saving cure: the healing viruses that can conquer antibiotic resistant bacterial infections First discovered in 1917, bacteriophages-or "phages"-are living medicines: viruses that devour bacteria. Ubiquitous in the environment, they are found in water, soil, inside plants and animals, and in the human body. When phages were first recognized as medicines, their promise seemed limitless. Grown by research scientists and physicians in France, the Soviet Union, and elsewhere to target specific bacteria, they cured cholera, dysentery, bubonic plague, and other deadly infectious diseases. But after Stalin's brutal purges and the rise of antibiotics, phage therapy declined and nearly was lost to history-until today. In The Living Medicine, acclaimed science journalist Lina Zeldovich reveals the remarkable history of phages, told through the lives of the French, Soviet, and American scientists who discovered, developed, and are reviving this unique cure for seemingly-intractable diseases. Ranging from Paris to Soviet Georgia to Egypt, India, South Africa, remote islands in the Far East, and America, The Living Medicine shows how phages once saved tens of thousands of lives. Today, with our antibiotic shield collapsing, Zeldovich demonstrates how phages are making our food safe and, in cases of dire emergency, rescuing people from the brink of death. They may be humanity's best defense against the pandemics to come. Filled with adventure, human ambition, tragedy, technology, irrepressible scientists and the excitement of their innovation, The Living Medicine offers a vision of how our future may be saved by knowledge from the past"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
The surge of the superbugs -- The parasite of microbes -- A Georgian in Paris -- Phages rise to fame and glory -- Together in Tiflis -- The great terror -- Hell on Earth, cholera in water, phages underground -- The rise of the superbugs -- Phages endangered -- A Georgian in Maryland -- The phage whisperer -- Naive and stubborn, a winning combination -- The superbug that won the Oscar -- and the FDA -- The perfect storm's aftermath -- Phaging into the future. |
| Subject |
Bacteriophages -- Therapeutic use.
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Bacteriophages (DNLM)D001435
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SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Microbiology.
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SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Virology.
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MEDICAL / Microbiology.
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SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Biology.
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| ISBN |
9781250283382 hardcover |
|
1250283388 hardcover |
|
9781250283399 electronic book |
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