Mysteries of the Microscopic World
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Narrated by:
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Bruce E. Fleury
About this listen
An invisible world of astonishing complexity is all around you. A world so small you can’t see it with the naked eye. A world so crowded that its population staggers the mind. A world in which you participate every day - often without even knowing it. The inhabitants of this world are trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other organisms, collectively known as microbes. Hundreds of thousands could fit on the period at the end of this sentence. And many play a powerful role in your life, from the bacteria in your stomach that help you digest food to the pathogens that make you sick.
Mysteries of the Microscopic World is your illustrated guided tour through a realm that is as teeming with exotic life as any rainforest - and that is just as exciting.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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This title may do more harm than good for some readers.
- By Rick on 01-28-20
By: Don Lincoln, and others
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The Nature of Matter: Understanding the Physical World
- By: David W. Ball, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: David W. Ball
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
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In the 24 engaging lectures of The Nature of Matter, no scientific background is needed to appreciate such miracles of everyday life as a bouncing rubber ball or water's astonishing power to dissolve. Moreover, the study of matter has led directly to such inventions as semiconductor circuits for computers, new fabrics for clothes, and powerful adhesives for medicine and industry.
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High School or Lower Level
- By User on 11-03-15
By: David W. Ball, and others
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Major Transitions in Evolution
- By: Anthony Martin, John Hawks, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Anthony Martin, John Hawks
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
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Imagine a world without bees, butterflies, and flowering plants. That was Earth 125 million years ago. Turn back the clock 400 million years, and there were no trees. At 450 million years in the past, even the earliest insects had not yet developed. And looking back 500 million years, the land was devoid of life, which at that time flourished in a profusion of strange forms in the oceans. These and other major turning points are the amazing story of evolution.
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Why People drop out of science
- By Trebla on 04-24-19
By: Anthony Martin, and others
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Zoology: Understanding the Animal World
- By: Donald E. Moore, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Donald E. Moore III
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
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In these 24 lectures, The Great Courses teams up with the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, to take you behind the scenes of the animal world. Dr. Moore has crafted a wonderful introduction to zoology that brings you up close and personal with a breathtaking variety of animal species through the eyes of a trained zoologist.
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America Centric
- By Joe van Rensburg on 04-28-20
By: Donald E. Moore, and others
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Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior
- By: Mark Leary, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Mark Leary
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
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Every day of your life is spent surrounded by mysteries that involve what appear to be rather ordinary human behaviors. What makes you happy? Where did your personality come from? Why do you have trouble controlling certain behaviors? Why do you behave differently as an adult than you did as an adolescent?Since the start of recorded history, and probably even before, people have been interested in answering questions about why we behave the way we do.
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I wanted to like this course
- By Diane Tincher on 08-06-18
By: Mark Leary, and others
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The Passions: Philosophy and the Intelligence of Emotions
- By: Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert C. Solomon
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
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Conventional wisdom suggests there is a sharp distinction between emotion and reason. Emotions are seen as inferior, disruptive, primitive, and even bestial forces. These 24 remarkable lectures suggest otherwise-that emotions have intelligence and provide personal strategies that are vitally important to our everyday lives of perceiving, evaluating, appraising, understanding, and acting in the world.
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Feel good and be good
- By Gary on 11-24-18
By: Robert C. Solomon, and others
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Understanding Disorders of the Brain
- By: Sandy Neargarder, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Sandy Neargarder
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
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Science has come a long way in solving the mysteries of the human brain, but we still have a long way to go. Understanding Disorders of the Brain is a powerful introduction to the journey of brain science in the 21st century and an excellent addition to your lifelong learning library.
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Alzheimer's and Dementia
- By Chani on 08-15-22
By: Sandy Neargarder, and others
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Why You Are Who You Are
- Investigations into Human Personality
- By: Mark Leary, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Mark Leary
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
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To understand the roots of personality is to understand motivations and influences that shape behavior, which in turn reflect how you deal with the opportunities and challenges of everyday life. That's the focus of these exciting 24 lectures, in which you examine the differences in people's personalities, where these differences come from, and how they shape our lives. Drawing on information gleaned from psychology, neuroscience, and genetics, Professor Leary opens the door to understanding how personality works and why.
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As an addict, I listened to this book. Very Helpfu
- By Life Lover on 05-15-18
By: Mark Leary, and others
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Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe
- By: Jeffrey C. Grossman, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Jeffrey C. Grossman
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
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Nothing has had a more profound impact on the development of modern civilization than thermodynamics. Thermodynamic processes are at the heart of everything that involves heat, energy, and work, making an understanding of the subject indispensable for careers in engineering, physical science, biology, meteorology, and even nutrition and culinary arts. Get an in-depth tour of this vital and fascinating science in 24 enthralling lectures suitable for everyone from science novices to experts who wish to review elementary concepts and formulas.
