![]() ![]() Microbiologists had discovered the world of symbiosis, a form of coexistence between organisms. In 1888, Martinus Beijerinck found bacteria that could turn nitrogen from the air into ammonia that plants could use, and his discoveries led to a new era in which people talked about “good germs” that had use in our lives. ![]() “Germ theory” became the primary lens through which microbes were viewed, and the role of microbes as primarily disease-causing, says Yong, is still the way most of us think about bacteria. Two hundred years later, during the second half of the nineteenth century, the focus of research shifted to the ability of microbes to cause diseases. His extraordinary discoveries, however, were difficult to replicate, as no one else could see the animalcules as clearly as he did. ![]() He begins with an overview of the history of microbiology, beginning in the late 1600s, when Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch lens maker, discovered that microbes-what he called animalcules-were ubiquitous. Yong delves into the current understanding of how microbes interact with their hosts, summarizing key scientific papers and studies to create a picture of interconnectedness and interdependency. ![]()
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