Through an unprecedented multidisciplinary and global approach, this book documents the dramatic several-thousand-year history of leprosy using bioarchaeological, clinical, and historical information from a wide variety of contexts, dispelling many long-standing myths about the disease. Drawing on her 30 years of research on the infection, Charlotte Roberts begins by outlining its bacterial causes, how it spreads, and how it affects the body. She then considers its diagnosis and treatment, both historically and in the present. She also looks at the methods and tools used by paleopathologists to identify signs of leprosy in skeletons. Examining evidence in human remains from many countries, particularly in Europe and including Britain, Hungary, and Sweden, Roberts demonstrates that those affected were usually buried in the same cemeteries as their communities, contrary to the popular belief that they were all ostracized or isolated from society into leprosy hospitals. Other myths addressed by Roberts include the assumptions that leprosy can't be cured, that leprosy is no longer a problem today, and that what is called "leprosy" in the Bible is the same illness as the disease with that name now. Roberts concludes by projecting the future of leprosy, arguing that researchers need to study the disease through an ethically grounded evolutionary perspective. Importantly, she advises against use of the word "leper" to avoid perpetuating stigma today surrounding people with the infection and resulting disabilities. Leprosy will stand as the authoritative source on the subject for years to come. A volume in the series Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives, edited by Clark Spencer Larsen.

'Addictive and illuminating' Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed From a world-leading microbiome scientist and surgeon with over two decades of experience comes Dark Matter - the definitive book on the science of the microbiome and how unlocking its potential can protect our health, our immunity and our planet. Why are we living longer, but not happier? The microbiome - our inner ecosystem of viruses, bacteria and other microbes - is critically important to our health and wellbeing. It is given to us by our mothers at birth, adapts with us as we age, influences our moods, determines how fast we run and even who we choose as a partner. Yet it is only now, as we are beginning to discover the microbiome's enormous potential, that we are realising it is in grave danger, being irrevocably destroyed through the globalisation of our diets, the war on bugs and the industrialised world. But we can look to reverse this damage. Drawing on cutting-edge research and years of clinical experience, Kinross shows how to unpack the microbiome's secrets, explaining that if we work with, not against, our microbes, we can live better, healthier lives.