Review of 'Missing microbes' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
While I had to endure microbiology lectures and practical courses during my undergrad studies I never was too interested in it and just rote-learned the Krebs cycle as requested. I pretty much preferred living things that you can more easily observe on a macroscopic level and actually do stuff (i.e. animals. And the irony that I'm now exclusively working in silico, often without ever seeing 'my' organisms isn't lost on me…).
So I'm by no means an expert on any microbes and microbiomes, but by now I can see the appeal in working on those topics and Blaser does a good job in conveying his fascination with bacteria as far as I'm concerned. A lot of the book is about how the bacteria that colonize us are neither strict mutualistic nor parasitic/pathogenic symbionts, but live in a state of amphibiosis. Essentially living on a continuum between symbionts and pathogens, depending …
While I had to endure microbiology lectures and practical courses during my undergrad studies I never was too interested in it and just rote-learned the Krebs cycle as requested. I pretty much preferred living things that you can more easily observe on a macroscopic level and actually do stuff (i.e. animals. And the irony that I'm now exclusively working in silico, often without ever seeing 'my' organisms isn't lost on me…).
So I'm by no means an expert on any microbes and microbiomes, but by now I can see the appeal in working on those topics and Blaser does a good job in conveying his fascination with bacteria as far as I'm concerned. A lot of the book is about how the bacteria that colonize us are neither strict mutualistic nor parasitic/pathogenic symbionts, but live in a state of amphibiosis. Essentially living on a continuum between symbionts and pathogens, depending on external factors. Which I think is a pretty good view that one doesn't find too often from my experience. As one prime example Blaser focusses on Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria of Nobel fame that is primarily associated with ulcers, but Blaser argues at length (and not too bad) that H. pylori can indeed not only be a pathogen but also a pretty useful creature to have around.
Besides this Blaser devotes much of the book to describe how our obsession with keeping bacteria away from us, easily giving antibiotics and even using it for growth stimulation in livestock may be responsible for many of the ailments that have risen over the last couple of decades (asthma, allergies, diabetes, obesity, certain types of cancer etc.) due to a change in the microbial communities we carry with us. While his general arguments seem plausible I'm not sure how much of it is overselling the available evidence (and I couldn't be bothered to read primary literature tbh). But this blogpost by Jonathan Eisen gives at least some hints that this may be the case. Nevertheless, I think the argument for using less antibiotics, especially if the potential benefits of the usage are small, does hold.
Recommended: for anyone who wants some good reasons to abandon an overly antiseptic lifestyle.
