Human beings are engaged in a 'war on germs', in which they develop ever-more sophisticated weapons and defensive strategies. But it is a war we can never win. The Germ Code is a wise, witty and wonderfully readable guide to living with these infinitesimal but infinitely powerful creatures. Microbiologist Jason Tetro takes readers outside the lab and shows the enormous influence of germs upon humanity's past, present and future. He unlocks the mysteries of 'the germ code' to reveal how these organisms have exploited our every activity and colonised every corner of the earth.