Table of Contents

1. It comes to us all.- 2. A rich bag of goodies: The human body as a source of nutrients.- 3. Our life-long microbial companions: Who are they, and what do they get up to when we're alive?.- 4. Not a pretty picture: Our appearance after death.- 5. The great betrayal: Our own cells and our symbionts turn against us.- 6. From the micro to the macro: Now the big guys move in.- 7. And what about the rest of the big, wide world?: Corpse decomposition and the environment.

About the Author

Michael Wilson is Emeritus Professor of Microbiology at University College London where he was based for more than 30 years. He has published 337 scientific papers, holds 13 patents and in 1991 was awarded the “Inventor of the Year” prize by Toshiba for inventing a device that produces pure drinking water from contaminated water sources. In 2011 he was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the President of France for his services to French culture. He has produced a number of exhibitions for the general public about his research and was Senior Scientific Advisor to the Eden Project for their “Invisible you; the human microbiome” exhibition which opened in 2015.  He has published 14 books, mainly in the fields of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. His most recent books are: “Into the labyrinth; in search of Daidalos” (2020) and “Close encounters of the microbial kind; everything you need to know about common infections” (2021).