Contagionism is an old idea, but gained new life in Restoration Britain. The Germ of an Idea considers British contagionism in its religious, social, political and professional context from the Great Plague of London to the adoption of smallpox inoculation. It shows how ideas about contagion changed medicine and the understanding of acute diseases.

1932 a lost chapter in the history of biology. Contents: Antoine Bechamp; the Mystery of Fermentation; a Babel of Theories; Pasteur's Memoirs of 1857; Bechamp's Beacon Experiment; Claims & contradictions; the Soluble Ferment; Rival Theories & Wo.

Shows how the scientific knowledge about the role of microorganisms in disease made its way into American popular culture.

Introduction: "The germ theory again" : disease, ideology, and the possibilities of biotic life in the world of antibiotic purity -- Keep bleeding : plague, vaccination debates, and the necessity of leaky boundaries in Defoe's Journal of the plague year and Shelley's The last man -- "A speculative idea" : childbed fever, early germ theory debates, and (en)gendered speculation in Henry James's Washington Square -- Separation and suffocation : tuberculosis, etiological uncertainty, and female friendship in women's fiction -- Tainted love : venereal disease, morality, and the contagious disease acts in Ibsen's Ghosts and Hardy's The woodlanders and Jude the obscure -- Humanity's waste : typhoid fever, the failure of isolation, and the development of probiotics in three late-century works -- Conclusion: Shuffling within our mortal coil : concluding remarks.

Germy the Germ has to save a little boy from an evil force, so he gets an idea to head off to the park. This mission takes him out of his germ world and he is forced to improvise in the human world. As he goes along, the journey brings him to meet new friends and develop problem-solving skills. During this time, Germy learns that the most important thing is to never give up! Please join Germy on this fascinating adventure, and find out if he does solve the problem. If you go along with the brave and fierce Germy, maybe you'll develop some new problem-solving skills of your own. Come along and find yourself in a whole new germ world.

SOME GERMS ARE OUT TO GET US. . . . But we shouldn’t let a delinquent, pathogenic minority taint our view of the other 99.9 per cent. The microbes living on and inside us outnumber the cells in our bodies three to one. Many provide services on which our well-being, our moods, our very lives depend. They help to digest our food and operate the immune system. They trade information about potential mates when we kiss. They alert the brain to problems in different locations around the body. The balance of their populations in our gut is a crucial factor in our physical and mental health. The effect of germs on our lives is not, however, a one-way street. We can help their efforts by the way we lead our lives. The Germ Files is a one-stop source of the most up-to-date, life-changing information on our relationship with microbes, presented in concise and highly readable items grouped by theme. Areas covered include health, hygiene, sex, childcare, nutrition and dieting. The Germ Files will answer your questions about everything from preventing flu to selecting probiotics, while constantly surprising you with revelations about the miraculous workings of the microscopic world.