Catching Breath

Withthan a million victims every yearthan any other disease, including malaria and antibiotic resistance now found in every country worldwide, tuberculosis is once again proving itself to be one of the smartest killers that humanity has ever faced But it s hardly surprising considering how long it s had to hone its skills Forty thousand years ago, our ancestors set off from the cradle of civilization on their journey towards populating the planet Tuberculosis hitched a lift and came with us, and it s been there ever since waiting, watching, and learning The organism responsible, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has had plenty of time to adapt to its chosen habitat human lungs and has learned through natural selection to be an almost perfect pathogen Using our own immune cells as a Trojan Horse to aid its spread, it s come up with clever ways to avoid being killed by antibiotics But patience has been its biggest lesson it can enter into a latent state when times are tough, only to come back to life when a host s immune system is compromised Today,than one million people die of the disease every year and around one third of the world s population are believed to be infected That sthan two billion people Throw in the compounding problems of drug resistance, the HIV epidemic, and poverty, and it s clear that tuberculosis remains one of the most serious problems in world medicine Catching Breath follows the history of TB through the ages, from its time as an infection of hunter gatherers to the first human villages, which set it up with everything it needed to become the monstrous disease it is today, through to the perils of industrialization and urbanization It goes on to look at the latest research in fighting the disease, with stories of modern scientific research, interviews with doctors on the TB frontline, and the personal experiences of those affected by the disease. Read Catching Breath by Kathryn Lougheed – kino-fada.fr Catching Breath The Making and Unmaking of Tuberculosis by Kathryn Lougheed is a book that I was able to get from NetGalley and thank you so much I enjoyed this fascinating book greatly The writing was full of great info and written with a fun witty style that kept the would be boring info light, refreshing, and constantly a joy to read It had lots of history on the dreaded disease of how it was transferred and by who and what Animals could transfer the disease and the author discusses time Catching Breath The Making and Unmaking of Tuberculosis by Kathryn Lougheed is a book that I was able to get from NetGalley and thank you so much I enjoyed this fascinating book greatly The writing was full of great info and written with a fun witty style that kept the would be boring info light, refreshing, and constantly a joy to read It had lots of history on the dreaded diseas...Or mostly the making of it, since unmaking it has been so far beyond human powers.If you think of TB as something that happens to other people, in other countries, or even only in the past, then this is a necessary corrective It highlights the disease burden borne in particular countries usually where poverty and poor nutrition support it , among particular groups refugees finding it hard to access care homeless people in London and in people already suffering reduced immune function peopl Or mostly the making of it, since unmaking it has been so far beyond human powers.If you think of TB as something that happens to other people, in other countries, or even only in the past, then this is a necessary corrective It highlights the disease burden borne in particular countries usually where poverty and poor nutrition support it , among particular groups refugees finding it hard to access care homeless people in London and in people already suffering reduced immune function people who have HIV TB is still very much with us, and there are already strains out there which are completely drug resistant.Let me say that again we re so far from beating TB that there are completely drug resistant strains out there which can only be treated with a Hail Mary approach of toxic antibiotics like kanamycin or surgical intervention And there have only been two new anti TB agents in recent years, and neither of them...Honestly this was FASCINATING.This was a great book to read I was so excited to have received this through the Giveaway I ve entered thousands of times and finally won I m in the healthcare industry and it was really refreshing to read heavy material in a light hearted way with sarcastic humor built in After f...Awesome medical history bookI loved the explanation of how tuberculosis treatment has changed throughout history The author described the issues of treating tuberculosis very concisely.Catching Breath by Kathryn Lougheed is the story of Tuberculosis, one of our oldest foes While I am somewhat familiar with TB, it is not really a disease that is on our radars as something terribly dangerous at the present time Dr Lougheed begins by discussing the history of Tuberculosis and how it is entwined with the development of the human race Trying to plumb the depths of history for DNA and other telltale signs of infection is really hard, but given the correct conditions, it is possi Catching Breath by Kathryn Lougheed is the story of Tuberculosis, one of our oldest foes While I am somewhat familiar with TB, it is not really a disease that is on our radars as something terribly dangerous at the present time Dr Lougheed begins by discussing the history of Tuberculosis and how it is entwined with the development of the human race Trying to plumb the depths of history for DNA and other telltale signs of infection is really hard, but given the correct conditions, it is possible to find pristine samples Take the settlement of Atlit Yam since the conditions were right, it was possible to find burial sites that demonstrated the existence of Tuberculosis around 9000 years ago.While we know for certain that it predates writing, finding the original disease vector has proven to be really difficult It could be that TB has always infected humans and did not come from another source We also know that it originated in... For TB, the story of mutualism, compromise and outright warfare started long before the first humans embarked on their hunter gatherer ways in Africa s Cradle of Life But it was only when people started into the picture that things started to get interesting.This is a brilliant work that captures the strange relationship between Mycobacteria, the bacteria genus that causes tuberculosis disease and Humans.This book takes us across time and space from current London and Chennai and Tanzania to Eg For TB, the story of mutualism, compromise and outright warfare started long before the first humans embarked on their hunter gatherer ways in Africa s Cradle of Life But it was only when people started into the picture that things started to get interesting.This is a brilliant work that captures the strange relationship between