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Excellent Course; Particularly as Review
- By Qoheleth on 01-12-19
By: Jeffrey C. Grossman, and others
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Black Holes, Tides, and Curved Spacetime
- By: Benjamin Schumacher, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Benjamin Schumacher
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
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Gravity controls everything from the falling of an apple to the rising of ocean’s tides to the motions of the heavens above. If you’ve ever wondered how this most puzzling force works across our entire universe, you will be delighted by this 24-part course that is accessible to any curious person, regardless of your science education. No other product on the market presents the subject of gravity in as much detail as this course, which will follow the past 400 years of research and experimentation in the field.
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Good freshman high school lecture
- By Ron A. Parsons on 01-29-19
By: Benjamin Schumacher, and others
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A New History of Life
- By: Stuart Sutherland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Stuart Sutherland
- Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins
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The story of our world and the different living things that have populated it is an amazing epic with millions of species, exotic settings, planet-wide cataclysms, and surprising plot twists. These 36 lectures tell the all-embracing story of life on Earth - its origins, extinctions, and evolutions - in a manner that assumes no background in science. At half an hour per lecture, you’ll cover the entire 4.54-billion-year history of Earth in 18 hours, averaging 70,000 years per second!
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Get the video version
- By B. Bartosh on 06-17-19
By: Stuart Sutherland, and others
What listeners say about Mysteries of the Microscopic World
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- AndrewRez
- 07-23-22
Wow, very enlightening book ...
My view of the world has drastically changed after listening to this book.
Highly recommended.
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- Rich Medina
- 04-25-22
Very interesting
I really enjoyed this book. It was very interesting
I would recommend it to everyone.
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- Aware
- 04-09-19
Absolutely Captivating
I got this for my 14 year old son for school but he always remembers everything the first time. So to keep up with him for when he wants to lecture me again on microbiology, I figured it would be best to listen first. I finished this in 2 days of listening. I proudly went to my son to tell him and he looked at me like someone would to a small child. He already knew it all. He was proud of me for learning about it. 🤔😒
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11 people found this helpful
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 03-07-21
EVOLVING PANDEMICS
“Mysteries of the Microscopic World” is a reflection on the “The Invisible Realm”, the world of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. It is somewhat dated because of today’s history of Covid19. However, Professor Fleury offers a modern understanding of pandemics and the role germs play in human life.
Fleury explains this microscopic world is not only a disease producer. It also aids human existence by offering microorganisms that get rid of wastes and remove toxic chemicals from the body. Fleury notes some humans die from microorganisms, but they cannot live without them. Fleury explains how the microscopic world follows the same Darwinian evolutionary path as the macroscopic world. The microscopic world, like the animal world, evolves with random adaptation that sustains all life.
The two edges of this microscopic world can cure or kill. Fleury explains how this unseen world evolves in the same way the animal kingdom evolves. Today’s Covid19 virus changes to preserve itself. Covid19 evolves like any life force to become resistant to current drug treatment. Pfizer and other drug manufacturers are tasked with modification of their drug formulas to defeat viral and bacterial evolution.
Fleury explains there is a race between microbes and humans. As antibiotic treatment improves, microbes mutate into strains that resist treatment. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. Fleury implies there is a natural balance among all living things. Humans may be destined for extinction, but Fleury reminds us of the myth of Pandora. She left hope in the bottom of the box when all the evils were unloosed on the world.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 05-25-22
pleased
the author gets a little silly sometimes but overall it's great content.
it's filled with a lot of interesting anecdotes.
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1 person found this helpful
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- wbiro
- 04-06-19
Topic Still Current, Narration Good
The value of a book is subjective. This course fit nicely into my mental slot for microbiology. It kept my interest and kept me awake while commuting and at work (I have a job where I can listen to audiobooks).
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3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 07-28-21
Interesting but rambling
This lecturer needs to outline and organize his lesson plan way more. He rambles and jumps between topics at random.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Angela B
- 04-01-22
Not a baby
Why is he talking to me like I'm a baby? It's patronizing. I just can't.
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- Mark Bruns
- 04-22-22
fear porn
it's not about understanding microscopic life ... it's all fear porn all the way through
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- Erik Hansen
- 07-03-21
Enjoyable, but a misleading title
The lecturer explains things clearly and keeps things interesting, overall I found these lectures pretty enjoyable.
Sadly the content was not really what I expected from the title. A more appropriate title may be something like "Pathogens, Immunology, and History". Almost every chapter was about pathogens and immunology, peppered with historical anecdotes. There is very little content concerning non-pathogenic microscopic life, and very few "mysteries" throughout. Given the title, I expected this series to focus on interesting microbial phenomena that are as yet poorly understood by science.
If you already know a decent amount about pathogens and immunology then you'll probably learn very little from these lectures, however if you are new to these subjects you'll probably learn some interesting things while remaining entertained.
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10 people found this helpful