Why the global health project to avert emerging microbes continually fails In 1989, a group of U.S. government scientists met to discuss some surprising findings: new diseases were appearing around the world, and viruses that they thought long vanquished were resurfacing. Their appearance heralded a future perpetually threatened by unforeseeable biological risks, sparking a new concept of disease: the “emerging microbe.” With the Cold War nearing its end, American scientists and security experts turned to confront this new “enemy,” redirecting national security against its risky horizons. In order to be fought, emerging microbes first needed to be made perceptible; but how could something immaterial, unknowable, and ever mutating be coaxed into visibility, knowability, and operability? Microbial Resolution charts the U.S.-led war on the emerging microbe to show how their uncertain futures were transformed into objects of global science and security. Moving beyond familiar accounts that link scientific knowledge production to optical practices of visualizing the invisible, Gloria Chan-Sook Kim develops a theory of “microbial resolution” to analyze the complex problematic that arises when dealing with these entities: what can be seen when there is nothing to see? Through a syncretic analysis of data mining, animal-tracking technologies, media networks, computer-modeled futures, and global ecologies and infrastructures, she shows how a visual impasse—the impossibility of seeing microbial futures—forms the basis for new modes of perceiving, knowing, and governing in the present. Timely and thought provoking, Microbial Resolution opens up the rich paradoxes, irreconcilabilities, and failures inherent in this project and demonstrates how these tensions profoundly animate twenty-first-century epistemologies, aesthetics, affects, and ecologies.

Microbial Forensics, Third Edition, serves as a complete reference on the discipline, describing the advances, challenges and opportunities that are integral in applying science to help solve future biocrimes. New chapters include: Microbial Source Tracking, Clinical Recognition, Bioinformatics, and Quality Assurance. This book is intended for a wide audience, but will be indispensable to forensic scientists and researchers interested in contributing to the growing field of microbial forensics. Biologists and microbiologists, the legal and judicial system, and the international community involved with Biological Weapons Treaties will also find this volume invaluable. - Presents new and expanded content that includes a statistical analysis of forensic data, legal admissibility and standards of evidence - Discusses actual cases of forensic bioterrorism - Includes contributions from editors and authors who are leading experts in the field, with primary experience in the application of this fast-growing discipline

Marine and freshwater polar environments are characterized by intense physical forces and strong seasonal variations. The persistent cold and sometimes inhospitable conditions create unique ecosystems and habitats for microbial life. Polar microbial communities are diverse productive assemblages, which drive biogeochemical cycles and support higher food-webs across the Arctic and over much of the Antarctic. Recent studies on the biogeography of microbial species have revealed phylogenetically diverse polar ecotypes, suggesting adaptation to seasonal darkness, sea-ice coverage and high summer irradiance. Because of the diversity of habitats related to atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and the formation and melting of ice, high latitude oceans and lakes are ideal environments to investigate composition and functionality of microbial communities. In addition, polar regions are responding more dramatically to climate change compared to temperate environments and there is an urgent need to identify sensitive indicators of ecosystem history, that may be sentinels for change or adaptation. For instance, Antarctic lakes provide useful model systems to study microbial evolution and climate history. Hence, it becomes essential and timely to better understand factors controlling the microbes, and how, in turn, they may affect the functioning of these fragile ecosystems. Polar microbiology is an expanding field of research with exciting possibilities to provide new insights into microbial ecology and evolution. With this Research Topic we seek to bring together polar microbiologists studying different aquatic systems and components of the microbial food web, to stimulate discussion and reflect on these sensitive environments in a changing world perspective.

An updated text exploring the properties of the soil microbial community Today, the environmentally oriented specialties of microbiology are shifting from considering a single or a few microbial species to focusing on the entire microbial community and its interactions. The third edition of Soil Microbiology has been fully revised and updated to reflect this change, with a new focus on microbial communities and how they impact global ecology. The third edition still provides thorough coverage of basic soil microbiology principles, yet the textbook also expands students’ understanding of the role the soil microbial community plays in global environmental health and human health. They can also learn more about the techniques used to conduct analysis at this level. Readers will benefit from the edition’s expanded use of figures and tables as well as the recommendations for further reading found within each chapter. Considers the impact of environmental perturbations on microbial community structure as well as the implications for soil system functions Discusses the impact of soil microbial communities on food and health related issues Emphasizes the importance of soil microbial communities on the sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems and solutions to global issues This third edition is a suitable text for those studying soil microbiology and soil ecology at the undergraduate or graduate level. It also serves as a valuable reference tool for professionals working in the fields of reclamation and soil management.

