Starred review from January 1, 2025
The aerobiome is a complex collection of life, including bacteria, fungal spores, pollen, and viruses transiently inhabiting the atmosphere. It is a domain in constant flux that can alter weather and greatly impact human health. Science journalist Zimmer (Life's Edge, 2021) labels the aerobiome, "a peculiar realm: an ecosystem of visitors." He highlights the personalities, drama, research, novel scientific instruments, and confounding controversy over airborne infections ("floating germs") associated with the elucidation of the aerobiome's composition and importance. A chilling and revealing portion of the book focuses on biological warfare. In the 1940s, President Franklin Roosevelt approved the making of biological weapons, which at that time could have involved anthrax spores or parrot fever (psittacosis). During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was suspected of manufacturing smallpox bombs. Zimmer's intriguing discussion includes ideas about how clouds are alive with microbes, the aerosolization of viruses from regular breathing, and the use of ultraviolet light to sterilize the air. Over 100,000 tons of bacteria are discharged into the air annually from dust storms, hurricanes, forest fires, even the crash of ocean waves. Around 50 million tons of fungal spores are set free into the air each year. Breathtaking facts plus superior science writing equals engaging, essential reading.
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January 15, 2025
What we know--and continue to learn--about a substance that sustains us. In this enlightening history, Zimmer writes of efforts to study the "gaseous ocean in which we all live," which "contains exhaled viruses that can then be inhaled." Air itself became an embattled space during the Covid-19 pandemic, but as theNew York Times science writer shows, such discord isn't without precedent. His opening chapters evoke dreadful images--14th-century plague doctors tried to evade infection by wearing masks with beaks that contained, among other substances, "the ground remains of human mummies"--and explain advances made by visionary scientists and physicians. In 1864, responding to a colleague who disagreed with his theories about airborne microorganisms, Louis Pasteur used lab tools and edifying props during a pivotal Sorbonne lecture on his "hunt for floating germs." Inspired by Pasteur's breakthroughs, Joseph Lister, a British surgeon, began using carbolic acid when treating compound fractures, substantially reducing infections. In the 20th century, William Firth Wells and Mildred Weeks Wells, husband-and-wife collaborators, made essential contributions to the study of airborne viruses. But, Zimmer notes, "their difficult personalities" and misinterpretations of their findings robbed them of due credit, a measure of which arrived posthumously when doctors treating Covid-19 cited the importance of William's work (while mostly ignoring Mildred's role). A recurring theme is the "failure of imagination" that has prevented governments and global organizations alike from recognizing "the full threat of an airborne disease." Such failures, many scientists believe, contributed to avoidable Covid-19 deaths. Alongside informative chapters about terrifying government projects to build airborne biological weapons, Zimmer recounts some of the field's more cinematic episodes. In the 1930s, researchers dropped a spore-collecting device from a helium balloon piloted by military men wearing leather football helmets. An astute, accessible look at science's hard-won understanding of our air.
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