I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

by Ed Yong, Charlie Anson (Narrator)

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.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Biology, Health, Audiobook, Medicine, Nature

Audible Audio

First published August 9, 2016

About the author

Ed Yong is a science journalist who reports for The Atlantic, and is based in Washington DC.

His work appears several times a week on The Atlantic's website, and has also featured in National Geographic, the New Yorker, Wired, Nature, New Scientist, Scientific American, and many more. He has won a variety of awards, including the Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award for biomedical reporting in 2016, the Byron H. Waksman Award for Excellence in the Public Communication of Life Sciences in 2016, and the National Academies Keck Science Communication Award in 2010 for his old blog Not Exactly Rocket Science. He regularly does talks and radio interviews; his TED talk on mind-controlling parasites has been watched by over 1.5 million people.

I Contain Multitudes, his first book, looks at the amazing partnerships between animals and microbes. Published in 2016, it became a New York Times bestseller, and was listed in best-of-2016 lists by the NYT, NPR, the Economist, the Guardian, and several others. Bill Gates called it "science journalism at its finest", and Jeopardy! turned it into a clue.

Ed cares deeply about accurate and nuanced reporting, clear and vivid storytelling, and social equality. He writes about everything that is or was once alive, from the quirky world of animal behaviour to the equally quirky lives of scientists, from the microbes that secretly rule the world to the species that are blinking out of it, from the people who are working to make science more reliable to those who are using it to craft policies. His stories span 3.7 billion years, from the origin of life itself to this month's developments in Congress. He makes terrible puns and regrets none of them. He has a Chatham Island black robin named after him.

Reviews

[Will Byrnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

You’ve got company.



Carol Anne Freeling was certainly right when she said, “They’re hee-ur,” well maybe not enraged spirits, but there are certainly plenty of entities present to which we have paid insufficient attention. Maybe Regan MacNeil was closer to the mark in proclaiming “We are legion.”

When Orson Welles said “We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone,” he was mistaken. Even when we are alone, we are never alone. We exist in symbiosis—a wonderful term that refers to different organisms living together. Some animals are colonized by microbes while they are still unfertilized eggs; others pick up their first partners at the moment of birth. We then proceed through our lives in their presence. When we eat, so do they. When we travel, they come along. When we die, they consume us. Every one of us is a zoo in our own right—a colony enclosed within a single body. A multi-species collection. An entire world.

Trying to map what it is to be a physical human being, in something like the Human Genome Project, is a daunting task. But our genes tell only part of our story, like a novel with a beginning and ending but no middle. That middle is taken up by the vast array of other life that exists within our bodies. While the guests we harbor may not necessarily be in league with Satan, they are a mixed lot. They mean us no harm, particularly, and we have evolved very workable symbiotic relationships with them, but they are not necessarily our friends either. They took up residence for their own benefit and will stick around and provide benefits to us only as long as we provide what they need, like that girl/boy friend you remember with gritted teeth.

I won’t say this book will blow your mind, but this is your brain


And it’s not even Mardi Gras – from the Brain Association of Mississippi

This is your brain after reading this book


Shame about that haircut

[In the interest of full disclosure, it should be known that every day when my wife was reading this book, she would walk in the door and tell me of yet another thing she had read that had totally blown her mind. Not that my mind didn't go Ka-Boom when I read it. It certainly did. But hers was blown first. I only steal from the best. ]

I Contain Multitudes will change how you understand not only the human body, but all the biota on the planet, hell, the universe. It will help you understand how it can happen that diseases like the flu can adapt so quickly to our latest attempts to stamp them out. It will help you understand why coral reefs are dying. It will give you some new words that help keep the new knowledge manageable. (My favorite is dysbiosis which is what it sounds like, a biological parallel to dystopia, with a hint of enforced disorganization.) It will expand your appreciation for how microbial biology works within people and in the world. It will offer you hope that there can be a future in which many of our maladies will not only be diagnosable, but will be treatable with the introduction of the right, specific probiotic. It will do your dishes and massage your feet. Well, ok, not the last two, but KABOOM, big new look-at-the-world stuff. Ok, you biologist types, pre-med, med, post med, anti-med, wearers of white lab coats, whatever the length, you know this stuff, at least I hope you do. But for most of the rest of us it is indeed a big change, a new layer of reality, well maybe not entirely new, but new enough to go KABOOM!

Our intro to the world of which Yong writes, antibiotics, is probably akin to the one WW II bombadiers had through their bombsites. Amazing invention/discovery, antibiotics. They do a great job of wiping out pathogens, the nasties that make us ill, well, some of them anyway. Other harmful microbial types, the viral ones, roll their eyes at incoming antibiotics and keep on with what they are up to. However, as with items dropped from passing aircraft, the use of antibiotics entails considerable collateral damage, as the human body is a container for a vast array of microbial life. One might well envision millions of non-pathogenic residents shaking their fists as the incomings not only wipe out the harmful bugs, but vast numbers of the helpful ones as well. Ed Yong offers a more on-the-ground look, filling us in on what is actually going on inside, and how this part of what’s inside relates to that other part.


If these folks can have an entire civilization inside a locker, just imagine what might develop in your liver or large intestine.

If you don’t know who Ed Yong is, it’s a good bet that you will before too long. Yong is a popular science guy, a Neal DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Mary Roach, Jacques Cousteau, David Attenborough, Carl Sagan sort, a person who can take the wild, wonderful and fascinating things that are going on in the world of science and distill them all down for public consumption without making viewers’ or readers’ eyes glaze over, or listeners’ ears suddenly clog, without making you feel like an ill-educated dolt, and he accomplishes this with enough humor to produce a fair number of smiles and an occasional LOL. (Not in Mary Roach’s league for humor, but hey, who is?) He is an award-winning science writer at The Atlantic, whose work has appeared in a wide range of publications, from The New York Times to Nature, from The Guardian to Wired, from Slate to Scientific American, and on and on. He splits his time between London and DC, and I would not be at all surprised if he dashes back and forth in a TARDIS. I have provided links in EXTRA STUFF that will lead you down rabbit holes of fun material from Yong that may take you a while to leave.


Ed Yong - From Speakerpedia

Among the many surprises you will encounter here are a squid with its own high-beams, the microbial advantage of vaginal birth, the impact of gut microbes on mood, why a third of human milk is set aside for our guests (protection payments?), the relationship between the US Navy and mucus, why no man may be an island, but we may be archipelagos, and vats more.

There is serious consideration given to how our relationships with this invisible world evolved:

…animals emerged in a world that had already been teeming with microbes for billions of years. They were the rulers of the planet long before we arrived. And when we did arrive, of course we evolved ways of interacting with the microbes around us. It would be absurd not to, like moving into a new city wearing a blindfold, earplugs, and a muzzle. Besides, microbes weren’t just unavoidable: they were useful. They fed the pioneering animals. Their presence also provided valuable cues to areas rich in nutrients, to temperatures conducive to life, or flat surfaces upon which to settle. By sensing these cues, pioneering animals gained valuable information about the world around them…hints of those ancient interactions still abound today.

“It all depends.” As if life wasn’t complicated enough. Don’t you just love it when you are looking for help and the person you are asking responds with “It all depends.” And it really does, and it really will. What will be different, though, will be that your caregiver will have a much better idea than most caregivers can possibly have today. They will be able to look at a profile from a type of blood test and match potential solutions to the bacteria living in your gut, or wherever else in your two-legged bacteria condo might pertain. This knowledge is still in its infancy – at least a broad knowledge, but it is coming, and has the potential to make meaningful improvements in our health.

As microbiologist Patrice Cani told me, “The future will be a la carte.”
And in this a la carte future, we won’t have to stop at picking the right bacteria for the job. Some scientists are picking the right genes for the job, and combining them into artisanal bacteria. Rather than just recruiting species with the right abilities, they are tinkering with the microbes themselves to endow them with new skills.

