Every surface, nook and cranny of the human body is inhabited by bacteria, with over 1000 different species calling our bodies home [1]. Don’t panic! Most are totally harmless bacteria, known as commensals. Some are even beneficial to our health. Only a tiny proportion of bacterial species are pathogens, responsible for causing infectious diseases ranging from mild acne to life-threatening blood poisoning.  Some bacteria fit… Continue reading

One of the oldest questions in political and philosophical debates is that of when one state ends and another begins. In The Histories, Herodotus tells us about a meeting of Greek commanders during the second Persian war to decide upon their naval strategies against the Persian fleet, in the wake of the Persian breakthrough on… Continue reading