I Contain Multitudes cover art

I Contain Multitudes

The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

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I Contain Multitudes

By: Ed Yong
Narrated by: Charlie Anson
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About this listen

Your body is teeming with tens of trillions of microbes. It's an entire world, a colony full of life. In other words, you contain multitudes. These microscopic companions sculpt our organs, protect us from diseases, guide our behaviour and bombard us with their genes. They also hold the key to understanding all life on earth.

In I Contain Multitudes, Ed Yong opens our eyes and invites us to marvel at ourselves and other animals in a new light, less as individuals and more as thriving ecosystems. We learn the invisible and wondrous science behind the corals that construct mighty reefs and the squid that create their own light shows. We see how bacteria can alter our response to cancer-fighting drugs, tune our immune system, influence our evolution and even modify our genetic make-up. And we meet the scientists who are manipulating these microscopic partners to our advantage.

In a million tiny ways, I Contain Multitudes will radically change how you think about the natural world - and how you see yourself.

©2016 Ed Yong (P)2016 Random House AudioBooks Animals Biological Sciences Biology Physics Science Thought-Provoking Natural History Bacteria Physiology

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Most relevant

Everything is interlaced, all life is an exchange a compromise with other life, the macro and microscopy are one, developing and destroying in one fluid motion, changing, competing, inventing in chemical signals, in every encounter helping and infecting, colonising being colonized. this book like the life it describes has colonized my thoughts my view of the world; I have lost my singularity in a vast symbiosis that is me, and the singularity of all living things has become a universe within universes. Shaking hands has become an act of exchange, my dog is no longer one animal but a microbial ambassador made of millions of hosts.
A fantastic reality explained and exposed to brilliant ideas and possibilities; Science answering thousands of questions and creating millions more, life's mysteries augmented by including the invisible engineers and chemist within all of us animals.

A great read that needs to be repeated.

They are legion and we but one environment

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Brilliant, informative, well researched with some cutting edge material included, so we can look forward towards new knowledge and applications - respect to the multitudes!

Microbes are amazing...

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From beginning to end a fascinating and informative book. Unfortunately I frequently found Mr Anson's reading of the text both irritating and distracting. His reading speed not infrequently accelerated as a chapter progressed, so that the text became difficult to follow and even more difficult to understand. Fortunately the books content is such that it makes the extra effort to follow it more than worthwhile.

Problematic Reading

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Ed Yong gives a brief history of the subject as it emerged from the 19 century to present. He then discusses present research findings.How microbes are neither good or bad; their symbiotic relation with animals ( including humans); how medicine is now understanding the concept of individual bionomes and personalisation of medicines.Discusses the theoretical implications in evolution. In essence that microbes are essential part of the balance of ecosystems and essential for proper functioning. How man’s interference with bionomes is ultimately counterproductive. Really opens one’s eyes to a fascinating world.

Great story

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I listen to it over and over again... Fascinating aspects of life usually overlooked and underestimated.

Amazing inside in the importance of Microbes!

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