The Future of Germs: A Discussion with Jonathan Kennedy
New Books in Biology and Evolution
00:00
The Future of Microbes
I think we're living in a golden age for microbes. Part of it is the encroachment on animal habitats, also the growth in really intensive factory farming which creates conditions that allow pathogens to spread through the animal population and eventually jump to humans. As I mentioned, poverty is also a massive issue. And then of course we have the perfect technologies for infectious diseases to spread quickly throughout the world. It's easier than ever to jump on a plane and travel vast, vast distances. If we look back to the Black Death, it took several years for your senior pestis to travel along the Silk Road and then via ships through the Mediterranean and throughout Europe. But with COVID it was a matter
Transcript
Play full episode
