Bacterial spores are the most resistant and dormant forms of life on earth. Therefore, they are of great fundamental interest. They are the targets for inactivation in some of the largest food and pharmaceutical industries on earth, and are of great practical importance. Many research groups around the world have attempted to unravel the spore's mechanisms of resistance, dormancy and germination. Although complete understanding has not yet been achieved, substantial advances have been made in recent years. The most important of these advances are summarized here by scientists in the forefront of their particular areas of expertise.

This volume will be of value to research microbiologists, geneticists, biochemists and physicists who are interested in the fundamentals of the biochemical and physical basis of resistance and dormancy, and in spore science more generally. It will also be of value to those scientists who are concerned with the thoroughly practical problems of spore destruction and control in the food and pharmaceutical industries and in public health.