I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
by Ed Yong
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46:56
Author presentation with slides promoting positives of bacteria
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1K
Oct, 2016
Spoiler:
Author Ed Yong puts human life in perspective, calling us “the icing on a grand microbial cake” given how long microbial life existed before the rise of all the life forms we can see with our eyes. Speaking enthusiastically in favor of the “multitudes,” he notes that mice raised in a sterile environment, never having encountered a single bacterium, have a lot of physiological problems such as improperly developed bones. He accompanies his talk with slides of photographs from the natural world.
2:31
Bill Gates and author Ed Yong chat face-to-face about bacteria
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742
Mar, 2017
Spoiler:
In this short face-to-face, Bill Gates expresses admiration and wonder over certain concepts in Ed Yong’s book, such as the link between bacteria and neurological diseases like Parkinson’s. The author similarly describes his surprise and fascination about things he learned while writing the book. In light of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which in part strives to fight infectious disease, they discuss programs that implant the bacteria Wolbachia into the Aedes aegypti mosquito to control transmission of disease to humans.
2:43
Author discusses the positives of bacteria in talking-head format
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Jun, 2017
Spoiler:
Science writer and author Ed Yong acknowledges that we tend to think of bacteria as “bad guys” and argues for a new appreciation of their role in our lives. He notes that only a few hundred types of bacteria have been known to cause disease while most are either harmless or beneficial. This short video is the intro to a series of videos to come, which the author promises will help us understand both ourselves and the world in a deeper and more positive way.
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Other books by Ed Yong
Publications
The Guardian: I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong review – we are possessed by bacteria
The New York Times: Human Cells Make Up Only Half Our Bodies. A New Book Explains Why
The Wall Street Journal: Trillions of Tiny Dictators
The Guardian: I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong – full of life’s little surprises
The Economist: With a little help from my friends - The microbiome gets a worthy biography
The Boston Globe: Ed Yong shows how we are all part of a system of microbes
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