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Micro life, miracles of the miniature world revealed, Derek Harvey, lead author ; foreword by Chris Packham

eng

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Micro life

Derek Harvey, lead author ; foreword by Chris Packham

miracles of the miniature world revealed

Earth is home to more microbes, and more different types of microbes, than any other living organism. Bacteria on Earth outweigh humans by 1,100 to 1 and without them, all world ecosystems would collapse. This book reveals this vital, unseen realm, but it includes large life-forms too, in extreme close-up, so that you can wonder at the beauty of a pollen grain, a butterfly egg, the spore of a fungus, and the nerve cell of a human. The spectacular imagery in Micro Life exploits cutting-edge technology, such as focus-stacked macro photographs, as well as micrographs (microscope images) including scanning electron micrographs. Illustrations nearby explain the science - from the workings of an insect's eye to how a plant "breathes" through its leaves. The biology builds into a reference on how life works - and how all organisms, however small, solve the basic problems of movement, reproduction, energy, communication, and defence. Micro Life is a beautiful and surprising look at the natural world

adult