Synopses & Reviews
The past year has been one of viral panicandmdash;panic
about viruses, that is. Through headlines, public health warnings, and at least one homemade hazmat suit, we were reminded of the powerful force of viruses. They are the smallest living things known to science, yet they can hold the entire planet in their sway.
A Planet of Viruses is Carl Zimmerandrsquo;s eye-opening look at the hidden world of viruses. Zimmer, the popular science writer and author of National Geographicandrsquo;s award-winning blog The Loom, has updated this edition to include the stories of new outbreaks, such as Ebola, MERS, and chikungunya virus; new scientific discoveries, such as a hundred-million-year-old virus that infected the common ancestor of armadillos, elephants, and humans; and new findings that show why climate change may lead to even deadlier outbreaks. Zimmerandrsquo;s lucid explanations and fascinating stories demonstrate how deeply humans and viruses are intertwined. Viruses helped give rise to the first life-forms, are responsible for many of our most devastating diseases, and will continue to control our fate for centuries. Thoroughly readable, and as reassuring as it is frightening, A Planet of Viruses is a fascinating tour of a formidable hidden world.
Review
andldquo;Just about everything youandrsquo;ve always wanted to knowandmdash;and a lot youandrsquo;ll probably wish you didnandrsquo;t knowandmdash;about the viruses that have caused humanity so much grief throughout history.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;In A Planet of Viruses, science writer Carl Zimmer accomplishes in a mere 100 pages what other authors struggle to do in 500: He reshapes our understanding of the hidden realities at the core of everyday existence. . . . Whether heandrsquo;s exploring how viruses come to America or picking apart the surprisingly complicated common cold, Zimmerandrsquo;s train of thought is concise and illuminating.andrdquo;
Review
and#160;andldquo;Absolutely top-drawer popular science writing. . . . Zimmerandrsquo;s information-packed, superbly readable look at virological knowledge awakens readers to the fact that not only are viruses everywhere but we couldnandrsquo;t live without them.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;A smart, beautiful, and somewhat demented book thatandrsquo;s likely to give you a case of the willies. In the best way possible.andrdquo;
Synopsis
In recent decades we have come to realize that the microbial world is hugely diverse, and can be found in the most extreme environments. Fungi, single-celled protists, bacteria, archaea, and the vast array of viruses and sub-viral particles far outnumber plants and animals. Microbes, we now know, play a critical role in ecosystems, in the chemistry of atmosphere and oceans, and within our bodies. The field of microbiology, armed with new techniques from molecular biology, is now one of the most vibrant in the life sciences.
In this Very Short Introduction Nicholas P. Money explores not only the traditional methods of microscopy and laboratory culture but also the modern techniques of genetic detection and DNA sequencing, genomic analysis, and genetic manipulation. In turn he demonstrates how advances in microbiology have had a tremendous impact on the areas of medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology.
ABOUT THE
About the Author
Nicholas P. Money is Professor of Botany and Western Program Director at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is the author of more than 70 peer-reviewed papers on fungal biology and has authored four books, including,
Mr. Bloomfield's Orchard: The Mysterious World of Mushrooms, Molds, and Mycologists (2002), and
Mushroom (2011) described by
Nature magazine as a 'brilliant scientific and cultural exploration' of his research subject.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Judy Diamond and Charles Wood
and#160;
INTRODUCTION
andldquo;A Contagious Living Fluidandrdquo;
Tobacco Mosaic Virus and the Discovery of the Virosphere
OLD COMPANIONS
The Uncommon Cold
How Rhinoviruses Gently Conquered the World
Looking Down from the Stars
Influenzaandrsquo;s Never-Ending Reinvention
Rabbits with Horns
Human Papillomavirus and Infectious Cancer
EVERYWHERE, IN ALL THINGS
The Enemy of Our Enemy
Bacteriophages as Viral Medicine
The Infected Ocean
How Marine Phages Rule the Sea
Our Inner Parasites
Endogenous Retroviruses and Our Virus-Riddled Genomes
THE VIRAL FUTURE
The Young Scourge
Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the Animal Origins of Diseases
Becoming an American
The Globalization of West Nile Virus
Predicting the Next Plague
Ebola Virus and the Many Others Like It
The Long Goodbye
The Delayed Oblivion of Smallpox
EPILOGUE
The Alien in the Water Cooler
Giant Viruses and the Definition of Life
and#160;
Acknowledgments
Selected References
Credits
Index