Millennials are leaving organized religion. Here’s where some are finding community

The American religious landscape has changed dramatically over the past several decades. While regular church, synagogue and mosque attendance has been on the decline since the late 1970s, a Pew Research Center study this year has found that the biggest generational dropoff has occurred with millennials -- young adults born between 1981 and 1996. Special correspondent Cat Wise reports on why.

• Judy Woodruff:

  While evangelicals remain an important demographic group for politicians, the percent of Americans who identify with any religion has been on the decline for decades.

  And a recent Pew Research Center study has found the biggest generational drop-off is with millennials, young adults born between 1981 and 1996.

  Cat Wise reports from Southern California on the young people who are changing their beliefs and the efforts by some faith communities to bring them back.
• And a note:

  The Pew Research Center is a "NewsHour" funder.
• Man:

  We're all together in this thing.
• Cat Wise:

  A Sunday service that is part therapy session…
• Man:

  Imagine how that would change the trajectory of your life.
• Cat Wise:

  … part stand-up comedy routine, and part live concert, all followed by a round of beers with your pastor in a rented CrossFit gym?

  This is not your grandmother's idea of church.
• Brittany Barron:

  So, we wanted everyone to be able to hear the good news. So, we had something right in the back. Do you have good news?
• Cat Wise:

  Welcome to New Abbey, a Christian, LGBTQ-affirming, progressive, family friendly church in Pasadena, California.

  It was started six years ago in the living room of this guy:
• Cory Marquez:

  For all the ways that we don't believe that we're human enough or good enough.
• Cat Wise:

  Cory Marquez is a 34-year-old ordained pastor who left a larger evangelical congregation after he saw many of his own friends were no longer interested in attending church.

  When you were talking to your friends about why they didn't go to church, what were you hearing from them?
• Cory Marquez:

  This isn't relevant for me. Sexuality, that's a big one, that the church is not honestly talking about sexuality.
• Brittany Barron:

  You can ask my wife.
• Cat Wise:

  Sexuality is not a taboo topic here. Marquez's fellow pastor, Brittany Barron, speaks openly with the congregation about being a lesbian, and many of those who attend are from the LGBTQ community.

  The congregation has grown from 20 to 400 over the last several years.
• Cory Marquez:

  It's less about form and more about content, that people want something that actually matters for their lives.

  So, if the content is literally not healing you, connecting you to something bigger, then you're wasting your time.
• Cat Wise:

  New Abbey is one of a number of new religious organizations popping up across the country trying to appeal to young people, who are increasingly leaving the religions of their ancestors.

  According to an October report from the Pew Research Center, 76 percent of the baby boomer generation describe themselves as Christians. In contrast, only half of millennials identify as Christians. Four in 10 say they are religiously unaffiliated, and one in 10 identify with non-Christian faiths.
• Diane Winston:

  This is what interests me, like, if people say they feel nothing.
• Cat Wise:

  Diane Winston is a professor of religion and media at the University of Southern California who has been studying religious trends among young adults.
• Diane Winston:

  Many religions just don't feel relevant to a lot of these young people. They don't speak their language. And now there are other ways you can make those connections. You can make them online. You can make them at an interest group or an affinity group.
• Cat Wise:

  She also says many young people have lost trust in religious institutions.
• Diane Winston:

  Their scandals, the sexuality improprieties, these problems of, you know, pedophilia, of sexism, of misogyny. Why would you want to give your time and money to an institution that countenances or protects people who do these kinds of things?
• Cat Wise:

  Some of those turned off by traditional religions continue to seek fulfillment in other ways.

  According to Pew, three in 10 adults ages 18 to 49 now identify as spiritual, but not religious.

  One of those who has made the switch is Jaison Perez. The 32-year-old from Los Angeles was raised Catholic and attended weekly services with his family, but he says he never felt truly connected to the church and left in his early 20s.
• Jaison Perez:

  As a queer person, the Catholic Church is unsafe. I go to church, and I'm immediately sinful. It's this feeling of not being able to show up fully myself.
• Cat Wise:

  Now he works as a healer at Mostly Angels, a store specializing in mystical services and products in Culver City. Perez says there's been a significant uptick in business over the last three to five years.
• Jaison Perez:

  We're not sold on old fantasy of what the church can provide you, what spirituality, structural spirituality can provide.
• Cat Wise:

  While New Age practices and beliefs have been growing since the 1960s and '70s, the Internet and social media have played a big role in the spread among the younger generations.

