Product Review

An invisible world of astonishing complexity is all around you - one so small you can't see it with the naked eye. The inhabitants of this world are trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other organisms, collectively known as microbes. And many of them play a powerful role in your life, from the bacteria in your stomach that help you digest food to the pathogens that make you sick. Mysteries of the Microscopic World is your illustrated tour through a realm that is as teeming with exotic life as any rainforest - and that is just as exciting to explore. Presented by award-winning professor Bruce E. Fleury, who has a gift for making science accessible to nonscientists, these 24 lectures tell the story of how microbes evolved; how they function; how we discovered them; how they harm and also help us; and how we compete, coexist, and coevolve with them. Assuming no background in science, Mysteries of the Microscopic World teaches you all the biology you need to understand cells as the basic unit of life, DNA as life's amazingly versatile genetic code, the immune system as an almost miraculous arsenal of defenses, and other features of the tiny domain where microbes thrive. After watching this course, you will be able to follow with deeper understanding news reports about epidemics, vaccine research, antibiotic-resistant germs, bioterrorism, and many other topics about the microbial world. This course is an unforgettable scientific detective story, after which you'll never look at the world in quite the same way again.