Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of LifeA Best Book of the YearSeed Magazine • Granta Magazine • The Plain-DealerIn this fascinating and utterly engaging book, Carl Zimmer traces E. coli's pivotal role in the history of biology, from the discovery of DNA to the latest advances in biotechnology. He reveals the many surprising and alarming parallels between E. coli's life and our own. And he describes how E. coli changes in real time, revealing billions of years of history encoded within its genome. E. coli is also the most engineered species on Earth, and as scientists retool this microbe to produce life-saving drugs and clean fuel, they are discovering just how far the definition of life can be stretched. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - ogroft - LibraryThingIf I had to teach biology, this book would offer an important insight into the history of the field. I could assign portions for students to read about and report on. Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - DoingDewey - LibraryThingMicrocosm is a history of E. coli but more than that, it’s a history of modern biology. So much of what we do in the lab today depends on these little bacteria that looking at biology through the lens ... Read full review
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life Vintage Series |
| Author | Carl Zimmer |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2009 |
| ISBN | 0307276864, 9780307276865 |
| Length | 256 pages |
| Subjects | › › Science / Biotechnology Science / History Science / Life Sciences / Microbiology |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |