A Planet of Viruses: Second EditionFor years, scientists have been warning us that a pandemic was all but inevitable. Now it's here, and the rest of us have a lot to learn. Fortunately, science writer Carl Zimmer is here to guide us. In this compact volume, he tells the story of how the smallest living things known to science can bring an entire planet of people to a halt--and what we can learn from how we've defeated them in the past. Planet of Viruses covers such threats as Ebola, MERS, and chikungunya virus; tells about recent scientific discoveries, such as a hundred-million-year-old virus that infected the common ancestor of armadillos, elephants, and humans; and shares new findings that show why climate change may lead to even deadlier outbreaks. Zimmer’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, for all its honesty about the threats, as reassuring as it is frightening, A Planet of Viruses is a fascinating tour of a world we all need to better understand. |
Contents
Introduction A Contagious Living Fluid Tobacco Mosaic Virus and the Discovery of the Virosphere | 3 |
Old Companions | 11 |
Everywhere in All Things | 35 |
The Virtual Future | 59 |
Epliogue | 99 |
Acknowledgments | 109 |
| 111 | |
Credits | 117 |
| 119 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Africa animals antibiotics avian leukosis avian leukosis virus bacteria bacteriophages began Beijerinck biofilms bird flu Bordet Bradfordcoccus called Cameroon carry cause Cave of Crystals cell’s cervical cancer chickens chimpanzees colds coli colleagues copies decades developed discovered discovery disease doctors drugs endogenous retrovirus endogenous retroviruses enzymes epidemic eradication evolved filtered flu viruses fluid genes genetic material genome giant viruses gorilla SIV Herelle Herelle’s HIV-1 Group host cell human rhinoviruses immune system infected bird infected cells influenza inside invade jackalope kill lineages living mammals microbes million mimivirus molecules mosquitoes mutations ocean papillomaviruses pathogens patients percent phage therapy Planet of Viruses plants pneumocystis pneumonia polio protein Public health workers rabbits reassortant replicate rinderpest samples scientists Scola Shigella sick smallpox sooty mangabey species spread strain of human syncytin temperate phage There’s thousand tobacco mosaic Twort vaccine variolated victims viral virologists West Nile virus World of Viruses