El pasado .On 29 January, the Fundación Lilly presented the book "Evolutionary Biology of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens" in Madrid. It is a unique scientific update on the biological and genetic evolution of microbial pathogens, their relationship with the environment and their influence on human beings. 49 renowned research groups worldwide participated in the book. The work was coordinated by Professor Fernando Baquero, Director of the Microbiology Department, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Professor César Nombela, Chair of Microbiology at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Dr. Gail Cassell, former president of the American Society for Microbiology and Vice President of the area of Infectious Diseases at Eli Lilly, and Dr. José Antonio Gutiérrez Fuentes, Director of the Fundación Lilly.

According to the book, the changes that man has brought about in the atmosphere, food production ecosystems (such as fertiliser use), changes in biodiversity, changes in elemental cycles such as the nitrogen or water cycles, and the spread of organic pollutants, have forced the evolution of microbial systems and the emergence of new infectious diseases.

This book clearly comes at a time when environmental changes and their consequences are attracting society´s attention. However, despite this fact, it hardly reflects the impact of these changes in the invisible but majority organisms that not only live with us, but are essential in sustaining life as we know it.

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