Stories from the Microbial World

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When many people think of 'microbes' they think of germs, bacteria, nasty tiny little things that cause trouble. But they can be our friends. They are like mini magicians, breaking down food waste into rich compost, transforming human and animal waste, even pesticides and pollution into harmless, often even useful substances.

This anthology presents 23 short stories selected from winning stories from the Green Stories competition 'Microbes to the Rescue', sponsored by the Environmental Biotechnology Network and the 'Clean vs Green' competition, which similarly uses fiction to tackle myths and misconceptions about bacteria. The goal was to raise awareness of the environmental and health implications of over-cleaning. Many of us are now aware of the 'beneficial bacteria' in our gut, yet still scrub off all the friendly bacteria on our skin that has evolved to keep our skin healthy and clean. Persuaded by misleading marketing blurb claiming 'this kills 99% of all germs', we expose our lungs and environments to sometime dangerous levels of volatile organic compounds. Indeed, most information reaching the public about cleaning has come from the advertising industry, not health professionals. We hope that these stories help to redress the balance as well as entertain.