Balance – from Explainxkcd.com

This raises some concerns, although they do not get a lot of attention here. If scientists can develop designer probiota to ameliorate suffering, there will always be evil-doers eager to use new technology to make designer biota intended to act as pathogens. In fact that is pretty much my sole gripe about this book. I wish more space had been devoted to the potential dangers of this advancing treatment modality. Just ask yourself, What would ISIS do?

The title of Ed Yong’s book may not be up there with The Selfish Gene, Silent Spring, or Guns, Germs and Steel but what it lacks in snappy-ness it more than makes up for in content. This is a smart, readable explanation of one of the major ongoing scientific revolutions of our time. If you look deep inside yourself you will know that this is absolutely must-read material.

Publication
-----August 9, 2016 - Hardcover
-----January 16, 2018 - Trade Paper

Review first posted – July 1, 2016


==========In the summer of 2019 GR reduced the allowable review size by 25%, from 20,000 to 15,000 characters. In order to accommodate the text beyond that I have moved it to the comments section directly below.

[carol. · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my entire nursing career I have worked in oncology, where I have been part of teams taking care of people with cancer. Frequently patients have “neutropenic fevers,” a condition considered to be potentially harmful and almost always requiring admission to the hospital. Neutrophils are those brave little white blood cells that go out into our bodies and do battle with all the nasty things our bodies are exposed to every day. Neutropenia means the patient has none of those cells to speak of (and this is why herd immunity and vaccines are important).

We culture blood and urine, scan lungs, treat with antibiotics, and monitor for a few days to see if any microbes grow out in cultures. We teach people to fastidiously handwash, and avoid people who are sick. We make them wear masks in the hallways, in order to filter out airborne viruses. Their rooms have special filtration systems. We encourage them to make safe food choices, avoiding foods that can’t be washed or scrubbed clean, or might be undercooked. And you want to know the kicker? If these patients are infected, it’s usually because of microbes in their own body have run amok and caused infection.

You know what else is in the hospital? Microbes. Tons of antibiotic-resistant microbes, hanging out in patient bodies and everywhere else. Once someone is cultured positive for these microbes, they stay on “isolation” for the duration of the visit--and sometimes for life in the case of microbes resistant to all antibiotics--in the (vain) hopes that staff, visitors and patients won’t go moving those resistant microbes around the hospital. A shift where I don’t where a yellow isolation gown to go into these rooms is pretty unusual.

Yong made my little grey cells stretch and reach, and now I have yet more ways to think about microbes, and I dearly wish he would re-write this book–maybe in magazine form–every couple years so I can keep up with all the interesting research. Like David Quammen, Yong doesn’t just stick to one branch of research science; he wanders around many fields as he explores the impact microbes have made on us. He’ll first have you thinking about their sheer evolutionary weight (literally and figuratively), reminding us that we evolved in context of a microbe landscape, not the other way round (and some thought apes were a stretch). Like living on a planet where most of the water is saltwater, it makes sense that microbes would impact the evolution of life.

Yong walks the reader through some of the science that show how animals evolved to use microbes (and perhaps vice versa?). Some are evolutionary, some genetic, some macro. There’s a lovely experiment where a glowing squid developed a sequestered area for those microbes–can’t set them free in the body, of course, so you have to create a special compartment.

In other words, I highly recommend this book. It’s quite well researched and documented, with extensive citations. There’s a bibliography and index, for those that want to delve further or pick and choose. As a further note, I’ll say that I always appreciate researchers/writers who express appreciation for those they interview and follow, without being fawning, and Yong does a nice job with that as well. There are parts I really liked, parts I liked less, parts where someone should have trimmed his descriptive writing just a tad, but any book that keeps me thinking about it months later is a five star read.

I’m going to put my detailed book report below page break at my wordpress site ( https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2019/...) with notes heavily on the medical and the ocean science. There’s also some interesting stuff about insects, for those who might lean that way, and trees.

[Always Pouting · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this book really exemplifies what I want from a science book written for a mass audience. It made everything really accessible and easy to understand without sacrificing on providing details or explanations. It provides a lot of citations so I can go look up the specific research papers and experiments mentioned that are of most interest to me, which I did. It also just connected research to larger ideas and theories for why things work the way they do. I think the whole point of science and the interest in it has to do with its ability to provide insight and answers into the why of things, at least for me. I also think Yong was really good about explaining the limitations of the research while also making the reader excited about where things could potentially go. Like I think it can be quite hard to straddle that line between talking about the exciting potential of something while also being clear that it might not go anywhere and that there's a lot of complexity and limitation in science. Also he mentioned one of my favorite books of all time, The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life, at the beginning so that automatically made me like the author a lot more. Anyways I really enjoyed this, I know I've been reading a lot of non-fiction so far this year, and this has definitely been one of the best ones so fat this year.

[Mario the lone bookwolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inner values get, in this context, wholly new, trillion of dimensions.

Like so many prejudices, those against microorganisms are stupid and shortsighted. The first associations are not symbiosis and better health but infection and disease because the negative image is over-represented. Hygiene and health are essential, but the benefits of invisible companions are far too rarely highlighted and the beneficial minis outweigh the pests by far. Moreover, understanding the mechanisms is necessary for good health, built on a microorganism friendly diet.

Without a symbiosis with a few pounds of microorganisms that are spread over and through the whole body, human life would not be possible, metabolic processes would stop death would be inevitable. A co-evolution has made all higher living beings dependent on the colonizers because they defend humans against enemy invaders which could harm their host. Of course, they also assist with bodily functions because they bring benefits to them so that the motivation for the defense help is not purely altruistic. They form a second front against attackers and it are often the human eaters themselves who are to blame when they wreck their microflora and lose the second shield because of permanently unhealthy nom nom.

The coevolution of higher life with invisible helpers is long and has usually developed into a symbiosis. Much has happened since the first bacterium settled in a higher being while it was itself being altered by a virus etc.

The ever more severe human intervention in this cycle has led to problems within less than 75 years. Since the advent of antibiotics and serial mass production of drugs, allergies, food sensitivities, autoimmune diseases, multidrug-resistant germs, lifestyle diseases, etc. are on the rise. How much of this is related to the destruction of the natural balance in the body, can be difficult to estimate due to a lack of studies. A one-sided diet with an excessive intake of antibiotics in addition to various other drugs is an essential factor that turns the symbiosis into a dysbiosis.

Many drugs include, as a side effect, a mass extinction combined with a collapse of the miniaturized social order, civil wars and a lengthy reconstruction of it. With medicine and hygiene, much money can be made and as a result, super-pathogens grow in hospitals, while chemical gangs in the body of the patients decimate the defense forces of the body.
Therapies with alternative and gentler drugs would be a new competitive and biological disinfectant and more expensive than artificial chemicals in the short term without including long-time costs. The patients pay for this with their health and sometimes life.

The potential market with tailor-made probiotics and the manipulation and improvement of microfauna with genetically modified organisms is a future-oriented industry. As soon as enough bucks are made with conventional medicine, the Big Players will enter it. Until then it will be vilified and kept down.

Actually the effort, according to the standards of medical economics, would not be responsible. Individualized medicine would have to first check the patients for potential vulnerabilities in their microbiome and then create a tailored therapy for them. A great alternative for rich people, but all others continue to receive the standard procedure of conventional treatment that kills friend and foe alike.

If one eats microbe-hostile, one gets problems because a healthy, natural and balanced diet ensures a stable and robust micro-environment. Industrially highly processed and unhealthy food kills many of the little helpers and in their places settle less species-rich constellations, sometimes almost monocultures of dodgy creaturs. These not only damage health in addition to the unhealthy diet but also ensure that the desire for excessive and destructive gluttony with junk food never breaks off in the brain. Their interest in a steady supply is justified. A dietary change to fresh, low-fat, salt-reduced and sugar-free diets could significantly reduce their intake. Everyone has to make a choice themselves. Fit and peaceful armies that have lived and protected us for eons or, alternatively, mercenary junkie armies with dubious loyalty, prone to excesses and arson. One willingly lets them move around in the heartland until one loses control over them or they desert and begin dismantling oneself from within. Many times, a supposed protective power has in retrospect proved to be the worst enemy.