Following its predecessors, Plant Roots: The Hidden Half, Fifth Edition is thoroughly updated and reports the major changes that have taken place in root research since the last edition published over 10 years ago. Considered a widely acclaimed book in the field of plant sciences, this edition includes a broad array of topics reflecting progress being made in the subdomains of root biology, featuring chapters on modern topics, while retained chapters are fully updated to demonstrate significant developments made in our understanding of root biology and in fast-evolving research methodologies and techniques. It reviews all root-related processes, from the evolution of roots in past eras to single-cell genomics, allowing readers to grasp an overall view of the state-of-the-art research in this field. Among the 104 contributors to this book are seasoned experts in the field, as well as uprising specialists who have already made a distinguished mark in scientific literature. All of the chapters are extensively referenced featuring specific information on any topic related to the biology of the hidden half of plants. Featuring full color illustrations throughout, this handbook is an essential source of information for both expert and novice root scientists.

The first edition of this book was published in 2008 and it went on to become IWA Publishing’s bestseller. Clearly there was a need for it because over the twenty years prior to 2008, the knowledge and understanding of wastewater treatment had advanced extensively and moved away from empirically-based approaches to a fundamental first-principles approach based on chemistry, microbiology, physical and bioprocess engineering, mathematics and modelling. However the quantity, complexity and diversity of these new developments was overwhelming for young water professionals, particularly in developing countries without readily available access to advanced-level tertiary education courses in wastewater treatment. For a whole new generation of young scientists and engineers entering the wastewater treatment profession, this book assembled and integrated the postgraduate course material of a dozen or so professors from research groups around the world who have made significant contributions to the advances in wastewater treatment. This material had matured to the degree that it had been codified into mathematical models for simulation with computers. The first edition of the book offered, that upon completion of an in-depth study of its contents, the modern approach of modelling and simulation in wastewater treatment plant design and operation could be embraced with deeper insight, advanced knowledge and greater confidence, be it activated sludge, biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal, secondary settling tanks, or biofilm systems. However, the advances and developments in wastewater treatment have accelerated over the past 12 years since publication of the first edition. While all the chapters of the first edition have been updated to accommodate these advances and developments, some, such as granular sludge, membrane bioreactors, sulphur conversion-based bioprocesses and biofilm reactors which were new in 2008, have matured into new industry approaches and are also now included in this second edition. The target readership of this second edition remains the young water professionals, who will still be active in the field of protecting our precious water resources long after the aging professors who are leading some of these advances have retired. The authors, all still active in the field, are aware that cleaning dirty water has become more complex but that it is even more urgent now than 12 years ago, and offer this second edition to help the young water professionals engage with the scientific and bioprocess engineering principles of wastewater treatment science and technology with deeper insight, advanced knowledge and greater confidence built on stronger competence.

People's desire to understand the environments in which they live is a natural one. People spend most of their time in spaces and structures designed, built, and managed by humans, and it is estimated that people in developed countries now spend 90 percent of their lives indoors. As people move from homes to workplaces, traveling in cars and on transit systems, microorganisms are continually with and around them. The human-associated microbes that are shed, along with the human behaviors that affect their transport and removal, make significant contributions to the diversity of the indoor microbiome. The characteristics of "healthy" indoor environments cannot yet be defined, nor do microbial, clinical, and building researchers yet understand how to modify features of indoor environmentsâ€"such as building ventilation systems and the chemistry of building materialsâ€"in ways that would have predictable impacts on microbial communities to promote health and prevent disease. The factors that affect the environments within buildings, the ways in which building characteristics influence the composition and function of indoor microbial communities, and the ways in which these microbial communities relate to human health and well-being are extraordinarily complex and can be explored only as a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem by engaging the fields of microbial biology and ecology, chemistry, building science, and human physiology. This report reviews what is known about the intersection of these disciplines, and how new tools may facilitate advances in understanding the ecosystem of built environments, indoor microbiomes, and effects on human health and well-being. It offers a research agenda to generate the information needed so that stakeholders with an interest in understanding the impacts of built environments will be able to make more informed decisions.