John L. Ingraham is Professor of Microbiology, Emeritus, at the University of California, Davis.
In a delightfully personal yet accurate style, Ingraham describes
the events and personalities that brought us the 'Tree of Life,'
the representation that encapsulates the relatedness of all
organisms of Earth. Readers will be educated while they are
entertained as they explore fascinating aspects of life discovered
through the study of our microbial relatives. -- Roberto Kolter,
Harvard University
One of the grandest achievements of modern biology has been the
unraveling of the relationships among the many kinds of life and
the determination of the course of evolution, a great tree of all
life. In Kin, prominent microbiologist John Ingraham traces
the scientific developments that led to this achievement and some
of its ramifications. Along the way, with many personal anecdotes
about scientists involved, Ingraham unfolds the history of
microbiology and molecular biology, the development of genetic
technology, and ideas on the origin of life. Kin is a highly
readable account of a remarkable period of scientific progress in
biology. -- Norman Pace, University of Colorado
Charles Darwin knew microbes as 'infusoria,' and left them off his
partial tree of life - little dreaming of how they dominate it, or
of their intimate relationship with humanity. That kinship, reveals
microbiologist John Ingraham in this succinct scientific chronicle,
began to emerge in the 1960s and 1970s with revolutionary findings
such as Carl Woese's discovery of archaea. Ingraham deftly traces
the rise of relevant fields, and highlights landmark research on
the gut microbiome, the putative origins of life in oceanic
hydrothermal vents and more. -- Barbara Kiser * Nature *
Darwin included a single figure in On the Origin of Species:
a sketchy Tree of Life, showing how the teeming variety of
creatures derive from a single common ancestor. Today, explains
John Ingraham, we have fleshed out the picture and can demonstrate
in detail how 'we are all kin...from the smallest bacterium to the
largest blue whale.' He describes the process of discovery that
revealed the sole three branches on the tree: the recently
discovered archaea, the bacteria and the eukaryotes, which include
everything from protozoa, algae and fungi up to humans. Our new
knowledge of the tree's structure can help us to understand how
bacteria on, in and around us cause disease; it may also offer
clues about the origins of life. -- Matthew Reisz * Times Higher
Education *
In simple and straightforward prose, Ingraham restores the true
importance of one of the most revolutionary yet understated
discoveries of the last century: that we all descend from, and are
intricately linked with, microbial creatures. Ingraham's narrative
is a profound story about our true origins, remarkable in scope and
multi-dimensional in ambition. This all-encompassing tale extends
from the beginning of life on earth to the present day, and
occasionally casts a glance at the future. Readers who expect to
learn about our unicellular friends (and enemies) will also find an
account of the beginning of life, the discovery of DNA, the quest
to cure disease, a brief digression into gene editing, and a
forecast of impending ecological disasters...Modest and revealing,
Kin focuses our eyes on the invisible and unfamiliar-and
thereby puts our own existence into perspective. The book offers a
pluralistic account of our varied encounters with the manifold
microbes around us. But as divergent as it may seem, this story is
equally unifying. Stringing together insights from many
disciplines, distant places, and different times, Ingraham delivers
a living history that is unique and whole, and invites us to become
a part of it. -- Margret Veltman * Cooper Square Review *
An intricately structured story that flows very well and shows how
all these discoveries interlocked and influenced each other...It is
not often that someone is willing or capable at the end of a long
career to sit down and write a cogent eyewitness history of their
discipline. That alone makes Kin a noteworthy and admirable
achievement. * The Inquisitive Biologist *
Those curious to learn about modern microbiology would certainly
enjoy hearing from one of its founders. -- Michael Galperin *
Quarterly Review of Biology *
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