The brain partakes at every meal and accordingly, the performance can be expanded or reduced. Not only the body feels sluggish after too much food, but the gray cells are overwhelmed too. It is not so much the energy used in digestion or the inertia that sets in with permanent overeating. Much more the fuel of the brain is of poor quality. In the car or an expensive machine, one would not pour substandard gasoline or cheap oil. This mentality does not apply to one's own body. From one-sided nutrition with inferior food of low quality less valuable substances can be extracted, which would be necessary for optimal brain function. One eats oneself dumb.

A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real-life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbiota

[Jeffrey Keeten · Rating 5 out of 5]

”The latest estimates suggest that we have around 30 trillion human cells and 39 trillion microbial ones – a roughly even split. Even these numbers are inexact, but that does not really matter: by any reckoning, we contain multitudes.”

“Perhaps it is less that I contain multitudes and more that I am multitudes.”

I realized, as I was reading this book, that I have not had antibiotics in over twenty-five years. When I shared that information with my friends, the reactions were anywhere from “Wow” to “that is impossible.” Those reactions indicated to me how overly reliant we have become on antibiotics to fight what we perceive to be bad microbes. Of course, antibiotics are indiscriminate in what they kill. They are definitely a kill-them-all-and-let-Odin-sort-them-out kind of killer. ”But antibiotics are shock-and-awe weapons. They kill the bacteria we want as well as those we don’t – an approach that’s like nuking a city to deal with a rat. We don’t even need to see the rat to begin the massacre: many antibiotics are prescribed needlessly to treat viral infections they have no hope of countering.”

I don’t get sick very often, and when I do, I seem to get sick to a lesser extent than do other people who are suffering from the same malady. Lucky genetics or maybe I’ve got a well balanced microbiome. I grew up on a farm and was exposed to a lot of microbes, more than the average person. In fact, one of the problems that is plaguing the first world is the fact that a greater percentage of people are not exposed to animals, a great source of useful microbes, or even just the outdoors, where we encounter microbes, bad and good, that help us format a diverse microbiome. They live in concrete worlds that are beneficial to health in the short term, but bad for health in the long term. They don’t run a gauntlet of infectious diseases that actually make them more resilient to illnesses. Their immune systems lack experience and become jumpy, overreacting to allergies and other minor threats. I think we may discover that microbes hold the key to all of our health issues.

Big Brother might be watching us go about our daily lives, but what about the control imposed by the Orwellian, brainless, single-cell organisms inside of us? What we eat may not always be our idea. I’ve always been a bit wary of being manipulated by my own hormones, but what if I’m being manipulated by the microbes in my digestive tract as to what foods I like? ”Different microbes fare better on certain diets. Some are peerless at digesting plant fibres. Others thrive on fats. When you choose your meals, you are also choosing which bacteria get fed, and which get an advantage over their peers. But they don’t have to sit there and graciously await your decision. As we have seen, bacteria have ways of hacking into the nervous system. If they released dopamine, a chemical involved in feelings of pleasure and reward, when you ate the ‘right’ things, could they potentially train you to choose certain foods over others? Do they get a say in your menu picks?”

So lean people have different levels of certain microbes in their digestive tract than overweight people. They tend to have a more balanced diet, heavy in veggies and fruits. Wonderful news, right? So to lose weight, all we have to do is take microbes from lean people and put them in overweight people. If only it were that easy. The problem is, those lean, mean producing microbes need to eat, so if the overweight person doesn’t change his diet and feed those microbes what they want to eat, they starve. This is, of course, an oversimplification of all the issues that go into trying to improve or change a microbiome, but the possibilities, with further research, are encouraging. I know we all want the magic pill that doesn’t require us to change our lifestyle or food choices, but what if your food preferences are being dictated by a microbe that has hijacked your nervous system to manipulate you into feeding it what it wants? That to me is sort of like being possessed by a demon.

“‘America is a constipated nation,’ he said, indelicately. ‘If you pass small stools, you have big hospitals.’” If I miss a day not passing a bowel movement, I get annoyed. I like it when my intestinal tract is working like a well-oiled machine. I want the outgoing to keep up with the incoming. Nothing makes me feel less healthy than to think of BM hanging out in my intestinal tract any longer than it has to. When my digestive tract is working the way I want it to, it is operating to the theme song of Rawhide.

”Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Rawhide
She rollin', rollin', rollin'
Though the streams are swollen
Keep them doggies rollin', rawhide
Through rain an' wind an' weather
Hellbent for leather
Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up
Rawhide.”

We are coming out of an era where we were convinced that any microbe was a bad microbe and finally are starting to embrace the idea that some microbes are not only good for us but essential. We pick up microbes from the people around us, and some of those microbes get added to our microbiome. I was reading this article, titled Your Partner could affect Your Microbiome, about a study conducted on heterosexual couples to see how much influence each had on the other’s microbiome. ”After testing the samples, the researchers noted that microbes had been swapped between couples to a significant enough extent that computer algorithms were able to link a person to their partner with an accuracy of 86 percent.” Makes me wonder about the 14%: so how much interaction do you have with your partner? The next thought, of course, is to think about the fact that your partner also brings with her the microbes received from past partners, and now those microbes have been shared with you. *Shudder*

It is probably best not to think about it.

I came away from reading this book thinking that microbes might provide solutions to many health issues that have plagued us for generations, such as heart disease, cancer, obesity, and autoimmune disorders. Microbes have the ability to adapt and borrow from other microbes and change their makeup and purpose. The possibilities are, therefore, endless for us to find elusive cures hidden right in the microscopic multitudes within us. We have used microbes to dengue-fever proof mosquitoes and to save skin infected frogs from Amphibiageddon. My question is, can we use some of those breakthroughs to save the bees and potentially even the human race? The sky's the limit, and only with the very recent change in mindset about microbes have we begun to explore the potential. We have one great advantage…we know microbes exist!

So take care of your microbiome, and start by reading this fascinating book. You will look at the world you can’t see with microscopic eyes.

If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
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[Petra X]

Update: Antibiotics and obesity. It is routine in the US (although banned in the UK and Canada) to give cows, pigs, chickens etc low doses of antibiotics in order to fatten them up. No one knows why the antibiotics make them gain weight on the same amount of food, but they do. There is no reason to suppose that we are any different. The mechanism has to do with altering the biome, the microbes in the body, but how long the effect lasts isn't known, it might be a lifetime thing.

Antibiotics and resistance. We are told that we are overprescribed antibiotics and that is causing resistance, but the amount of antibiotics any individual gets is absolutely minor compared to the amount that we consume. Not only consume from meat, but since animal droppings are used for fertilizer, perhaps from our bread and vegetables and water too.

It reminds me of recycling and the emphasis on all of us individuals doing it. However, 98% of all waste is industrial, retail and from restaurants. Go to many supermarkets and they charge you for a plastic bag (if they even have them), go to a 'green' supermarket like Whole Foods and they give a paper one. Then look at the produce, it's packed in plastic, the meat is in styrofoam, the deli salads in plastic, the knife and fork you got to eat them with are plastic, the coffe cup (recyclable!) has a plastic lid, the bottle of juice is probably plastic but the straw is paper.

Plastic is cheap and convenient, clean, easy to store and keeps things fresh. Why change if you can make people feel they are the problem and that you are helping them to do the right thing? It's just clever marketing. They are the 98% of the problem and until they address the issues of pollution and climate change in their own industries and stores, no matter how hard we try, we will only make ... 2% of a difference.
____________________

Schizophrenia used to be blamed on cold mothers, autism likewise, it was the mother's fault. We've moved on now to proving it is the mother getting flu or measles (why didn't she get vaccinated, oh how could she do this and risk inflicting her child.... dadadada. Oh no she couldnt' get vaccinated because that causes.... dadadada).

