More than 60 million Americans suffer from heartburn at least once a month, and another 15 million – every day. If you are among them, you have a big company. Remember the hoarse voice of bill Clinton from the White house? He suffered heartburn. So was George W. Bush if he drank coffee or ate…
Read MoreThe continued excessive use of antibiotics in the treatment of adults and children, changes in the method of delivery and the huge doses of drugs that are given to farm animals inevitably have an effect on our bacteria – both friendly and hostile. More than fifteen years ago, I began to think about what the…
Read MoreIn the 50s, two new drugs appeared that helped to cope with common problems during pregnancy: thalidomide and diethylstilbestrol (DES). They were considered safe for pregnant women and had real (or apparent) positive effects. The history of both drugs should warn many about the danger of treating healthy pregnant women with potent drugs. The first…
Read MoreImagine cows peacefully grazing on the lawn, chewing gum, moving from place to place to pinch the green grass. This is the stage of our agricultural past, worthy of the brush of Norman Rockwell: well maintained barns, beautiful hedges, contented cows, and occasionally disturbing silence, the buzzing flies, punctuated by a slap of the tail.…
Read MoreHow to describe the euphoria of those old days? It was 1945. The second world war is over. We have defeated the forces of evil; a more just society has won. Americans were overwhelmed with optimism. Then many children were born – including me. Within 5 years after the war, the Americans bought 20 million…
Read MoreOn a spring morning in 1980, I was driving to work; it was still cold in Atlanta. I worked for more than two months in the hot regions of Bangladesh and India and returned to the center for disease control and prevention with great relief. In the office greeted her with the familiar, sorted mail…
Read MoreThe emergence of pathogens When I was a medical student, I had a summer internship helping a doctor who conducted medical examinations of workers from the West Virginia labor corps. It was a great experience – a lot of clinical work. I have learned to examine healthy young people carefully. My teacher, Dr. Fred Cooley,…
Read MoreThe Human Microbiome Think for a moment about their vital organs. The heart, brain, lungs, kidneys and liver are complex structures that perform the necessary functions to sustain life. Every moment, day and night, they pump liquids, transfer waste, take air and food, transmit signals that allow us to feel the world and move around…
Read MoreOur microbial planet Originally, 4.5 billion years ago, our planet was a lifeless sphere of molten metal. But after a billion years, the oceans were swarming with free living cells. Somehow, not yet entirely clear to science, life was born in these primeval seas. Some say that the first “bricks” of life flew dust from…
Read MoreMy personal journey to understanding that our microbial friends were having problems began on July 9, 1977. This date is well remembered – that’s when I first heard the name of the microbe Campylobacter, which literally gave rise to the cause of my life. I was a new graduate student at the infectious diseases Department…
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