The Living Medicine: How a Lifesaving Cure Was Nearly Lost—and Why It Will Rescue Us When Antibiotics Fail
Oct 2024 · Sold by St. Martin's Press
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Longlist for the PEN/E. O Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
A remarkable story of the scientists behind a long-forgotten and life-saving cure: the healing viruses that can conquer antibiotic resistant bacterial infections
First discovered in 1917, bacteriophages—or “phages”—are living medicines: viruses that devour bacteria. Ubiquitous in the environment, they are found in water, soil, inside plants and animals, and in the human body.
When phages were first recognized as medicines, their promise seemed limitless. Grown by research scientists and physicians in France, the Soviet Union, and elsewhere to target specific bacteria, they cured cholera, dysentery, bubonic plague, and other deadly infectious diseases.
But after Stalin’s brutal purges and the rise of antibiotics, phage therapy declined and nearly was lost to history—until today. In The Living Medicine, acclaimed science journalist Lina Zeldovich reveals the remarkable history of phages, told through the lives of the French, Soviet, and American scientists who discovered, developed, and are reviving this unique cure for seemingly-intractable diseases. Ranging from Paris to Soviet Georgia to Egypt, India, Kenya, Siberia, and America, The Living Medicine shows how phages once saved tens of thousands of lives. Today, with our antibiotic shield collapsing, Zeldovich demonstrates how phages are making our food safe and, in cases of dire emergency, rescuing people from the brink of death. They may be humanity’s best defense against the pandemics to come.
Filled with adventure, human ambition, tragedy, technology, irrepressible scientists and the excitement of their innovation, The Living Medicine offers a vision of how our future may be saved by knowledge from the past.
A remarkable story of the scientists behind a long-forgotten and life-saving cure: the healing viruses that can conquer antibiotic resistant bacterial infections
First discovered in 1917, bacteriophages—or “phages”—are living medicines: viruses that devour bacteria. Ubiquitous in the environment, they are found in water, soil, inside plants and animals, and in the human body.
When phages were first recognized as medicines, their promise seemed limitless. Grown by research scientists and physicians in France, the Soviet Union, and elsewhere to target specific bacteria, they cured cholera, dysentery, bubonic plague, and other deadly infectious diseases.
But after Stalin’s brutal purges and the rise of antibiotics, phage therapy declined and nearly was lost to history—until today. In The Living Medicine, acclaimed science journalist Lina Zeldovich reveals the remarkable history of phages, told through the lives of the French, Soviet, and American scientists who discovered, developed, and are reviving this unique cure for seemingly-intractable diseases. Ranging from Paris to Soviet Georgia to Egypt, India, Kenya, Siberia, and America, The Living Medicine shows how phages once saved tens of thousands of lives. Today, with our antibiotic shield collapsing, Zeldovich demonstrates how phages are making our food safe and, in cases of dire emergency, rescuing people from the brink of death. They may be humanity’s best defense against the pandemics to come.
Filled with adventure, human ambition, tragedy, technology, irrepressible scientists and the excitement of their innovation, The Living Medicine offers a vision of how our future may be saved by knowledge from the past.
Longlist for the PEN/E. O Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
A remarkable story of the scientists behind a long-forgotten and life-saving cure: the healing viruses that can conquer antibiotic resistant bacterial infections
First discovered in 1917, bacteriophages—or “phages”—are living medic...
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1 review
Andrea Romance
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October 31, 2024
Bacteriophages—viruses that kill bacteria—were once a revolutionary medical treatment, saving countless lives before antibiotics took center stage. This book recounts their fascinating history, from early discoveries to near extinction and their remarkable resurgence as a crucial tool in combating antibiotic resistance and future pandemics. Combining medical history with biography, the book is fascinating, easy to read, and offers hope for the future. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.
About the author
Lina Zeldovich grew up in a dissident family of Soviet scientists and learned English as a second language in her twenties, as an immigrant New Yorker. Now an award-winning journalist, author, speaker, and Columbia Journalism School alumna, she has contributed hundreds of stories for leading publications including Popular Science Magazine, The New York Times, Reader’s Digest, Scientific American, Smithsonian, National Geographic, and BBC, and appeared on radio, podcasts and TV. Her last book, The Other Dark Matter: The Science and Business of Turning Waste into Wealth and Health, has been optioned for a TV series. She lives in New York City.
Lina Zeldovich grew up in a dissident family of Soviet scientists and learned English as a second language in her twenties, as an immigrant New Yorker. Now an award-winning journalist, author, speaker, and Columbia Journalism School alumna, she has contributed hundreds of stories for leading publ...
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