What We Are Reading Today: The Lives of Snakes

Short Url
Updated 20 August 2024
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: The Lives of Snakes

Author: Chris Mattison

Descended from prehistoric lizards, snakes have been slithering across the earth for more than a hundred million years.

There are some 4,100 species known to exist, and many are venomous, but many more are not.

Snakes experience the world in unique ways, seeing in just two colors, smelling the air with their tongues, and relying on signs of movement for orientation.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Human Microbiome in Health and Disease’

Photo/Supplied
Updated 28 December 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Human Microbiome in Health and Disease’

Author: MARGARET RILEY

Each of our bodies is home to trillions of microorganisms that shape our health, prevent disease, and influence conditions ranging from depression to allergies. This book offers a detailed look at how our microbial inhabitants—known as the microbiome—affect almost every facet of our health.

It takes readers from the microbiome’s primordial origins and their symbiosis with humans to the latest microbiome research, utilizing real-world case studies and current clinical insights to show how shifts in the microbiome can play a role in obesity, autoimmune disorders, and depression.