"Patterson had read that pregnant women who incur serious infections, like flu or measles, are more likely to have kids with autism and schizophrenia. He thought that a mother's immune responses might somehow affect the development of her baby's brain. He just didn't know how.".......... "And they realised that Patterson's mice had gut problems in common with actual autistic children: both were likely to have diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal disorders, and both harboured unusual comunities of gut bicrobes. Perhaps, the duo reasoned, fixing those gut problems might also lead to changes in behaviour."

And so it goes on, these male scientists keen to prove that these links to lab mice proved the mother caused autism in her babies. Until, science writer, a woman, Emily Willingham points out that,

"Mice don't have autism, which is a human neurobiological construct shaped in part by social and cultural perceptions of what is considered normal. Is a mouse repeatedly burying a marble really like a child rocking back and forth? Is a lower frequency of squeaks the same as being unable to talk to other people? If you squint just so, the similarities jump out . Look again and and you might see parallels with other conditions.

Then the killer - the lab mice used were originally bred to model schizophrenia. So you have scientists saying that the bacteria in the guts of autistic babies and schizophrenic mice who cannot possibly be bred in any way to be autistic proves that it is the mother is responsible, it's just more time is needed to find the proof, the microbes responsible.

It's scientific confirmation bias. It's akin to a scientific conspiracy theory. One way or another the mother must be blamed. And say, as the woman science writer says, that all these gut problems can be seen as not just similarities but absolute parallels to other conditions, not autism .

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I will never think of bacteria and archaea the same. I certainly have a newfound understanding of just how vital it is to every part of life. That microbes and bacteria have helped shape our planet for billions of years, down to every single flora and fauna; even all the oxygen we breath has come from bacteria.
I also never really thought about the microbes that are constantly around us and even on me, or how many you are "seeding" to the world. That"every person aerosolises 37 million bacteria per hour". And, if that isn't crazy enough, how about "It's estimated that every human contains 100 trillion microbes, most of which live in our guts. By comparison, the Milky Way contains between 100 million and 400 million stars".
To me, learning all of this was just simply incredible-the effortless symbiosis of microbes with the environment and with ourselves.
I could go on and on about this book-so I will end with is, this is hands down one of my favorite science books. The "science" wasn't intimidating to read, as the author didn't assume you were already an expert on the subject. It wasn't dry either, and a few parts made me laugh. This book would be great for anyone who is interested in learning about the unseen world going on all around them.

[David Rubenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book about the microbes inside all of us, and inside other animals as well. Now, it is often said that there are ten times as many bacteria in our bodies as there are cells. This, it turns out, is probably an over-estimate; the number of bacteria is probably in the same ballpark as the number of cells. But still, that is a lot!

This book goes into detail about the amazing partnerships--the symbioses--between microbes and large organisms, mostly animals and humans. Microbes are essential to digestion, to our immune systems, and many other functions.

Every person has his own population of microbes, which can be different between individuals. And we spread our microbes around; every day we deposit 30 million of them by breathing, touching things, and by excretions.

Most microbes are not harmful to humans. But the distinction between harmful and not harmful and helpful is not always crystal clear. Microbes in our guts help digestion, but if they escape into the blood stream they can be deadly. I really enjoyed learning how dengue can be prevented by infecting mosquitos with a common bacterium called Wolbachia.

I learned all sorts of great things. For example, probiotic foods and supplements have not been proven to be effective. Also, toilets that are cleaned too often are more likely to be covered in bacteria. And, hospital rooms with closed windows contain more deadly microbes than the fresh air outside. Some scientists believe that microbes are responsible for obesity, and even for high blood pressure.

This book is actually fun to read, filled with subtle humor, and extremely informative. This book is so well written, I must recommend it to everyone.

[Nina (ninjasbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need to be reminded of how fascinating and beautiful our earth is, this book is for you. I haven’t invested much time in thinking about microbes, but discovered I was enthralled and mesmerized by these tiny creatures. It’s stunning how important they are and how they interact with us. I throughly recommend this, even if you feel icky if you think about microbes or other itsy bitsy organisms.

[☾❀Apple✩ Blossom⋆｡˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am Legion.



So, apparently human beings (and all beings in general) are just bags of bacteria and other microorganisms, and these fascinating fellas have always dominated the Earth, from the birth of life to present days: there are more bacteria in our guts than starts in our galaxy. Interesting, uh? I would say a wonderful topic for a wonderful book!



I loved this book and found it extremely interesting for many reasons. First, because it was very well-written, and second because it opened my mind to the fascinating field of microbiology, which I'd never think it would be for interest for me (a linguist). This book literally opened a new door for me, and since starting this read I watched documentaries and collected all kinds of information on bacteria, virus, and microorganisms in general. For example, did you know that our body contains so many bacteria that there are roughly the same amount of human cells and bacteria cells inside it? Or that sponges are such simple animals and yet full of microbes that sometimes, if you look at a sponge under a microscope, you will barely be able to see the animal for the microbes that cover it? Or that there is such a thing as a poop transplant (Faecal Microbiota Transplant, or FMT), in which stool samples from one healthy individual are inserted into someone else's intestines to re-create a healthy microbe environment and thus fighting many digestion-related illnesses?



This book was all extremely interesting, and I think it also contains two very important messages to always keep in mind: first (something that many people, but not all people, know), that not all microorganisms are bad, and some of them are not only fundamental to sustain life and normal functions of animals and plants, but can also be used to cure health conditions and preserve the environment. Our indiscriminate war against germs, overdoing with disinfectant and antibiotics, is both straightening bad bacteria and endangering good ones, with repercussions on our and our Planets's health. Second, that this field is one of the most futurist fields of science, and we'll probably see incredible developments in the future: the creation of medicines based on probiotics, bacteria artificially engineered to fight diseases; and, incidentally, we'll probably see a lot of this stuff in sci-fi.



Of course, as the author himself points out, scientists always have the ambition to find a grand unified theory, a master equation which can elegantly explain our universe, and microbiology, with its recent discoveries on how our life on the Planet started (seriously, look it up or read about it in this book, it's fascinating), how microorganisms are intertwined with hosts in complex symbiotic relationships which can even affect genome, and how much we could potentially do/cure just using bacteria, is currently one of the most fashionable candidates. Without having to believe that bacteria is the solution to all our problems, from dying crops to saving the coral reef and solve both malnutrition and obesity, let alone eradicating lymphatic filariasis and dengue fever; we instead can and should try to educate ourselves more about the microcosm which thrives inside of us and inside the smallest of bugs, so that we can learn how to respect it and be aware of the danger those small little things can pose to us, but also us to them. Bacteria can get extinct too, and who knows how many good friends we used to have in our guts before we killed them and started getting irritable bowls! Save your friendly neighbour bacterium!!!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though we might lather our skin with antibacterial soap, clean our hands with alcohol sanitizers, gargle with mouthwash, scrub our kitchen surfaces, disinfect our bathrooms, spray Lysol all over the house, take antibiotics, etc., there are - and always will be - microbes everywhere. This is especially true of our warm moist bodies - which are covered inside and out with microorganisms....and this is a good thing.



Bacteria are on and in our bodies


In fact our bodies are really an indivisible aggregate of 'our' tissues and organs....and the microbial world that makes its home there. Moreover this is true for every multicellular organism on Earth. The totality of microorganisms (and their parts) in/on our bodies is called our 'microbiome', and it's composed of myriad kinds of bacteria, viruses, archaea, snippets of microbial DNA, and other miniscule microbial fragments. This microbiome helps digest our food, produces vitamins and minerals, breaks down toxins and dangerous chemicals, guides our embryonic development, assists our immune system, probably influences our behavior, and so on.



