Microbes in the News
WELCOME TO GERM GEMS
Germ Gems is a weekly blog posted by Phillip K. Peterson, MD - an infectious diseases expert and professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Minnesota. Launched in July 2019, the weekly posts serve as a vehicle for timely information on what’s new in the microbial world.
Microbes - also known as germs and microorganisms - are essential to human health. But some microbes (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites) can sicken or kill us.
A day doesn’t go by without the appearance of some newsworthy development involving microbes. Many of the stories you’ll read are about our enemies, germs that cause disease. Others relate to microbes that contribute to human health. Some involve the human microbiome - germs that share our body surfaces.
Even though you generally get what you pay for, don’t let Germ Gems free subscription fool you— you may read something that one day saves your or a loved one’s life.
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Phillip K. Peterson, M.D. is professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he served as an infectious diseases specialist for four decades. He is a former director of the Infectious Diseases and International Medicine Division in the Department of Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Medicine and of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. In 2008 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Medicine from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and in 2011 received the Gold Award for Distinguished Achievement in Research by his alma mater, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.