Life at Small Scale: The Behavior of Microbes (Scientific American Library)

by David B. Dusenbery

Hardcover, 1996

Status

Available

Call number

576

Collection

Publication

Scientific American Library (1996), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 214 pages

Description

Our world is swarming with invisible organisms - bacteria and fungi that affect their hosts and environments in diverse ways. This text looks at the mysterious microscopic world of microbes and investigates how they behave, and why. It tells stories of how scientists have discovered the laws of behaviour of the world of microbes, including the principles of locomotion, navigation, survival, reproduction and communication. In addition, the text relates the behaviour of bacteria and other microbes to our more familiar world and shows their impact on our lives.

Subjects

Language

Physical description

214 p.; 9.29 inches

ISBN

0716750600 / 9780716750604

Local notes

Describes the composition and behavior of a variety of microbes with lots of colour photos and illustrations. Explains how microbes move, feed, reproduce, and even "learn" in a primitive fashion, as well as the peculiar constraints of a microbe's existence, such as the overwhelming effects of surface tension and even molecular buffeting.
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