There are many kinds of microbes in the world


In this entertaining and illuminating book, Yong touches on the evolution of microbes; the history of microbiology; symbiotic relationships among microbes; symbiosis between microbes and higher organisms; dysbiosis (unbalanced microbiomes that harm their hosts); how scientists study and identify microbiomes; research studies aimed at seeding hospitals and buildings with 'good microbes'; and much more.



Symbiotic microbes provide nutrients for plants



Hospitals are covered with microorganisms. Seeding hospitals with 'good microbes' might prevent 'bad microbes' from growing.


Most people probably associate microbes with disease, and Yong provides some examples of pathogenic organisms. The vast majority of microbes are beneficial though, and I was fascinated to read about their varied roles in the world of living things. I've had a rather varied career and in a galaxy far away and long ago I got a degree in microbiology.....but this book has a lot of new and exciting information.

I'll give examples of a few intriguing factoids gleaned from the book:

1. We can improve our health by nurturing 'helpful' bacteria in our digestive system. Since fiber-loving bacteria are supposed to boost the immune system I added a LOT of fiber to my diet.....and I think I feel healthier already!!



We need 'good microbes' in our stomach


2. Newborns are bathed in good microbes during vaginal delivery. Thus, infants born by caesarean section - lacking this initial 'seeding' - develop different microbiomes than vaginal babies. Breast-feeding also provides babies with an initial dose of beneficial microbes.





3. It's good for kids to have a dog because the pooch brings outdoor microbes into the home. Being exposed to a larger variety of microorganisms reduces the likelihood of getting allergies.




4. The author, Ed Yong, really likes the Hawaiian bobtail squid, which contains large colonies of luminous bacteria. Whenever Yong mentions this critter he calls it 'adorable.' (ha ha ha)



Bacteria make squids luminous


This tome covers a fascinating array of topics in an understandable - and sometimes humorous - fashion. I love this book and would recommend it to everyone. Seriously!

You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not that into biological science, I generally prefer technology; but I really enjoyed this! By the end of the book, I couldn't help but think of microbes as biological nanobots. The potential is impressive. Microbes also have a lot to teach the world about the importance of diversity and the death spiral of the policy of removing certain microbes determined to be unhealthy without studying and understanding the environment in which they exist. Apparently, biology has a lot to teach us about sociology. Follow the science!!

4.5ish Stars

Listened to Audible. Charlie Anson was a great narrator. He sounded a lot like Ed Yong which I'm sure was by design.

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently I've been hearing reports of miracle cures of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by use of fecal matter transplants. Also I've heard that some autoimmune diseases may be caused by environments that are too clean.

Upon hearing these things the question that comes to my mind is, why this new found enthusiasm for microorganisms? We've known about bacteria since Louis Pasteur. So why all this new information about microbes as if it was something new? (Actually we learn in this book that Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discovered the prevalence of bacteria on all sorts of surfaces in the 1680s, but for unexplained reasons his findings were pretty much ignored for 200 years.)

What I learned from this book is that the new technologies of gene sequencing and genomics has changed everything. Before gene sequencing careful study of microbes was limited to those that could be grown on a culture medium. With current tools it is possible to sequence every single gene in a sample from a skin flake, stream bed, or any environmental or body surface. Suddenly researchers were able to provide detailed descriptions of myriad microbiota (This book uses the term microbiome.)

What scientists are learning is that the number, variety and prevalence of microorganisms exceeded all expectations. Combined with our understanding of evolution we now know that all of life has co-evolved within close contact with microbes. Consequently many functions of animal life are either dependent on, or aided and regulated by, microorganisms. Food digestion is a leading example of this.

This book warns that current science is in the early phases of understanding microbiomes and that we shouldn't become too excited about spectacular claims made by probiotic manufacturers. However, I believe that the wording used by this book in some cases hypes things a bit too much.

In particular I'm don't like the way this book makes the statement that, "The majority of cells in our body are not human, they're microbes." Technically that statement is true, but it is misleading. The statement is true regarding the number of cells, but not mass (i.e. weight). Only about 1 to 3 percent of the human body weight is from microbes located mostly in the gut. The reason for this disparity between mass and numbers of cells is that most human cells (e.g. muscle, fat, & blood cells) are larger and more massive than bacterial cells.

The information I've explained above about the mass of human cells and bacterial cells is not explained in this book. The book simply makes the statement regarding the number of cells which I'm sure will lead some people to make the declarative statement, "Did you know that most of the human body is made of bugs?"

The book explains why we should think of bacteria and viruses as companions, not enemies. Our efforts at being antibacterial—killing all microbial growth—can sometimes provide an environment in which pathogens can proliferate. But there is one quotation in the book by a doctor that provided another perspective to consider. "I've never seen anybody die from getting antibiotics, but I've seen some die from the lack of them."

Also, our immune system evolved in an environment of mild background contamination. Thus, our modern clean living environments may be a contributor to increased occurrences of some autoimmune ailments. But of course we all know that contaminated environments can cause disease. Perhaps, as we learn more about microbiomes we'll learn to get the level of contamination just right.

This book provides a good overall discussion of the expanding knowledge and understanding of microbes.

The following is a link to an excerpt from the book about "when Leeuwenhoek discovered Microorganisms:
http://www.delanceyplace.com/view-arc...

[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 4 out of 5]

We contain multitudes -- of microbes, that is. This popular science book is sort of like "everything you ever wanted to know about microbiome but were afraid to ask". Well, not everything, of course, but quite a lot of fascinating information, presented in concise and engaging way. I particularly liked that the author strives to avoid one-sided opinions and oversimplification, frequently including different points of view held by the scientists, many of whom he has actually met and interviewed while writing this book.

Read this book, and you'll never think about germs, symbiosis, bacteria, antibiotics, probiotics (to name just a few) the same way as before.;)

Read in 2021.

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book so I am giving it three stars.

It is common knowledge today that everything and all of us are covered with microbes - that some are good and some are bad. Their number can be debated. We have in the past been fixated on getting rid of them. This has been to our detriment. It is clear we have gone too far. Antibiotics are good and necessary, but at the same time they must be used with care. In heedlessly wiping out microbes, we have created an environment where pathogens proliferate. This book is about the symbiosis we have with the microbes living on and in our bodies and in our environment. It is about our need to develop a harmonious relationship between us and them.

The book begins with a rather long introduction. I wanted the book to get going; what we were being told was all too general.

The introduction is followed by a chapter which focuses on the history of bacteriology, beginning with the Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's (1632 - 1723) development of the microscope. He was the first to observe and describe single celled organisms. The growth of microbiology is reviewed through a discussion of the discoveries of scientists such as Louis Pasteur, Élie Metchnikoff, Theodor Rosebury, René Dubos and others. Microbiologists one has heard of and others less well-known.

After the historical review, the remainder of the book contains fascinating information on more contemporary studies, but there is no real structure to the presentation. First of all, the titles of the chapters do not clearly indicate what the chapter will be about. Here are four titles so you can see what I mean:
-The Long Waltz
-Mutually Assured Success
-Allegro in E Major
-Microbes à la Carte
On completion of a chapter I had learned a smattering of information, all of which I had found interesting, but what exactly that particular chapter was focused upon most often eluded me. Topics brought up in one chapter come up again in another. For me, when reading a non-fiction book on a topic where my own knowledge is weak, I need structure.

There is a heavy use of acronyms and scientific abbreviations, which are explained once, but most often just once. The same is true of the scientific terms used for particular experimental procedures, chemical compounds and pathogens. You can read this book without in-depth previous knowledge, but the more you know before you pick it up the easier it will be to understand. It definitely helped me to have recently read The Gene: An Intimate History. Today scientists are sequencing the genes of the microbes around us. Bacteria readily swap genes, something which humans do not do, but our cells can integrate foreign genetic material from bacteria.

