Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life

Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life
ISBN-10
0307377563
ISBN-13
9780307377562
Series
Microcosm
Category
Science
Pages
272
Language
English
Published
2008-05-06
Publisher
Vintage
Author
Carl Zimmer

Description

A 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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