Germfree Life and Gnotobiology focuses on the theory and general aspects of germfree research and gnotobiology. Using a phylogenetic approach, the book provides a summary of germfree work in all phyla, from bacteria and viruses to protozoans and invertebrates. It characterizes germfree vertebrates based on data on morphology, biochemistry, nutrition, serology, and physiology. This book is organized into six chapters and begins with an overview of germfree life and gnotobiology, including biological isolation as the basis of germfree life, germfree conditions in nature, and the biological significance of germfree research. A section is devoted to nomenclature and terminology. The chapters on methods and nutrition are sufficiently detailed to serve as guides for experimental work. The book concludes with a chapter on exploratory research that explores the inoculation of germfree animals with known kinds of microorganisms. Terms have been introduced to describe concepts and provide precise communication. This book is a valuable source of information for scientists and researchers engaged in germfree research as a biological tool.

Gnotobiotics summarizes and analyzes the research conducted on the use of gnotobiotes, providing detailed information regarding actual facility operation and derivation of gnotobiotic animals. In response to the development of new tools for microbiota and microbiome analysis, the increasing recognition of the various roles of microbiota in health and disease, and the consequent expanding demand for gnotobiotic animals for microbiota/microbiome related research, this volume collates the research of this expanding field into one definitive resource. - Reviews and defines gnotobiotic animal species - Analyzes microbiota in numerous contexts - Presents detailed coverage of the protocols and operation of a gnotobiotic facility

"What is the cultural politics of science, health, and disease in the U.S.? Bodies Out of Control explores this question through a series of case studies. From its in-depth examination of the discussions of sickle-cell anemia, schistosomiasis, and cancer in middle school and high school textbooks to its analysis of the news coverage of the anthrax attacks of 2001, the book reveals the entanglements of science, colonialism, nationalism, and identity. The book also explores how the meaning of science itself is worked through in public discourses, offering alternatively medical salvation, confusion, and a vision of a world without pleasure. Finally, to explore what agency and a critical practice of engaging science in classrooms and elsewhere might look like, the book turns to the writings of politicized human research subjects, which demonstrate a spectrum of possibilities for more democratic engagements with science. As a whole, the book emphasizes the importance of engaging texts critically in science education and the ways that the cultural politics of science works through images of human and institutional bodies in and out of control."--Publisher's description.

The popularity of germ-free animal models, particularly mice, for investigation of human physiology and disease has recently exploded. Gnotobiotic Mouse Technology: An Illustrated Guide provides the first manual for the maintenance, husbandry, and experimental manipulation of germ-free and gnotobiotic mice. It includes information on all aspects of

The book provides an overview on how the gut microbiome contributes to human health. The readers will get profound knowledge on the connection between intestinal microbiota and immune defense systems. The tools of choice to study the ecology of these highly-specialized microorganism communities such as high-throughput sequencing and metagenomic mining will be presented. In addition the most common diseases associated to the composition of the gut flora are discussed in detail. The book will address researchers, clinicians and advanced students working in biomedicine, microbiology and immunology.