It is important to stress that we are today only beginning to understand the symbiotic relationship between our cells and the microbes living in, on and around us. This book does not give definitive answers but indicates where the future may take us. Numerous studies are cited. Here follow examples of topics discussed - fecal transplants, probiotics, studies on the bacteria feeding sugars in breast milk, the beneficial qualities of vaginal microbes for babies’ health and gut microbes in preventing obesity and autoimmune diseases, the value of dogs in increasing the microbe diversity in our homes, the decimation of coral reefs, squid with luminous bacteria. The topics are many and not only about humans, but other flora and fauna too.

The book provides a lot of really interesting information, but I wanted a better structure to it all.

The audiobook is very well narrated by Charlie Anson. Clear and easy to follow. The narration I have given four stars.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Contain Multitudes' by Ed Yong is a fun read!

Each one of us is a microbiome, with billions of bacteria literally on every bit of our skin and hair. Inside our bodies and in our cells, we have even more interesting little microscopic monsters. Plus, we share these little bugs with everyone we meet, especially the people we live with. If you have a dog, the volume of bacteria in your home increases exponentially.

If, gentle reader, you are now scratching and twitching, may I suggest getting a copy of 'I Contain Multitudes' so at least you will know how bacteria function, and why we have them in us, on us, and everywhere else.

Author Ed Yong writes for the general reader, explaining that the majority of bacteria are helpful. Good thing, eh? My skin is still crawling. Literally. Anybody else feel like hitting the shower for a good scrub?

Author Ed Yong humorously explores the microbiological universe we live in. Several chapters explain that bacteria were the first forms of life on Earth, at least as far as we know, by describing the historical record scientists have sussed out through DNA research. He delves into how some of the more interesting bacteria were discovered, and how scientists are currently exploring how bacteria can be used to improve health.

Reader, it is obvious after finishing this book being a hypochondriac is an exercise in futility. If it makes you feel any better, most bacteria are our friends. The Earth would be just rock, water and gas fumes without 'em. So. Learn to love your little invisible pets. They certainly love you. You truly are never alone.

'I Contain Multitudes' has an extensive Bibliography and an Index. I read the Kindle ebook, which collected the included photos in the back.

[Laura Noggle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fecal transplants, stool banks, and sham “poo” — definitely my favorite chapter.

*COVID-19 UPDATE*

Ever since the pandemic began, I could not stop thinking about this book and Bill Bryson's The Body.

"Every time we touch an object, we leave a microbial imprint upon it. Every time we walk, talk, scratch, shuffle, or sneeze, we cast a personalised cloud of microbes into space. Every person aerosolises around 37 million bacteria per hour. This means that our microbiome isn't confined to our bodies. It perpetually reaches out into our environment."

[Zala · Rating 5 out of 5]

'When we look at beetles and elephants, sea urchins and earthworms, parents and friends, we see individuals, working their way through life as a bunch of cells in a single body, driven by a single brain, and operating with a single genome. This is a pleasant fiction. In fact, we are legion, each and every one of us. Always a “we” and never a “me.”'

A compelling case for why we can all use the royal plural.

[Sasha]

Everybody likes this book about gutbunnies, which is a term I just now made up for the tiny little things that live in you.

[Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

You are what you eat.
You eat what you are.
What you aren't eats you and other things that aren't you, but are in you.
I am legion.

[Ayse_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated all the information in this book. Might change how you look at yourself, think of yourself and the world around you.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yong explores the microbiome, not just in humans but in many creatures. He reveals the amazing variety of ways that microorganisms influence their multicellular counterparts. A properly balanced microbiome is not only critical to health, but can be essential to proper development, reproduction and survival. In essence we are one system with the many trillions of foreign organisms in our bodies. We rely on each other. Not that there is a clear cut line between beneficial and pathogenic, a single organism can be both depending on the circumstances. As Yong notes, the immune system is not just a defense against disease causing organisms, it is a manager of our microbiome, ideally operating to maximize its benefits and minimize its dangers.

Yong offers numerous examples of the codependence of microbes and animals including humans. One example we can easily relate to concerns a mother’s milk. In human milk there are sugars called human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), over 200 different ones, yet infants are not able to digest them. However, there is a bacteria that eats it all up, Bifidobacterium longum infantis. In return it feeds short-chain fatty acids to the gut cells. B. infantis also helps these cells generate an adhesive to fill gaps between them and it promotes the cells’ manufacture of anti-inflammatory compounds. Not only that, B. infantis helps infant brains grow by producing the sialic acid they need. And there is more. B. infantis attracts some pathogens acting as a decoy preventing them from invading gut cells. This microbe earns its keep.

We are familiar with the term symbiosis which applies to the relationship between the microbiome and humans. Endosymbiosis is a more exact description of that relationship since the microbes live in and on us. Yong uses the term dysbiosis to describe when that relationship goes awry, when there is a loss of balance between the microbiome and the immune system. Such an imbalance can contribute to illness and conditions such as nutritional deficiency, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, and many, many more. Unfortunately pinning down the exact constituents of the microbiome responsible is very difficult. Typically there is not one bad actor, but varying mixes of microbes that cause trouble and then only in people with particular genetics or circumstances. Think of your body as an ecosystem. One piece may go astray, but real trouble doesn’t show up until many pieces have been affected, making it exceedingly problematic to understand how the imbalance begins.

Biologist Lynn Margulis, persevering in the face of intense criticism, became famous for making the evolutionary role of endosymbiosis credible. Today it is a widely accepted explanation for the mitochondria in our cells which came from a captured bacterium. She also came up with the word holobiant to describe a community of species that stay together throughout their lives including us and our microbiome. This concept can also be applied to genes. Biologists such as Richard Dawkins consider animals and other life forms to be vehicles for genes. Evolution operates to select genes. Their vehicles can change as needed. The genes in our microbiome directly influence our well-being and behavior. Shouldn’t they be considered a part of the set of genes being selected for in our evolution? In other words, the genes of the holobiant together determine the evolutionary vehicle. Consider the example Yong offers of two “species” of closely related flies. They were thought to be separate species. They never mated and they contained different microbiomes. But give them antibiotics and they will successfully mate. Microbes can change an animal’s smell and other factors that can determine mating preference. Eventually these two fly communities with different microbiomes will become distinct species if they never mate. Just as with these flies, it is our hologenome that may be deciding our future.

Yong explores the therapeutic potential of changing our microbiome. We make a stab at this today with prebiotics, probiotics and fecal transplants. But to reliably tackle most conditions will require cocktails of bacteria properly proportioned to individual needs. These would require testing for efficacy and safety as would any medicine. We also need to think carefully about how antibiotics and antimicrobials affect the microbiome and the bacteria we encounter. As we begin the age of gene therapy, we can consider not only manipulating the bacteria in our microbiomes but their genes as well. Microbes can be much more easily engineered with genes than can animal cells. Bacteria exchange genes through horizontal transfer. They don’t have to inherit them but can readily pick them up from their neighbors. Thus genes from transient bacteria can get into your microbiome. Astounding, however, is the increasing evidence of bacterial gene horizontal transfer into animal cells. This is particularly true of insects which often have very intimate relationships with bacteria. How this happens needs to be explored.

Throughout the book Yong relates example after example of the codependence of animals and bacteria. Bacteria can shape organ development, not only determine sex but change sex after it is established, stop or enable reproduction, stop or enable parasites, provide or block essential nutrients, eradicate or promote a species, decimate or protect a crop, alter the environment and much, much more. Yong makes the case that we need to consider our relationship with bacteria particularly our hologenome if we are to understand our health, our behavior and our future. We are at the beginning of a new appreciation of the role bacteria play in the world, what it means to be human, and new approaches to tackle disease as well as shape our minds and bodies.

[Joshua Buhs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating topic poorly served by the conventions of popular science writing.

Ed Yong's book is about microbes--bacteria, mostly, but also viruses and few other extremely small creatures--and how they live with other organisms--humans for the most part, with plenty of other animals, too, though no plants.

