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Toxin: The Cunning of Bacterial Poisons
What do the following have in the promise of Botox as the key to everlasting youthful looks; E. coli O157 hamburger disease; a mysterious illness which killed 35 heroin users in 2000; and the assassination by poisoned umbrella-tip of a Bulgarian dissident in the 1970s? The answer is that all of these are caused by toxins, the powerful biological poisons released by bacteria and some plants.
In Toxin , Alistair Lax reveals the panoply of ways in which bacterial toxins overcome the defenses of our cells. He explains how they work, how they are so successful in causing major diseases, the terrible human impact they have had, and how apparently "new" diseases arise from them. He also discusses how we can combat toxins, and how we can harness their actions for beneficial purposes. Enlivened by the very human story of the persistence, rivalries, and insights from which modern microbiology grew, Toxin is the first widely accessible account of this exciting and important topic.
In Toxin , Alistair Lax reveals the panoply of ways in which bacterial toxins overcome the defenses of our cells. He explains how they work, how they are so successful in causing major diseases, the terrible human impact they have had, and how apparently "new" diseases arise from them. He also discusses how we can combat toxins, and how we can harness their actions for beneficial purposes. Enlivened by the very human story of the persistence, rivalries, and insights from which modern microbiology grew, Toxin is the first widely accessible account of this exciting and important topic.
- GenresScienceNonfiction
204 pages, Hardcover
First published January 12, 2005
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February 16, 2013
Covering a large amount of ground concisely but well, this is a very interesting introduction to toxinology, covering the different types of toxin, their modes of action and the history of the field.
It was this last part that interested me the most when I started reading the book, and it made the people who are name checked in my biology text books into living breathing people.
I was also delighted by the last chapter which helped tie everything together and gave a sense of the science moving forward.
The proper bibliography was also pleasant and meant that I could look up the papers that interested me.
The reason for the star deduction is the writing style for some of the signaling pathway section which I felt was too dry for what is supposed to be a general science book. Had it gone into more detail, this would have been fine, but at the level it was at it made those sections drag, which is a shame as I am very interested in cell signaling.
It was this last part that interested me the most when I started reading the book, and it made the people who are name checked in my biology text books into living breathing people.
I was also delighted by the last chapter which helped tie everything together and gave a sense of the science moving forward.
The proper bibliography was also pleasant and meant that I could look up the papers that interested me.
The reason for the star deduction is the writing style for some of the signaling pathway section which I felt was too dry for what is supposed to be a general science book. Had it gone into more detail, this would have been fine, but at the level it was at it made those sections drag, which is a shame as I am very interested in cell signaling.
Displaying 1 of 1 review