  More than 60 percent of adults ages 18 to 49 have at least one New Age belief, according to Pew. And many are turning to new horoscope apps and online astrologers for guidance.

  But some favor much more intimate ways to spread the word.
• Lori Shapiro:

  In what ways do we take on the challenge of wrestling with our shadow?
• Cat Wise:

  At the Open Temple in Venice, California, Rabbi Lori Shapiro incorporates a variety of New Age practices, even a colorful bus, to reach new people in the community.
• Lori Shapiro:

  There are a lot of reasons why people have fallen away, I think the least of which is ideology. People are hungry for these ideas. We just need to make them accessible again.
• Cat Wise:

  But many faith leaders aren't rushing to change long-held practices and beliefs in order to keep young people in the pews.

  Reverend Mary Minor is the pastor of Brookins-Kirkland Community Church in Los Angeles' Inglewood neighborhood. The church once had about 10,000 members. Today, there are about 300, and many are older adults.

  Do you feel that, in an effort to reach younger people, that the church might need to change its views on certain issues, like gay marriage, for example?
• Mary Minor:

  I don't think the church needs to change that. My denomination doesn't believe in gay marriage. However, my denomination embraces those that are of the LGBTQ community.
• Cat Wise:

  According to Pew, black millennials nationally tend to be less religious than older black adults, but they are considerably more religious than their peers.

  Reverend Minor says she is concerned about losing so many young people in her church, and worries they are missing out on an important aspect of religion: community.
• Mary Minor:

  When you're not assembled with believers, then you feel like you're on an island all by yourself.
• Cat Wise:

  Back at New Abbey, Pastor Cory Marquez says a sense of community is what's bringing people back Sunday after Sunday. And their approach isn't all that radical.
• Cory Marquez:

  I have never opened a door in Christian tradition where I found that I was the first person there. There have always been people, monks and priests and nuns and theologians and philosophers, who have been asking these questions for thousands of years.
• Cat Wise:

  Once the congregation finishes pondering life's most ancient and enduring questions, they get to celebrate with pizza and cold beverages.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Cat Wise in Pasadena, California.

Watch

Watch the Full Episode

PBS NewsHour from Jan 02, 2020

WHY THEY DON'T CALL IT ETHICAL INVESTING
Sustainable investing is about making bigger profits, say the majority of investors

The majority of investors believe the main reason to invest sustainably is to make bigger profits, a major global study has found.

The findings suggest investors increasingly believe that backing sustainable investments, those companies that are most focused on managing environmental, social and governance issues, will deliver better results rather than just be a choice of conscience.

The Schroders Global Investor Study 2018 (GIS), which surveyed more than 22,000 investors in 30 countries also covered definitions of sustainable investing and highlighted the barriers preventing people from investing more in sustainable investments.
Experienced investors

The growing interest in sustainable investing was particularly pronounced among experienced investors. The study found that people who feel they have higher levels of investment knowledge are both investing more of their total portfolio in sustainable investments and expecting higher returns on their entire portfolio.

People who consider themselves expert/advanced investors said they were investing an average of 42% of their portfolio in sustainable investments and expected an annual return on their entire investment portfolio of 10.9%, on average. That compares with 32% and 8.8%, respectively, for those people who consider themselves beginner investors.



The study also revealed generational patterns. Millennials said they were investing more in sustainable investments as a proportion of their entire portfolio than older generations other. People aged between 18 and 36 said they invested an average of 41% of their portfolios in sustainable investments, compared with 35% for those aged 37-54. For those aged 55 and over it was 34%.
What is sustainable investing?

Sustainable investment has seen a huge increase in interest in the last decade, but definitions in this area can be confusing. We asked investors what phrase best described “sustainable investing” and found some sophisticated views.

More than half (52%) said that it was about investing in companies that are likely to be more profitable because they are proactive in preparing for environmental and social change.

Under half (47%) said it was about investing in companies they thought were best in class when it comes to environmental or social issues or how the company is run.

