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Germ Wars

‘Germ Wars’ is a highly engaging book in which the author, Gill Arbuthnott, uses fun illustrations and a sound scientific knowledge to introduce children to the sometimes mysterious world of microbiology. This book was used as the basis for a schools outreach project of the same name across ten schools (and 250 pupils) in Dundee.

The book has four fabulous sections: What are Germs?, Diseases you never want to meet!, Fighting back! and The future…what happens next? While this book mainly deals with the horrors of microbiology, including Black Death, small pox, and the terror of biological weapons such as Anthrax, it also tells the story of Edward Jenner, which is a proven favourite with the pupils. The book not only tells the story of small pox eradication, but also gives the science behind vaccination, giving children a basic understanding of our immune system. The book then goes on to tell the story of Alexander Fleming, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain and the race to make and mass produce penicillin during war time. The book ends with a section on the future of antimicrobial medicines, introducing the hot topic of antibiotic resistance, and future possibilities such as phage medicine and wallaby milk. Gill is a fantastic writer, and has a knack of knowing exactly what the children will engage with, always managing to tell a great story while including sound science knowledge.

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