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Summary Of I Contain Multitudes By Ed Yong

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I Contain Multitudes The book I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong dives into the world of microbes and how they interact with different individual organisms. There is a common belief that microbes are mostly harmful to the body and should be eradicated. However, Yong disproves this, exploring the infinite ways that they interact with species and the environment. Throughout the book, Ed Yong highlights the most important lesson is that humans live in symbiosis with microbes through the use of scientific evidence. Yong uses scientific evidence to show that humans and microbes live in symbiosis due to the microbes’ various skills. Microbes are highly equipped with numerous abilities and are able to carry out an infinite amount of tasks: “They are metabolic …show more content…

And if there isn't, there soon will be: these things reproduce rapidly and swap genes readily” (Yong 207). Microbes are highly beneficial with their wide array of abilities; they can even “reproduce and swap genes” if they don't have the skill set they need. Consequently, it is easy to find a microbe that can do a specific “job” that needs to be carried out. In this way, Yong shows that humans live in harmony with the microbes, enabling humans to do much more than what they are capable of like “eating a new source of food.” This partnership with microbes ultimately allows humans and other species to imitate the unique features of the microbes: “That’s what happened when the desert woodrats swallowed microbes that allowed them to detoxify the poisons in creosote bushes. It’s what happens when the Japanese bean bug engulfs soil microbes that destroy insecticides, rendering it instantly immune to the rain of toxins being sprayed by farmers” (Yong 207). Microbes use their abilities to help other species have certain advantages pertaining to their environment and needs. They

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