Microbe

Overview

Money, Nicholas P. The Amoeba in the Room: Lives of the Microbes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Cf. Megha's paper for Digital Futures 2021.

Barberán, Albert, Tobin J. Hammer, Anne A. Madden, and Noah Fierer. “Microbes Should Be Central to Ecological Education and Outreach.” Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education 17, no. 1 (2016): 23–28. https://doi.org/10/gjhg2k.

Montgomery, David R., and Anne Biklé. The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015.

In the Built Environment

Hoisington, Andrew J., Lisa A. Brenner, Kerry A. Kinney, Teodor T. Postolache, and Christopher A. Lowry. “The Microbiome of the Built Environment and Mental Health.” Microbiome 3, no. 1 (2015): 60. https://doi.org/10/gjfzjs.

Beckett, Richard. “Probiotic Design.” The Journal of Architecture 26, no. 1 (2021): 6–31. https://doi.org/10/gjfqqx.

King, Gary M. “Urban Microbiomes and Urban Ecology: How Do Microbes in the Built Environment Affect Human Sustainability in Cities?” Journal of Microbiology 52, no. 9 (2014): 721–28. https://doi.org/10/gjhg2j.

In Animals

The vast range of animal–bacterial interactions, whether in shared ecosystems or intimate symbioses, is fundamentally altering our understanding of animal biology.

• bacteria facilitated the origin and evolution of animals
• animals and bacteria affect each other’s genomes
• normal animal development depends on bacterial partners
• homeostasis is maintained between animals and their bacterial symbionts
• ecological approaches deepen our understanding of the multiple levels of animal–bacterial interaction

McFall-Ngai, Margaret, Michael G. Hadfield, Thomas C. G. Bosch, Hannah V. Carey, Tomislav Domazet-Lošo, Angela E. Douglas, Nicole Dubilier, et al. “Animals in a Bacterial World, a New Imperative for the Life Sciences.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, no. 9 (2013): 3229–36. https://doi.org/10/f4qgkb.

In the Human Body

Yong, Ed. I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life. New York: Ecco, 2016.

A review for this book: Bulgheresi, Silvia. “I, Microbe.” Nature Microbiology 1, no. 8 (2016): 1–2. https://doi.org/10/gkx6xn.

Challenges

• Microbes can be hard or even impossible to cultivate artificially

Epstein, Slava S. “The Phenomenon of Microbial Uncultivability.” Current Opinion in Microbiology 16, no. 5 (201AD): 636–42. https://doi.org/10/f5jx4n.

Ethics of Microbes

Cockell, Charles S. “The Rights of Microbes.” Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 29, no. 2 (2004): 141–50. https://doi.org/10/ch4rjk.

And the defence of this against criticism: Cockell, Charles S. “Microbial Rights?” EMBO Reports 12, no. 3 (2011): 181–181. https://doi.org/10/c6v62r.

Engaging with Microbes

Höll, Davina, and Leonie Bossert. “‘What Would a Microbe Say?’: Paving the Way ToMultispecies Communication.” Transpositiones 1, no. 1 (2022): 103–18. https://doi.org/10/gpwqwx.

Benezra, Amber. Gut Anthro: An Experiment in Thinking with Microbes. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2023.