A Planet of Viruses - Carl Zimmer [0]
Carl Zimmer
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago and London
CARL ZIMMER writes about science for the New York Times and other publications and is the author of eight books, including Parasite Rex, Soul Made Flesh, and Microcosm. He is a lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches writing about science and the environment, and visiting scholar at the Science, Health, and Environment Reporting Program at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2011 by The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska
All rights reserved. Published 2011.
Printed in the United States of America
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-98335-6 (cloth)
ISBN-10: 0-226-98335-8 (cloth)
The essays in this book were written for the World of Viruses project, funded by the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health through the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Grant No. R25 RR024267 (2007–2012). Its content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NCRR or NIH. Visit http://www.worldofviruses.unl.edu for more information and free educational materials about viruses. World of Viruses is a project of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zimmer, Carl, 1966–
A planet of viruses / Carl Zimmer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-98335-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-98335-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Viruses. I. Title.
QR360.Z65 2011
362.196’9—dc22
2010036742
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
ISBN 978-0-226-98333-2 (electronic)
To Grace, my favorite host
Contents
Foreword by Judy Diamond and Charles Wood
INTRODUCTION
“A Contagious Living Fluid”: Tobacco Mosaic Virus
OLD COMPANIONS
The Uncommon Cold
Rhinovirus
Looking Down from the Stars
Influenza Virus
Rabbits with Horns
Human Papillomavirus
EVERYWHERE, IN ALL THINGS
The Enemy of Our Enemy
Bacteriophages
The Infected Ocean
Marine Phages
Our Inner Parasites
Endogenous Retroviruses
THE VIRAL FUTURE
The Young Scourge
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Becoming an American
West Nile Virus
Predicting the Next Plague
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola
The Long Goodbye
Smallpox
EPILOGUE
The Alien in the Watercooler: Mimivirus
Acknowledgments
Selected references
Credits
Index
Foreword
Viruses wreak chaos on human welfare, affecting the lives of almost a billion people. They have also played major roles in the remarkable biological advances of the past century. The smallpox virus was humanity’s greatest killer, and yet it is now one of the only diseases to have been eradicated from the globe. New viruses, such as HIV, continue to pose new threats and challenges.
Viruses are unseen but dynamic players in the ecology of Earth. They move DNA between species, provide new genetic material for evolution, and regulate vast populations of organisms. Every species, from tiny microbes to large mammals, is influenced by the actions of viruses. Viruses extend their impact beyond species to affect climate, soil, the oceans, and fresh water. When you consider how every animal, plant, and microbe has been shaped through the course of evolution, one has to consider the influential role played by the tiny and powerful viruses that share this planet.
Carl Zimmer wrote these essays for the World of Viruses project as part of a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). World of Viruses was created to help people understand more about viruses and virology research through radio documentaries, graphic stories, teacher professional development, mobile phone and iPad applications, and other materials.