ipl-logo

Summary Of I Contain Multitudes By Ed Yong

428 Words2 Pages

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

Show More
Related

  • Cries Violet Monologue

    153 Words  | 1 Pages

    I wish there was some way I could become change into a good bacteria from a deadly virus. I wish I could help the body not destroy it, I wish people were not afraid of me. I hate that I 'm related to Ebola, AIDS, measles, chicken pox, the flu, and the cold. " I hope one day I can help the digestive system and promote health. I don 't want to be a vishious virus bright colors of pink, yellow, pinks and purples.

    Read More

  • How To Write An Essay On Blood Music By Greg Bear Symbolism

    2391 Words  | 10 Pages

    Course ‘Science and literature’ Lecturer Professor H. Zwart Student Anastasia Kopylova The analysis of the novel “Blood music” by Greg Bear Each hour, a myriad of trillions of little live things— microbes, bacteria, the peasants of nature— are born and die, not counting for much except in the bulk of their numbers and the accumulation of their tiny lives. They do not perceive deeply, nor do they suffer.

    Read More

  • Eat Your Bugs Analysis

    516 Words  | 3 Pages

    Eat Your Bugs vs. Insect Farmers The texts “Eat Your Bugs” by Miguel Vila and Laura Allen and “Insect Farmers...” by The Washington Post have both similarities and differences. First, both articles show and explain that eating bugs is good for the environment. For example, on page 24 of “Eat Your Bugs” the text states “But the poisons wash away in the rain. They end up in rivers and kill fish and other living things.”

    Read More

  • Tuberculosis In The Victorian Era

    1110 Words  | 5 Pages

    Tuberculosis in the Victorian Era Tuberculosis has been one of the most fatal diseases since the beginning of history. However, it was especially dangerous during the Victorian Era. All Victorians experienced the distress of tuberculosis in some way, making it a tremendous problem for society at the time. The eternal search for an effective, absolute cure of this dreaded disease has lasted for centuries, from the Ancient Egyptians on the Nile, to modern times. Nevertheless, several crucial leaps were made in the medical field during the Victorian Era that helped to curb the toll of tuberculosis on society.

    Read More

  • Viruses Versus Bacteria

    1357 Words  | 6 Pages

    This piece of writing is likely to be inspired from that book. Taking everything into consideration, we can sum up that microorganisms are categorized in six subdivisions including Bacteria and viruses. It is obvious that each of them is characterized by variable features and functions. And it is our duty to expand our knowledge and awareness in order to prevent probable health problems.   Reference 1.

    Read More

  • Summary Of William Dallinger's 'On The Origin Of Species'

    446 Words  | 2 Pages

    Without knowing about DNA or genes, William Dallinger choose microbes as his research subject because of certain advantages. First, microbes are small in size. Compared to plants and animals, billions of microbes can coexist in a beaker. Secondly, their reproductive cycles are much quicker than those of other organisms. As stated in the article, “[A] thousand generations of bacteria may span only a few weeks.”

    Read More

  • Essay On Drinking Bugs

    1454 Words  | 6 Pages

    Protecting your garden against uninvited guests can be a challenge. Stink bugs are no doubt unwelcome visitors in anyone 's garden. They subsist on fruit and foliage, both of which you no doubt are most likely harvesting in your garden. Ever since these critters first made landfall on US soil, having been brought over here as stowaways from southeast Asia aboard a cargo vessel sometime in the late 1990s, they have proven to be a nuisance for American households and have proven to be a huge economic threat to American farmers, whose crops are increasingly coming under attack from these bugs. Stink bugs are harmless to humans but are wreaking havoc on the American agricultural industry.

    Read More

  • Sociological Criticism Of Sociobiology

    994 Words  | 4 Pages

    The authors point out that “much of the criticism leveled against sociobiology appears to target a straw man (148).” What the authors mean by this is that many sociological critics of sociobiology, who are ill-informed about its fundamental principles, wage critiques against sociobiology that are unfair and misguided. They misunderstand—or ignoring—the research in support of sociobiology. And thus their warnings against its dangers are not grounded in reality, nor addressed to sociobiologists, themselves; but to their own false, or misguided understandings of what sociobiology actually is. -----------------

    Read More

  • The Cry Lot Of 49 Thomas Pynchon Analysis

    767 Words  | 4 Pages

    Character Analysis Within the novel The Crying lot of 49 the author Thomas Pynchon uses the characters within the story to reveal some of society’s unfair norms. Thomas uses each character to challenge and get readers to think about what is actually considered to be normal. Themes such as racism, gender roles, sexism, and a typical life appears throughout the story. Pynchon wants the readers to understand that in society we accept the roles given to us without trying to change, “Manny Di Presso, a one-time lawyer who quit his firm to become an actor.

    Read More

  • Essay On Pesticides

    1817 Words  | 8 Pages

    Pesticides and How it Works Abstract: A pest is "a plant or creature unfavorable to people or human concerns". Pesticide is Chemical or natural substance intended to slaughter or retard the development of pests that harm or meddle with the development of products, bushes, trees, timber and other vegetation coveted by people. Keywords: Antimicrobials, Antimicrobials, Herbicides Introduction:

    Read More

  • Wislawa Szymborska Analysis

    1483 Words  | 6 Pages

    Wislawa Szymborska’s Perception on Human’s Place in the Universe “Microcosmos”, by Wislawa Szymborska, explains how understanding bacteria expanded human’s understanding of the universe. Throughout the poem, she draws comparison between how small humans are in the vastness of the universe, and how bacteria are so small compared to humans. Szymborska depicts human existence as insignificant when compared to the massive scale of the universe in her poem, “Microcosmos”. The title, “Microcosmos”, is itself an oxymoron which describes how learning about bacteria enlarged human’s understanding of their small place in the universe. The prefix “micro” denotes smallness, whereas the root “cosmos” refers to an entire solar system, much larger than human civilization.

    Read More

  • Poem Analysis: The Layers By Stanley Kunitz

    512 Words  | 3 Pages

    The poem, “The Layers,” by Stanley Kunitz, speaks about past experiences and how one can learn from them to live a fulfilling life. Throughout the piece, the speaker explores the hurdles he has encountered and realizes that those obstacles have translated into tools he can use in the future. Overall, the speaker is optimistic and inspiring, as he reflects on the past to grow as an individual, while anticipating any challenges that will arise. This illustrates the one must embrace their history before they can love themselves in the present and the future.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Dna In Forensic Science

    1251 Words  | 6 Pages

    Microbes were the first organism to occupy the Earth. They are a group of the smallest organisms and are single cellular organisms. Microbes are becoming important in areas such as biochemistry, genetics, agriculture and medicine. They are also important decomposers. One example, of a microbial life is the prokaryotes called bacteria.

    Read More

  • Hand Washing Persuasive Speech

    877 Words  | 4 Pages

    INTRODUCTION: Quick look at your hands do you see them. (attention) Do I see what you might be asking? Well the millions of bacteria that are currently hanging out on your hands.

    Read More

  • Diazotroph Research Paper

    1049 Words  | 5 Pages

    Introduction What Is Diazotroph? Diazotrophs are bacteria and archaea that fix atmospheric nitrogen gas into a more usable form such as ammonia. A diazotroph is an organism that is able to grow without external sources of fixed nitrogen. Examples of organisms that do this are rhizobia and Frankia (in symbiosis) and Azospirillum.

    Read More

More about Summary Of I Contain Multitudes By Ed Yong

Open Document