It has Darwinian ambitions, announced in its subtitle: "A Grander View of Life" evokes Darwin's famous phrase closing the first edition of "On the Origin of Species": "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."

And it is there in the basic organizing principle of the book. Darwin followed the recommendation of the philosopher of science William Whewell that a good scientific theory account for a range of facts--he called this the "consilience of induction." Yong is out to conciliate some inducting, too--so to speak--setting out a view of the interactions between animals and microbes that is extensive.

For the past one hundred and fifty or so years, microbes have been mostly seen in the light of germ theory: that is, they have been either classed ad pathological or of little interest. In the last four decades (or so), a new view has taken shape: that microbes are neither good nor bad. But they are ubiquitous. And they are *integral* to multicellular life. Some are pathological. Some perform vital functions. They form an entire ecosystem, one upon which life depends, but one that has been mostly ignored, mostly invisible.

As I say, this is a great story, with very important repercussions. The details are fascinating, and Yong is great at explaining the complex interplay between microbes and multicellular organisms in easy to understand ways--that usually do not feel condescending. (I could've used a little less forced humor: de gustibus and all that, though.) Just dipping into the various chapters and reading the sections involves one in some remarkable bits of biology. The book, on the level of the sections, is genuinely fun.

There are, of course, important sequelae to this line of thought. One set concerns how we are to live in the world when we know its expanded dimension. Food choices, medicine choices, standard questions about environmental protection--all become more complicated when we have to take microbiology into account. This "grander view" of life also calls into question traditional boundaries--between the self and the environment, between humans and other organisms. If bacteria help to build your immune system, what does that mean for ideas about the integrity of the body? If moods and behaviors are effected by gut flora, what does that mean about human will and determinism?

Darwin's book was arranged unusually--though brilliantly, in its way. (Waiting twenty years to publish gives certain advantages!) He started with artificial selection, as something most people would understand. Then, in the next two chapters, showed how the elements of artificial selection were inherent in nature, too: one chapter explored natural variety, the other natural competition. Chapter four then tied these various strands together, showing how natural selection worked in nature as an analogue of artificial selection. The remainder of the book--to simplify matters--gathers together a host of facts that can all be explained by natural selection, from the geological record to what we would now call genetics.

Yong's book does not work quite so well on the level of chapters. It's fine, but not quite as elegant. There are basically three introductory chapters: one is a prologue, which situates Yong at a zoo watching a scientist investigate the microbial flora on the body of a pangolin. He then moves to another introductory chapter which sets out some guidelines, though these are not consistently used through the book to justify their presence here. He notes that humans are, in effect, islands, homes to vast swarms of bacteria, which can be characterized as neither good nor bad, but as essential to life as we know it. He also introduces the idea that geological time is very long--he's definitely influenced by Darwin and evolutionary biologists, and wants to root the book in its tropes, though they are not really necessary.

The second body chapter then introduces us to the idea that various people have looked at microbes over the centuries, to differing ends. He starts with Leeuwenhoek, who was probably the first human to see microbes. But his research into bacteria and similar creatures was never really transformative. He then jumps to the nineteenth century when Pasteur and Koch and the rest put germ theory in place. This was the beginning of what remains the dominant way of looking at microbes.

The rest of the chapter then introduces us to the more recent view, which he dates back to the late 1960s with the discovery of a whole new branch of life, the archaebacteria, and then expands to the surveys of microbial life that took off after that. There's a sense that microbiology of the 197os was a lot like American vertebrate biology of the 1900s-1920s, with intensive surveys to characterize most of the major groups and define their geological distribution.

This is also the section when Yong could have made a stake for a particular kind of order to the rest of the book, but opted against it. Given that there is a generational element to the story, Yong could have characterized the various schools of microbiology that took shape during this time and given an overview of the people who were involved. Something like what William Leach did with "The Butterfly People." If nothing else, it would have helped to make sense of the on-coming chapters, with its huge cast of characters, some recurring, some connected, but the network never quite clear.

Instead, what he wants to do is offer a history of ideas--which could work. That's what Darwin did, after all, showing the various ideas that fall under the overarching umbrella, and how they connect. And it is possible to see this, though it is never quite laid out clearly. Part of that is because, for all the introductory matter, the book is never introduced in any but the most general terms. Part of the reason is because the chapter titles are jokey, and so not quite explanatory.

Here, though, is a précis of the argument. (It's worth noting that Darwin had expanded chapter explanations in his table of contents, effectively working as a rudimentary index.)

Chapter 3. Microbes help build body. Vital functions have been outsourced because microbes are so ubiquitous.
Chapter 4. Reintroduces the idea that microbes are neither inherently good nor bad, and even pathological effects can result from certain conditions--in the same way that landscapes can support different kinds of living communities, depending upon their conditions.
Chapter 5. Sickness, in people, other organisms, and entire ecosystems, can result from disruptions in the microbial flora.
Chapter 6. Animals and their microbes co-evolved.
Chapter 7. Because microbes can do so many functions, their coming together with certain organisms allows those organisms to expand into new niches relatively easily.
Chapter 8. Genes can be transferred horizontally, from organism to organism.
Chapters 9 and 10. The future, and the possibility of microbial engineering.

The real reason, though, that it is so difficult to parse out the overall narrative arc is that Yong is in love with the smaller-scale stories. He has been a blogger and writer of magazine articles for many years now, and this experience shows here--to the detriment of the book, I think. With the exception of a few, the chapters do not really lay out a cohesive arguments, but are divided by stories. Again and again, just as Yong is building up to a point, he will take a break and start a new story--with new characters and new creatures.

In short, the ideas that are supposed to be driving the story are pushed aside for the story of people. And in the end, the narrative falls between two stools, neither fully the laying out of an idea, nor a group biography, but something in between, and fractured.

Apart from making it hard to develop much momentum and to see the forest for the trees, this fragmenting of the book ends up bringing up a whole host of questions that Yong can never really address. Does it matter that one researcher is far from home when she meets with him? Why is another's son hitting Yong in the rear end? Does it matter when World War II was? Talk about conditions leading to (or foreclosing) disease ties into alternative notions of medicine--how does this change in view of microbes relate? Why do Westerners live in an environment that promotes inflammation? Aren't there neo-colonialist concerns with researchers sampling poop from malnourished children? What are the implications of engineering the microbial flora--haven't we learned from big ecological engineering projects?

Popular science writing likes to emphasize the humans involved in the science, the work they do, the ideas they have, their personalities and quirks. I get it. But I think the tendency makes it harder to see what Yong is trying to say here. The book is not equipped to answer these questions, and the stories tend to obscure Yong's Darwinian ambitions.

Still, he makes some valuable caveats and interventions. As anyone who only half pays attention to debates over nutrition will know, microbes are a big deal--probiotics make lots of money, people are all into feeding the right bugs, and one part of the whole fascination over gluten-free diets is concerns over leaky guts and microbes slipping into the bloodstream. Yong shows how limited the evidence for this talk is, though--particularly probiotics--and as soon as someone starts telling you the exact composition of microbe you need, you should be very wary.

And, really, the stories are still fascinating. This last part is what most reviewers I've noticed have focused on, and they are not wrong. Yong got gold of a great subject, and hunted down a huge number of really interesting stories that fit the project. The amount of work that went into the book must have been immense.

And, really, when you think of all those accomplishments, it seems churlish to complain that Yong wasn't Darwin also.

[L.G. Cullens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written, interesting, and informative book.
Yes, we are vessels of microbial ecosystems in and on our bodies, with microorganisms outnumbering human cells by some 10 to 1 — the invisible living world as it actually is. A small minority of microbes can be threats to humanity, but most can be critical to our well being as symbionts, even affecting our personalities. I had a general understanding of the subject matter, but not to the extent this book elucidates.

It is a mixed bag though, as you'll also learn that "the world of symbiosis is one in which our allies can disappoint us and our enemies can rally to our side."