A quarter (25%) said it was about avoiding so-called "sin stocks", companies involved in alcohol, tobacco or weapons manufacturing. Only 9% had no idea what sustainable investing is.

Who invests the most in 'sustainable'?

At the country level, people in the US (47%) said they invested more in sustainable investments as a proportion of their entire portfolio than any other country.

In Europe the Swedes (45%) said they invested the most, while China (45%), South Africa (45%) and Indonesia (45%) invested the most among emerging markets. Japan (24%) invested the least.

Emerging market economies – including Brazil and India – where social unrest and environmental challenges are particularly acute tended to invest the most in sustainable investments. These difficulties may have helped sharpen attention on such issues.

European countries and Asian countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan that are considered more developed financial markets invested the least in sustainable investments.
Read more: US investors trump Europeans in sustainability league table
So what is stopping sustainable investing from growing rapidly?

The study also found that globally 64% of people have increased their allocation to sustainable investments in past five years. Despite that, barriers to investing sustainably remain. Investors cite lack of information and a limited number of sustainable funds as a key reason.

Asked what if anything stops them from investing sustainably, the top three responses were:



Jessica Ground, Head of Sustainability at Schroders, said: "We have long known that investors are interested in sustainable investment funds and that the interest is growing, but the amount of money flowing in has been relatively muted. This study goes some way in explaining why that might be.

"It seems clear that everyone involved in the investment industry will need to work together to improve the availability, transparency and advice around these funds.

"What's encouraging is that investors have a sophisticated understanding of sustainable investment. They realise that running a business sustainably by definition gives it better chance of success in the decades to come. Essentially, most investors now believe that sustainable investing can help them achieve good returns.”

Global Investor Study 2018


BOILER PLATE
Important Information:

Schroders commissioned Research Plus Ltd to conduct, between 20th March and 23rd April 2018, an independent online study of 22,338 investors in 30 countries around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the US. This research defines ‘investors’ as those who will be investing at least €10,000 (or the equivalent) in the next 12 months and who have made changes to their investments within the last ten years. These individuals represent the views of investors in each country included in the study.

Important Information: The views and opinions contained herein are of those named in the article and may not necessarily represent views expressed or reflected in other Schroders communications, strategies or funds. The sectors and securities shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered a recommendation to buy or sell. This communication is marketing material.

This material is intended to be for information purposes only and is not intended as promotional material in any respect. The material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. The material is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for accounting, legal or tax advice, or investment recommendations. Reliance should not be placed on the views and information in this document when taking individual investment and/or strategic decisions. Past performance is not a guide to future performance and may not be repeated. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amounts originally invested. All investments involve risks including the risk of possible loss of principal. Information herein is believed to be reliable but Schroders does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Reliance should not be placed on the views and information in this document when taking individual investment and/or strategic decisions. The opinions in this document include some forecasted views. We believe we are basing our expectations and beliefs on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of what we currently know. However, there is no guarantee than any forecasts or opinions will be realised. These views and opinions may change. Issued by Schroder Investment Management Limited, 1 London Wall Place, London, EC2Y 5AU. Registration No. 1893220 England. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

#BIOPHAGE WORLD 
THE TRIUMPH OF SOVIET SCIENCE 
ABANDONED BY THE WEST 

CHECK OUT THE INSIDE OF THIS ART SCIENCE BOOK

Life in Our #Phage World 

Hardcover – Dec 1 2014

by Forest Rohwer (Author), Merry Youle (Author), Heather Maughan (Author

We share the Earth with more than 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 phages. 

Everywhere they thrive, from well-fed guts to near-boiling acidic springs, from cryoconite holes to endolithic fissures. They travel from one microbial host to the next as virions, their genetic weapons packaged inside a protective protein shell. If you could lay all of these nanoscopic phage virions side-by-side, the line-up would stretch over 42 million light years. 

Through their daily shenanigans they kill or collaborate with their microbial hosts to spur microbial evolution and maintain ecosystem functioning. We have learned much about them since their discovery by Frederick Twort a century ago. 

They also taught us that DNA, not protein, is the hereditary material, unraveled the triplet genetic code, and offered their enzymes as indispensible tools for the molecular biology revolution. More contributions will be forthcoming since the vast majority of phages await discovery. 

