Jonathan Kennedy

Dr Jonathan Kennedy argues that germs have done more to shape humanity at every stage, from the first success of Homo Sapiens over the equally intelligent Neanderthals to the fall of Rome and the rise of Islam. The latest science reveals that infectious diseases are not just something that happens to us, but a fundamental part of who we are.

We have been thinking about the survival of the fittest all wrong: evolution is not simply about human strength and intelligence, but about how we live and thrive in a world dominated by microbes.