Jane has a request. She read an article about the British doctor who tracked down the source of a cholera infection in London in 1840. This has sparked her interest in (and I quote) “germs, bacteria, diseases, microbes, and things I can watch wiggle under a microscope.” We have a couple of books on Louis Pasteur somewhere around the house, but before I launch a library and Google search I thought I’d ask the question here. Got any favorite bacteria-themed resources?
A kind neighbor surprised us with dinner the other day and mentioned that she’d been running flu tests at the pediatric clinic where she works. Jane’s eyes bugged out with awe and longing. Some people, you could see her thinking, have all the luck.
Ah, disease…exactly the sort of soft and snuggly unit study a nesting mama yearns to arrange in the final days before the baby arrives.
This is only tangentially related, but on the subject of slightly ooky pathology we just got the coolest book on Phineas Gage from our library. Let us know what you turn up, please! And thanks for the link to my yes/no post.
I’d like to recommend “A Field Guide to Bacteria” by Betsey dexter dyer. It is a wonderful resource with tons of suggestions for observing and identifying bacteria, even without a microscope. I also believe there was a great thread on the 4real board about Winogradsky columns. Lots of fun there. I remember a good biography of jonas salk somewhere…I’m not sure but will try to find it.
If you’d like soft and snuggly germs, try these! 🙂
Whoops, don’t know where my link went! I’ll try to do it without linking this time: http://www.giantmicrobes.com
You will have to decide whether Jane is ready to face the real life consequences of these microbes, but the website pandemicflu.gov is the central US government site for the Avian flu watch, and a general talk about family preparedness, as well as habits of hygene to prevent spread of disease, might be an interesting aside, especially with baby on the way (simply teaching her sisters how to wash their hands properly might make her feel like a good doctor).