Phage genomes harbor the world's largest cache of unexplored genetic diversity, and we now have the equipment needed to go prospecting. Although there are field guides to birds, insects, wild flowers, even Bacteria, there was no such handbook to guide the phage explorer. 

Forest Rohwer decided to correct this oversight, for novice and expert alike, and thus was born Life in Our Phage World. A diverse collection of 30 phages are featured. Each phage is characterized by its distinctive traits, including details about its genome, habitat, lifestyle, global range, and close relatives. 

The beauty of its intricate virion is captured in a pen-and-ink portrait by artist Benjamin Darby. Each phage also stars in a carefully researched action story relating how that phage encounters, exploits, kills, or otherwise manipulates its host. These behaviors are imaginatively illustrated by fine artist Leah L. Pantea. 

Eight researchers that work closely with phages also relate their experiences as inhabitants of the phage world. Rohwer has years of first-hand experience with the phage multitudes in ecosystems ranging from coral reefs to the human lung to arctic waters. He pioneered the key metagenomic methods now widely used to catalog and characterize Earth's microbial and viral life. Despite research advances, most people, many scientists included, remain unaware of the ongoing drama in our phage world. In anticipation of 2015, the centennial of phage discovery, Forest assembled a cadre of writers, artists, scientists, and a cartographer and set them to work. The result? This alluring field guide-a feast for the imagination and a celebration of phage diversity.

REVIEWS

John R. Dale
5.0 out of 5 stars 

Readable and artistic book on a microbiological subject.

Reviewed in Canada on August 2, 2015
Format: Hardcover
Beautifully designed book. Science and Art well linked and represented in a collectors book for the bookshelf. Also actually really informative and full of humour as it weaves tales of the phage kingdom and they become alive (maybe? !) The diagrams are creatively done and add to the reading pleasure. All in all well worth the pride as a hardcover. I am actually reading it through rather than treating it as a reference book.


DESNUES Christelle
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read book!

Reviewed in France on January 23, 2015
Format: Hardcover
This book is a real "chef d'oeuvre"! It both stimulates your eyes AND your mind! I highly recommend "Life in Our Phage World" for students, scientists or just for curious people...
As you open the first pages, you truly explore a new dimensional world....the wonderful world of phages! So don't wait...read it!
Christelle Desnues PhD, CNRS, France


jaultpat
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 

Reviewed in France on May 8, 2016
Format: Hardcover
Excellent ouvrage de référence sur la biologie des phages, une synthèse actuelle de toute la littérature sur le sujet. Indispensable.



Mark O. Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars 

At the intersection of virology, art, and fine writing.

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2015
Format: Hardcover

I have to tell you: I adore this book, and for a number of important reasons. First, it is an accessible introduction and reminder of how central viruses are to the biosphere, with a unique and engaging perspective. With all the talk about the "microbiome" in the news, the more numerous and just as important "virobiome" does not get as much attention or PR. We tend to reflexively think of viruses as "bad," when in fact viruses help keep ecological systems in balance (and that may very well include issues of human health). Bacteriophages, bacterial viruses, are not only fascinating as a model system, genetic tool, and driver of ecological balance....but beautiful to behold.

This brings me to something special about this fine book, by authors possessing expertise, writing chops, and enthusiasm (as well as quirky humor): the artwork. I am used to "scientific publications" being somewhat dry and technical. Not so with this publication. This is a beautiful as well as informative tome. If you have any interest in the intersection of art and biology, this book is simply a "must have."

Let me say something really important to finish up this review: the Amazon system states that this book is "temporarily out of stock," and implies it will take some time to receive. I ordered my copy early January, and received it in less than a week. I have no explanation for the verbiage. If you order this lovely book, you will get it quickly. It's a great book, and sits with pride on my office bookshelf.

HARDCOVER ONLY $109.46 CDN 
I SAID CHECK IT OUT I DID NOT SAY BUY IT 

THIS BOOK IS NOT ILLUSTRATED AND IS MUCH CHEAPER ONLY $29 CDN 
PB KINDLE 

I CAME ACROSS ANNA KUCHMENT WRITING SCIENCE COLUMNS ON FRACKING FOR HER LOCAL DALLAS PAPER AND SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN I POSTED THEM HERE. THEN I FOUND OUT SHE WROTE 
A MUCH NEEDED HISTORY OF PHAGE SCIENCE. 

http://tinyurl.com/vkaupz8

Before the arrival of penicillin in the 1940s, phage therapy was one of the few weapons doctors had against bacterial infections. It saved the life of Hollywood legend Tom Mix before being abandoned by Western science. Now, researchers and physicians are rediscovering the treatment, which pits phage viruses against their natural bacterial hosts, as a potential weapon against antibiotic-resistant infections.

