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The Resource Plague time : how stealth infections cause cancers, heart disease, and other deadly ailments, Paul W. Ewald

Plague time : how stealth infections cause cancers, heart disease, and other deadly ailments, Paul W. Ewald

Creator
Summary
A controversial biologist at the forefront of evolutionary medicine contradicts all of our modern beliefs about disease, & reveals his shocking theory: It's germs--not genes--that kill us. Annotation. According to conventional wisdom, our genes and lifestyles are the most important causes of cancer, heart disease, and other killer ailments today. Conventional wisdom is wrong. In this bold, visionary book, biologist Paul W. Ewald argues that these serious illnesses are caused by a virtual plague of chronic infections. Acute infections give the sufferer symptoms almost immediately; the flu, cholera, even Ebola are all well-known and easy-to-identify examples of acute illnesses. Chronic infections, however, are stealthy predators that may not produce any symptoms for decades, and so remain almost undetectable, but eventually they ruin the sufferer's life. The netherworld of stealth infections is now opening before us. In Plague Time, Ewald puts forth an astonishing and profound argument that challenges our modern beliefs about disease: it is germs -- not genes -- that mold our lives and cause our deaths. Building on the recently recognized infectious origins of ulcers, miscarriages, and cancers, he draws together a startling collection of discoveries that now implicate infection in the most destructive chronic diseases of our time, such as heart disease, Alzheimer's, and schizophrenia. Acclaimed for years as one of the most important thinkers alive today on the genesis of disease, Ewald now explodes conventional medical thinking with a new comprehensive view of what germs do. Some people worry about dangerous germs "going global." In most cases it is already too late. The most dangerous germs among us have already been disseminated globally. Ewald explains how evolution in this worldwide environment makes some germs turn nasty while some become harmless. Most importantly, he shows how we can work together to master our modern infectious plagues by controlling disease evolution. He reveals that we live in an ecosystem of microbes, and we must understand them to avoid their deadly damage
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
282 pages
Contents
  • The endless war
  • Where are they coming from?
  • Malignant growths in our backyard
  • Our vulnerable hearts and minds
  • Diseases of blood and steel
  • Modern miasmas
  • Part III:
  • Beyond the fear of infection, managing microbes
  • Reverberations across society
  • Biobombs
  • Part I:
  • The protean opponents
  • Tools of domestication
  • The prepared mind
  • A sphere of infection, the approach of evolutionaary medicine.
  • The virulence of acute infections
  • The long fuse of sexually transmitted diseases
  • The stealth of the chronic
  • The magnificent defense
  • Part II:
  • Infectious threats now, on guard against the acute- blindsided by the chronic
Isbn
9780684869001
Instance
Label
Plague time : how stealth infections cause cancers, heart disease, and other deadly ailments
Title
Plague time
Title remainder
how stealth infections cause cancers, heart disease, and other deadly ailments
Statement of responsibility
Paul W. Ewald
Title variation
  • Stealth infections
  • How stealth infections cause cancers, heart disease & other deadly ailments
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
A controversial biologist at the forefront of evolutionary medicine contradicts all of our modern beliefs about disease, & reveals his shocking theory: It's germs--not genes--that kill us. Annotation. According to conventional wisdom, our genes and lifestyles are the most important causes of cancer, heart disease, and other killer ailments today. Conventional wisdom is wrong. In this bold, visionary book, biologist Paul W. Ewald argues that these serious illnesses are caused by a virtual plague of chronic infections. Acute infections give the sufferer symptoms almost immediately; the flu, cholera, even Ebola are all well-known and easy-to-identify examples of acute illnesses. Chronic infections, however, are stealthy predators that may not produce any symptoms for decades, and so remain almost undetectable, but eventually they ruin the sufferer's life. The netherworld of stealth infections is now opening before us. In Plague Time, Ewald puts forth an astonishing and profound argument that challenges our modern beliefs about disease: it is germs -- not genes -- that mold our lives and cause our deaths. Building on the recently recognized infectious origins of ulcers, miscarriages, and cancers, he draws together a startling collection of discoveries that now implicate infection in the most destructive chronic diseases of our time, such as heart disease, Alzheimer's, and schizophrenia. Acclaimed for years as one of the most important thinkers alive today on the genesis of disease, Ewald now explodes conventional medical thinking with a new comprehensive view of what germs do. Some people worry about dangerous germs "going global." In most cases it is already too late. The most dangerous germs among us have already been disseminated globally. Ewald explains how evolution in this worldwide environment makes some germs turn nasty while some become harmless. Most importantly, he shows how we can work together to master our modern infectious plagues by controlling disease evolution. He reveals that we live in an ecosystem of microbes, and we must understand them to avoid their deadly damage
Cataloging source
DLC
Dewey number
616.07/1
Index
index present
LC call number
RB 156
LC item number
.E93 2000
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
Label
Plague time : how stealth infections cause cancers, heart disease, and other deadly ailments, Paul W. Ewald
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 269) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
  • The endless war
  • Where are they coming from?
  • Malignant growths in our backyard
  • Our vulnerable hearts and minds
  • Diseases of blood and steel
  • Modern miasmas
  • Part III:
  • Beyond the fear of infection, managing microbes
  • Reverberations across society
  • Biobombs
  • Part I:
  • The protean opponents
  • Tools of domestication
  • The prepared mind
  • A sphere of infection, the approach of evolutionaary medicine.
  • The virulence of acute infections
  • The long fuse of sexually transmitted diseases
  • The stealth of the chronic
  • The magnificent defense
  • Part II:
  • Infectious threats now, on guard against the acute- blindsided by the chronic
Control code
zmeld2 b1305958
Dimensions
25 cm.
Extent
282 pages
Isbn
9780684869001
Isbn Type
(hardcover)
Lccn
00044249
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
n
System control number
(Sirsi) a619522

Subject

Genre

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      43.379159 -84.669993

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