Mycobacteria, the bacteria genus that causes tuberculosis disease and Humans.This book takes us across time and space from current London and Chennai and Tanzania to Egypt 3000 years ago to Israel 12000 years ago to prehistoric remains from thousands of years ago all in search of history of Mycobacterium and TB It also sheds light on the whole genus of Mycobacterium and speculation on its origins and transference to humans.It also covers th...You can read the full review on my pointless Tumblr Tuberculosis is my thing Seriously It s a topic that my brain latched onto, despite the fact that I am not a scientist, not all that great at science in general, and have zero personal connections with the disease I just love to read about it So when I came across this book on Netgalley, I immediately had to request it And, being the nerd I am, I loved it Not that I m biased or anythingWhat I enjoyed most about Lougheed s book is that You can read the full review on my pointless Tumblr Tuberculosis is my thing Seriously It s a topic that my brain latched onto, despite the fact that I am not a scientist, not all that great at science in general, and have zero personal connections with the disease I just love to read about it So when I came across this book on Netgalley, I immediately had to request it And, being the nerd I am, I loved it Not that I m biased or anythingWhat I enjoyed most about Lougheed s book is that she comes from the science first approach she eventually came around to thesocial personal impacts of the disease, whereas I, being a dummy, approached TB from social and personal perspectives first, with science coming second Catching Breath helped fill in some of the, uh, admittedly massive gaps in my knowledge of how M tuberculosis works Catching Breath is a fascinating read, but unless you have an intense interest in how tuberculosis works on a cellular level, this might not be the book for ... Catching Breath and Spitting Blood are two must read books if you want to knowabout the impact of tuberculosis worldwide Lougheed s book especially explores the laboratory work involved in discovering how TB lives and thrives In spite of everything that researchers have learned about mycobacterium tuberculosis during the past 130 years, we have yet to find an effective vaccine or a chemotherapy regimen that tuberculosis can t outwit If TB weren t killing millions of us worldwide, we cou Catching Breath and Spitting Blood are two must read books if you want to knowabout the impact of tuberculosis worldwide Lougheed s book especially explores the laboratory work involved in discovering how TB lives and thrives In spite of everything that researchers have learned about mycobacterium tuberculosis during the past 130 years, we have yet to find an effective vaccine or a chemotherapy regimen that tuberculosis can t outwit If TB weren t killing millions of us worldwide, we could admire its adaptability and determination to survive Chapter Seven...3.75 starsPrior to this book my only real awareness of tuberculosis was of the consumption so often referred to in historical novels, and I freely admit that s what piqued my interest The author did an excellent job of persuading me to see it as a complex, interesting, and present day problem.All concerns for modern global health aside, though serioualy, it is an issue I was positively enthralled to learn about the bacteria itself It s history predates anatomically modern humans It co evo 3.75 starsPrior to this book my only real awareness of tuberculosis was of the consumption so often referred to in historical novels, and I freely admit that s what piqued my interest The author did an excellent job of persuading me to see it as a complex, interesting, and present day problem.All concerns for modern global health aside, though serioualy, it is an issue I was positively enthralled to learn about the bacteria itself It s history predates anatomically modern humans It co evolved with us, with our immune systems, and with all the other various microbes that call our bodies home It followed us out of Africa, different strains evolving with different populations It s a slow growing, shady little monster with thick cell walls, and it s especially good at lying dorm...Great story on a deadly disease told in plain language and with humorI ve read several good books on tuberculosis including The Remedy, Experiment 11, and Discovering Tuberculosis Catching Breath is at least as good as, if not better than, the others The scope of this book is broader than that of the others, and includes history, diagnosis, treatment and public health I particularly liked Kathryn Lougheed s good sense of humor especially considering the grim nature of the subject material Sh Great story on a deadly disease told in plain language and with humorI ve read several good books on tuberculosis including The Remedy, Experiment 11, and Discovering Tuberculosis Catching Breath is at least as good as, if not better than, the others The scope of this book is broader than that of the others, and includes history...This was a fascinating book, and I had no idea the history and current state of TB was so complex I, like many people, think of TB as a disease of the past, something in a Dickens novel I was also amazed to learn about the interplay between diabetes and TB, and HIV and TB I found this book an interesting look at an often overlooked disease, and it really helped bring to light some of the challenges in eradicating this disease I would recommend this book to anyone interested in infectious dis This was a fascinating book, and I had no idea the history and current state of TB was so complex I, like many people, think of TB as a disease of the past, something in a Dickens novel I was also amazed to learn about the interplay between diabetes and TB, and HIV and TB I found this book an interesting look at an often overlooked disease, and it really helped bring to light some of the challenges in eradicating this disease I would recommend this boo...I wanted to like this book, it seemed a fascinating topic and she was fantastic when discussing it on the podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class I was quickly disappointed the writing was scattered, there were random jabs are religion, and there was no going over the basics of tuberculosis I rapidly lost interest when she said that she had never met anyone with TB I m muchinto qualitative science and was hoping for personal stories to be integrated with her writing I got to chapter I wanted to like this book, it seemed a fascinating topic and she was fantastic when discussing it on the podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class I was quickly disappointed the writing was scattered, there were random jabs are religion, and there was no going over the basics of tuberculosis I rapidly lost int...

Catching Breath
  • English
  • 21 June 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 288 pages
  • 1472930339
  • Kathryn Lougheed
  • Catching Breath