"Our planet has entered the Anthropocene – a new geological epoch when humanity’s influence is causing global climate change, the loss of wild spaces, and a drastic decline in the richness of life. Microbes are not exempt. Whether on coral reefs or in human guts, we are disrupting the relationships between microbes and their hosts, often pulling apart species that have been together for millions of years."

An important read!

“Live as if your Life has consequences far beyond your understanding. It does.” ~ Duncan Morrison

[Claudia]

"It's estimated that every human contains 100 trillion microbes, most of which live in our guts. By comparison, the Milky Way contains between 100 million and 400 million stars."

Those are billion stars, not million, Mr. Yong. If this is incorrect, what else is? I have trust issues now, so I'll move along. DNF at 2%.

(26.09.2022)

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may think that we are just made from muscles, blood cells, bones and a fair bit of DNA, but in between the gaps are microbes. Billions and billions of them. There are the odd rogue ones, but most of them are useful and make up an essential element of our being. Without them we could not live. They help us in countless ways, sculpting our organs, protecting us from disease and feeding and nourishing us; our gut contains a complete ecosystem that ensure that we extract all the energy we need.

Microbes work equal miracles in other animals too, providing the ethereal light that disguises a squid as they hunt, ensuring that koalas are able to digest the unpalatable eucalyptus leaves and the weevil that uses bacteria to make its shell before killing them. The modern worldview of eliminating all microbes is causing as much harm as it is good; people nowdays have a revulsion of all things bacterial, hence the raft of cleaning products that are designed to scour all surfaces and hands clean of these unwanted intruders. However, as Yong successfully argues in this book that not only we might be missing a trick, but our bacterial ecosystem is essential for our survival. A good example of this is in hospitals; the modern view is that all windows have to be locked shut to keep rogue microbes out, but the effect of this is that patients sit in their beds stewing in a lethal mix of micro-organisms. This hazardous situation can be simply solved by opening a window, this allows the dispersal and dilution of the potentially lethal ones. Simple, but very effective.

It is a fascinating account of the unseen creatures that live within and all around us. Yong takes us on this journey through the microscope to discover the most recent research from scientists all round the world and tell us of the secrets that are being discovered about microbes. Some of the treatments being developed have the potential to make people’s so lives much better; one example is RePOOpulate – as unappealing as it sounds! However, this treatment has worked miracles with a 94% success rate and no side effects, a success rate not seen in many other cures. Yong writes with an engaging and eloquent style and makes the science in here really accessible. Well worth reading. 4.5 stars.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A NEW NONFICTION FAVORITE!!! I'M SO HAPPY.

This is absolutely fabulous scientific nonfiction. I think at times, scienctific nonfiction swings one of two ways--over simplified, or overly pendantic. This book truly hit the sweet spot. It's accessible, gorgeously written, and incredibly informative and well-researched.

In particular, I liked that Yong doesn't shy away from differing schools of thought. Microbiology as we know it today is still a relatively new science, and as such there are a LOT of different opinions. Yong engages with all of the these. The level of nuance within this book is astounding, and truly elevates it.

I also REALLY appreciated that Yong doesn't assume you miraculously remembered every detail from earlier chapters. He would repeat meanings behind acronyms, descriptions of bacteria and cell functions, and a whole lot of other things. However, this never feels repetitive. He's succinct, but also recognizes that his readers might, by chapter 8, forget a line or two from chapter 1.

I definitely recommend this!

[Diane in Australia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book, but it didn't 'wow' me as much as some of the other reviewers. In fact, I started it awhile ago, and just got distracted by other books, and put it down ... which never happens, if I'm enthralled by a book. When I finally came back to it, I did learn a few things, and read a few things aloud to hubby, so, all-in-all I suppose it was a 'good read'.

4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.

[Phillip Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great guide to how microbes like bacteria have an immense influence on the health of organisms like human beings and other creatures. Ed Yong gives us an account of how microbes are part of an ecosystem that can be found on all living things that can be both beneficial and dangerous. The author explores the topic using citing many researchers but shows a willingness to admit there are some facts that are still unknown. Some companies sell probiotics that claim to promote the growth of the beneficial microbes but their claims are not backed by science. I once got a probiotic gummy in the mail that I hoped that would be the start of an exciting new era for human health and now I know to be more discerning. I also learned that excessive cleanliness is not helpful because it eliminates exposure to the beneficial microbes as well as the ones that make us sick. Overall it was a great book for the layperson seeking to understand this new area of science.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed Yong is a London-based science writer for The Atlantic and is part of National Geographic’s blogging network. I had trouble believing that I Contain Multitudes is his first book; it’s so fluent and engaging that it immediately draws you into the microbial world and keeps you marveling at its strange yet fascinating workings. Yong writes like a journalist rather than a scientist, and that’s a good thing: with an eye to the average reader, he uses a variety of examples and metaphors, intersperses personal anecdotes of visiting researchers at their labs or in the field, and is careful to recap important facts in a lucid way.

The book opens with a visit to San Diego Zoo (see the exclusive extract following my review), where we meet Baba the pangolin. But “Baba is not just a pangolin. He is also a teeming mass of microbes,” Yong explains. “Some of them live inside him, mostly in his gut. Others live on the surface of his face, belly, paws, claws, and scales.” Believe it or not, but we are roughly half and half human cells and microbial cells, making each of us – like all creatures – more of an ecosystem (another term is “holobiont”) than a single entity.

Microbes vary between species but also within species, so each individual’s microbiome in some ways reflects a unique mixture of genes and experiences. This is why people’s underarms smell subtly different, and how hyenas use their scent glands to convey messages. The microbiome may well be tailored to different creatures’ functions, so researchers at San Diego Zoo are testing swabs from their animals to see if there could be discernible signatures for burrowing or flying activities, or for disease. I was struck by the breadth of species considered here: not just mammals, but also invertebrates like beetles, cicadas, and squid – my entomologist husband would surely be proud. The “Us” in the subtitle is thus used very inclusively to speak of the way that microbes live in symbiosis with all living things.

If I were to boil down Yong’s book to one message, it’s that microbes are not simply “bad” or “good” but have different roles depending on the context and the host. You can hardly dismiss all bacteria as germs that must be eradicated when there are thousands of benign species in your gut (versus fewer than 100 kinds that cause infectious diseases). If it weren’t for the microbes passed on to us at birth, we wouldn’t be able to digest the complex sugars in our mothers’ milk. Other creatures rely on bacteria to help them develop to adulthood, like the tube worms that thrive on Navy ship hulls at Pearl Harbor.

Yet Yong feels too little attention is given to beneficial microbes, and in many cases we continue the campaign to rid ourselves of them through overuse of antibiotics and taking cleanliness to unhelpful extremes. “We have been tilting at microbes for too long, and created a world that’s hostile to the ones we need,” he asserts.

The book is full of lines like that one that combine a nice turn of phrase and a clever literary allusion. In the title alone, after all, you have references to Walt Whitman (“I contain multitudes” is from his “Song of Myself”) and Charles Darwin (“there is grandeur in this view of life” is part of the closing sentence in his On the Origin of Species). Yong also sets up helpful analogies, comparing the immune system to a thermostat and antibiotics to “shock-and-awe weapons … like nuking a city to deal with a rat.”

History and future are also brought together very effectively, with the narrative looking backwards to Leeuwenhoek’s early microscope work and Pasteur and Koch’s germ theory, but also forwards to the prospects that current research into microbes might enable: eliminating elephantiasis, protecting frogs from deadly fungi via probiotics in the soil, fecal microbiota transplants to cure C. diff infections, and so on.

The possibilities seem endless, and this is a book that will keep you shaking your head in amazement. I’d liken Yong’s style to David Quammen’s or Rebecca Skloot’s. His clear and intriguing science writing succeeds in inspiring wonder at the natural world and at the bodies that carry us through it.

I participated in the official Wellcome Book Prize 2017 blog tour. See my blog review at Bookish Beck for an exclusive extract from the book.