The Forgotten Cure traces the story of phages from Paris, where they were discovered in 1917; to Tbilisi, Georgia, where one of phage therapy’s earliest proponents died at the hands of Stalin; to the Nobel podium, where prominent scientists have been recognized for breakthroughs stemming from phage research. Today, a crop of biotech startups and dedicated physicians is racing to win regulatory approval for phage therapy before superbugs exhaust the last drug in the medical arsenal. Will they clear the hurdles in time? 

From the Back Cover

“Bacteriophages have the potential to stop many if not most life threatening, drug resistant bacterial infections.  The Forgotten Cure is a non-stop, cover to cover read.”

James D. Watson, Nobel Laureate

“A lively tale of killer viruses, superbugs and a magical cure that has all the twists of a cold-war spy novel.” – George Hackett, Newsweek magazine

 “A marvelous, jargon-free historical account of the genesis, the ups-and-downs, and the current renaissance of phage therapy. The Forgotten Cure ranks at the level of Judson’s Eighth Day of Creation.”

Sankar Adhya

National Institutes of Health

The Forgotten Cure: How a Long Lost Treatment Can Save Lives in the 21st Century

Top international reviews



NurseyC
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, a surprisingly absorbing read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2013
Verified Purchase
I have just started and near finished this book over the last two days, and have thus far found the stories and histories found here to be utterly captivating. I had wanted to buy the print edition rather than the Kindle editions but the ability to electronically keep notes and comments always woo's me! Perhaps I shall purchase the print edition a little later as I will enjoy having this on my bookshelf. Bravo to the author for bringing the subject quite alive for us science enthusiasts :)




JJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good Book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2013
Verified Purchase
A Very good book for getting an overview of the history of phages and the current developments in this field. Easily readable and short.



Gert Bo Thorgersen
5.0 out of 5 stars Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2013
Verified Purchase

These wise words was written by George Santayana, back in the year 1905, and are very parallel to the story we read in this book, that is concerning the rediscovering of the Phage Therapy.

To me the book was extremely interesting to read, but to most people it would help much if there inside the book, or on the front side, were 1 or 2 pictures of Phages, because the Phages are so strange looking, being extremely different to what we are used in seeing. Actual the Phages mostly are looking like some of the robots we have seen in films, in cartoons, or on the front covers to the novel by H. G. Wells: "War of the Worlds". But as the Phages are around 40 times smaller than the bacteria's which they attacks (or rarely, working together with), then a picture number 2 showing a Phage positioned, and working, on a bacteria, which it has attacked, would help furthermore. Of course we nowadays, by going to the Internet, can find pictures showing the Phages, but not everybody is using PCs. And furthermore, without doubt, more persons would be interested in reading this book, and thereby learning more about these strange Phages, when by browsing around in the book, seeing drawings of the Phages.

The book is good in telling the historical background, concerning the discovery of the Phage, by d'Herelle. And as we again and again are going to the institute in Georgian, where Eliava, with connecting to d'Herelle, started the work on the Phage Therapy, we then read about the actual Russian history then passing by, after the Russian revolution in 1917. And learn that Eliava was executed by Stalin or Beria. But even though I'm from Denmark, and thereby not from Russia, I must point out that we are missing 2 important points that without doubt have connections to Stalins horrifying killing of many people. In the book, as in nearly all of the historical books, we are not told that actual, after The Revolution in 1917, when the First World War was over, Russia in 1918 was invaded, from all sides, by USA, England, France, and Germany, and the war lasted until 1923. And furthermore before The Revolution, under the Tsar, a brother to Stalin had been executed. So without doubt these cases were some of the reason to the cruelty of Stalin. But in any case Lenin had warned against Stalin, that was, not to let him be the following leader.

