Microbiology may be described as one of the younger sciences with its history, as a precise subject, only dating as far back as Pasteur in the mid 1800s and his revelation both of the role of microorganisms in nature and their importance to human welfare. Medical scientists rapidly took up the challenge, with their area of microbiology flourishing and expanding almost in complete isolation from the rest of biology. We now know, of course, that microorganisms have always played an important, if not essential role, in the biosphere with fermented foods and beverages, plant and animal diseases...

This book is a sequel to the first volume of New International Studies in Applied Ethics and includes essays from some of the same contributors. Like the previous volume, the book explores the interface between medicine and theology. The essays demonstrate the complementarity evident between the two and examine how those coming from different theological traditions are able to provide helpful insights. Points of disagreement, and their crucial role in contributing to an understanding of the complexities of the debate, are acknowledged.
Much of the discussion focuses on use of the Bible....

Medical technology is one of the most powerful forces in the modern world, with enormous opportunities for good. For many in affluent countries, the expectations of what constitutes the good life have been transformed, as neonatal mortality rates have declined, life expectancy has increased, and one disease after another has been defeated. However, it is not an unalloyed blessing, as social patterns have been transformed, family structures have been challenged, and ordinary people as well as health professionals and scientists confront novel ethical dilemmas.
Gareth Jones writes not only...