A Planet of Viruses

Third Edition

Published by University of Chicago Press.

ISBN:
978-0-226-78262-1
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4 stars (1 review)

In 2020, an invisible germ—a virus—wholly upended our lives. We're most familiar with the viruses that give us colds or Covid-19. But viruses also cause a vast range of other diseases, including one disorder that makes people sprout branch-like growths as if they were trees. Viruses have been a part of our lives for so long that we are actually part virus: the human genome contains more DNA from viruses than our own genes. Meanwhile, scientists are discovering viruses everywhere they look: in the soil, in the ocean, even in deep caves miles underground.

Fully revised and updated, with new illustrations and a new chapter about coronaviruses and the spread of Covid-19, this third edition of Carl Zimmer's A Planet of Viruses pulls back the veil on this hidden world. It presents the latest research on how viruses hold sway over our lives and our biosphere, how viruses helped give …

7 editions

A short but fascinating book on viruses

4 stars

A short but fascinating book on viruses, by a science writer with the art of making complex subjects easy to understand. It is divided into several sections, each containing essays on an aspect of viruses in general.

The introduction looks at the history of viruses with the discovery of the first virus known to man, the Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Initially though to be a contagious fluid, and then living protein, it is only when technology got good enough that viruses could be seen, as packets of RNA or DNA contained in a protein capsule.

The first section looks at viruses that have been 'companions' of mankind for a long time: the Rhinoviruses (which causes the Common Cold), Influenza and Papillomavirus. He explains how they invade and take over our cells, causing the cold, the flu and even cancerous tumours.

Next, he looks at bacteriophages, viruses that attack bacteria, and how …

Subjects

  • Viruses
  • Virus
  • Virus Diseases
  • Virology
  • Maladies virales
  • Viren