In the book there are many interesting cases, both concerning patients and concerning the discoveries, and the works, done by the science persons. For example we on the side 1, are learning how the first great American screen idol, Tom Mix, back in the year 1931, when he developed a stomachache and thereby nearly having no chance in surviving, (precisely the same happened to me, back in the year 1963, when I was 16 years old, and I was close to dying). Opposite to all odds Tom Mix was cured, as his doctor was having more knowledge than normal for the doctors, and thereby knew a person to contact for with help from him trying to cure in another way, by the Phage Therapy, when there was no chance when using the normal known methods.

But we already, on the side ix, in the book, are reading about a case of Fred Bledsoe, who in 2002, stepped on a rusty nail, which resulted in so bad infection that the doctor advised him to have his foot amputated. But by an accident, a friend to him, in TV saw the episode "Silent Killers", in the CBS news program "48 hours", and thereby learned about the world's oldest institute concerning Phage, laying in Tbilisi in Georgia. And he ended traveling to this strange place, and he then was cured. And the book finish with on the side 123 starting a parallel case, actual about Laura Robert, who none of the doctors expected to be living past the end of 2005. And after she also, in TV, by an accident saw the program "48 hours", then went to Georgia and was totally cured.

And in the history concerning the discovery of the Phage, we on the side 83 starts reading about how the English scientist, M. E. Hankin, in 1896, when living in India, set out to discover why the people could bath in Ganges river without getting sick. When epidemics of Cholera swept through central India, and when people were using the river for anything besides bath, for cloth washing, and even dumping partly burnt corpses into the Ganges. And by research he could conclude that the water was containing an antiseptic which acted on the Cholera germ.

But it was Felix d'Herelle who discovered the Phage, by two cases, and then clearly being able to talk about it, and making more research. As we learn on the side 7, when he first during research, discovered and was wondering why some of his bacterial cultures had died. But It was first when he again in 1916, during the war, when he was analyzing stool from soldier, discovered his taches verges again, that he started working on this strange discovery. And we read about the fighting between d'Herelle and his chief and other persons about this Phage, among other, whether the Phages are living organism or not, or if it's something made by the bacteria's or not. But especially it's interesting to learn how little doctor education d'Herelle was getting, but mostly was being educated buy himself.

But through the book we are getting many parallel cases telling how persons, during the last 20 years, by accidents, are rediscovered, the Phage Therapy, and then, especially since the year 2000, have started working in gropes for making firms working with the Phage Therapy. That is especially to work on the discovering on the actual Phages to the actual sickness, as there is thought to be around 100,000 different Phages, and each Phage only is working on one special bacteria.

A highly interesting book concerning Phage Therapy which we without doubt, in the future, will be hearing much more about.



Legendkhan
3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting story, but...
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2017
Verified Purchase
While the book describes an important narrative in the potential for phage therapy, I feel that it falls short of truly captivating the reader in the history of the bacteriophage, which is mostly due to poor editing etiquette (as in referencing to one individual by 2 or 3 different names, which can be quite confusing when someone's last name is used 5 times in a row and then their first name is used outside of speech). I would have also liked to see more of an explanation/ in-depth look at current phage technologies and practices.


spigdog
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm very glad I read this book.
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book describes the history of "phage" therapy, the use of bacteriophages (a type of virus) to treat bacterial infections. While antibiotics are usually effective, phages are an alternative treatment that have the advantage of having much smaller side effects since each type of phage targets very specific bacteria, unlike antibiotics. On the other hand, this makes phages more difficult to use, since one needs to find the right type of phage (out of thousands and thousands of types) to treat your disease.

The book covers phage therapy starting from their discovery in the early 1900's to today, where several companies have been trying to commercialize the technology. It's a fascinating journey, and I couldn't help thinking that phage therapy would be much more common in the U.S. if only phages didn't occur naturally, which makes it hard for drug companies to charge a lot of money for them. In any case, it makes me feel a little safer in this age of antibiotic-resistant supergerms to know there are other treatments out there (even if apparently not that many U.S. doctors do), and I thank Ms. Kuchment for her interesting and educational account.

The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug: A Memoir Hardcover – Feb 26 2019

by Steffanie Strathdee (Author), Thomas Patterson (Author), Teresa Barker

A "fascinating and terrifying" (Scientific American) memoir of one woman's extraordinary effort to save her husband's life-and the discovery of a forgotten cure that has the potential to save millions more.

Epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee and her husband, psychologist Tom Patterson, were vacationing in Egypt when Tom came down with a stomach bug. What at first seemed like a case of food poisoning quickly turned critical, and by the time Tom had been transferred via emergency medevac to the world-class medical center at UC San Diego, where both he and Steffanie worked, blood work revealed why modern medicine was failing: Tom was fighting one of the most dangerous, antibiotic- resistant bacteria in the world.

Frantic, Steffanie combed through research old and new and came across phage therapy: the idea that the right virus, aka "the perfect predator," can kill even the most lethal bacteria. Phage treatment had fallen out of favor almost 100 years ago, after antibiotic use went mainstream. Now, with time running out, Steffanie appealed to phage researchers all over the world for help. She found allies at the FDA, researchers from Texas A&M, and a clandestine Navy biomedical center-and together they resurrected a forgotten cure.

A nail-biting medical mystery, The Perfect Predator is a story of love and survival against all odds, and the (re)discovery of a powerful new weapon in the global superbug crisis.

Product description

Review

Amazon, "Best Books of 2019 (Science)"

Goodreads Choice Awards, Semifinalist (Science & Technology)

STAT News, "Best Health and Science Books to Read This Summer"

"A fascinating and terrifying peek into the devastating outcomes of antibiotic misuse -- and what happens when standard health care falls short."―Scientific American

"[A] gripping and intriguing medical thriller...This page-turner of a couple's determination to survive also serves as a dire warning regarding the consequences of the overuse of antibiotics."―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A thriller, a detective story, and at its core a profound romance, The Perfect Predator is [a] breathtaking story.... It's a warning of the havoc that awaits us as antibiotics lose their power, and a glimpse of the science that could hold that dark future at bay - if we can summon the funding and the political will to create it."―Maryn McKenna, Senior Fellow of the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University and author of Big Chicken and Superbug

"At once terrifying and inspiring, The Perfect Predator is a brilliant race-against-the-clock medical thriller that is also a celebration of love, commitment, and the power of scientific collaboration."―Steven Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Where Good Ideas Come From and The Ghost Map

"A remarkable story of love, resilience, the science of discovery, and quite possibly the future of medicine."―Richard Horton, FRCP, FMedSci, Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet

"One of the single most compelling personal stories we've ever heard."―Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, authors of The Essential Guide to Getting your Book Published

"A real-life medical thriller...fast paced [and] the writing is always infused with humor, hope, and intelligence, and the couple's remarkable story is grounded in real-life details that bring readers directly into their world. Dark, surreal poetic."―Kirkus Reviews

"The Perfect Predator is a compelling and heart-wrenching medical drama that would be completely unbelievable - if it weren't 100% true! Strathdee and Patterson masterfully weave together the personal, medical, and scientific strands of their battle against one of the world's worst superbugs, bringing not just Patterson, but a century-old medical technology back from the brink of death. This first-hand account of the front lines of the battle against the scourge of antimicrobial resistance underscores the human cost underlying the bland statistics."―Rob Knight, PhD, Director, Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California San Diego and author of Follow Your Gut and Dirt Is Good

"[A] riveting tale...The saga reads like a thriller....Remarkable passages from Patterson [describe] how he interpreted events through veils of feverish delirium, pain-killer fog, and coma."―Laurie Garrett, The Lancet

About the Author(s)

Steffanie Strathdee is an infectious disease epidemiologist, and Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Professor and Harold Simon Chair at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. She also directs the new UC San Diego center for Innovative Phage Application and Therapeutics and is an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins and Simon Fraser Universities. She has been named one of TIME's 50 Most Influential People in Health Care.

Thomas Patterson is an evolutionary sociobiologist and an experimental psychologist. A Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Diego, he has renowned expertise on behavioral interventions among HIV-positive persons and those at high risk of acquiring HIV and sexually transmitted infections.

Dr. Patterson and Dr. Strathdee have worked as husband-and-wife AIDS researchers on the Mexico-US border for over a decade. This is their first book together.

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SEE  

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=PHAGES

 https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=BIOPHAGES

 https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=PHAGE

 https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=BACTERIOPHAGE