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Virus: An Illustrated Guide to 101 Incredible Microbes
Virus
272 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 2016
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351 people want to read
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May 18, 2016Dear Santa, please get me the big book of viruses for Christmas.
December 26, 2024
This book is such a fun and fascinating read, especially if you’re curious about the invisible world of microbes. For me, it felt like being a kid again, excitedly learning about one of my favorite topics.
The book is packed with great visuals—photos of stained viruses, detailed pictures of what they’re made of, and maps showing where they’re found around the world. I also loved how it included the history behind some of these viruses and explained what family they belong to. It’s written in a way that makes the information really interesting and easy to follow.
One thing to note, though, while it does mention SARS coronavirus, it doesn’t cover the strain from 2020. So if you’re looking for info on that, you won’t find it here. But honestly, there’s still so much to enjoy and learn from this book!!
If you’re even a little bit curious about viruses or how they work, this is such a cool book to check out. It’s approachable, informative, and the photos alone make it worth picking up!
The book is packed with great visuals—photos of stained viruses, detailed pictures of what they’re made of, and maps showing where they’re found around the world. I also loved how it included the history behind some of these viruses and explained what family they belong to. It’s written in a way that makes the information really interesting and easy to follow.
One thing to note, though, while it does mention SARS coronavirus, it doesn’t cover the strain from 2020. So if you’re looking for info on that, you won’t find it here. But honestly, there’s still so much to enjoy and learn from this book!!
If you’re even a little bit curious about viruses or how they work, this is such a cool book to check out. It’s approachable, informative, and the photos alone make it worth picking up!
June 11, 2017
An album with a set of good photos of the major viruses, supported by an excellent introduction of the subject.
Notes:
Tree of life consists of three domains:
1. Archaea – single celled organisms, whose cells have no nucleus and able to withstand extreme temperatures and highly acidic conditions. Their membranes are hydrocarbon chains
2. Bacteria - single celled organisms, whose cells have no nucleus. Their membranes are made of fatty acid chains.
3. Eukarya members have a nucleus containing genetic material and are represented by four kingdoms: Plantae, Protista, Animalia, and Fungi.
There are proposals to add two more that represent non-cellular life:
4. Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA viruses (also called Megavirales)
5. Prionobiota (acellular and without nucleic acid) and Virusobiota (acellular but with nucleic acid)
A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of other organisms. Viruses can infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
While not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent particles. These viral particles, also known as virions, consist of two or three parts:
• the genetic material made from either DNA or RNA, long molecules that carry genetic information;
• a protein coat, called the capsid, which surrounds and protects the genetic material; and in some cases
• an envelope of lipids that surrounds the protein coat when they are outside a cell.
The average virion is about one one-hundredth the size of the average bacterium.
The difference between DNA and RNA in the most basic way is that DNA is double stranded whereas RNA is single stranded. The next difference is that DNA is made from deoxyribose and RNA is made from ribose. DNA is contained within the nucleus of a cell and cannot leave. The job of RNA is to copy a strand of DNA in the nucleus to carry out the manufacture of a specific protein, carry the code outside into the cytoplasm of the cell, where it attaches to a ribosome that manufactures protein strands to become amino acids. Each strand of RNA can carry the recipe for several protein strands.
In most viruses, DNA is transcribed into RNA, and then RNA is translated into protein. However, retroviruses function differently, as their RNA is reverse-transcribed into DNA, which is integrated into the host cell's genome (when it becomes a provirus), and then undergoes the usual transcription and translational processes to express the genes carried by the virus.
There are seven classes of viruses:
1. dsDNA viruses – with double-stranded DNA genomes. They land on a bacterial cell and inject their DNA into the cell. The virus DNA destructs host’s DNA and use it as a building blocks for its replication. The virus gets multiplied and when cell is full, it ruptures and viruses can go and start the cycle again.
2. ssDNA viruses – with single-stranded DNA genomes. The virus enters the plant by feeding insect. Two its DNA segments move into nucleus and convert into double-stranded DNA. Replicated viruses move to neighbouring cells and are acquired by the other insects to propagate firther.
3. dsRNA viruses – double-stranded RNA viruses. Include a group called rotaviruses. Rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrhoeal disease among infants and young children.
4. (+)ssRNA viruses - A positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus uses positive sense, single-stranded RNA as its genetic material. Single stranded RNA viruses are classified as positive or negative depending on the sense or polarity of the RNA. They account for a large fraction of known viruses, including many pathogens such as the hepatitis C virus, West Nile virus, dengue virus, and SARS and MERS coronaviruses, as well as less clinically serious pathogens such as the rhinoviruses that cause the common cold.
5. (−)ssRNA viruses - A negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus uses negative sense, single-stranded RNA as its genetic material. The negative viral RNA must be converted to a positive RNA. Therefore, is not infectious by itself.
6. ssRNA-RT viruses - A retrovirus is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus with a DNA intermediate and, as an obligate parasite, targets a host cell.
In most viruses, DNA is transcribed into RNA, and then RNA is translated into protein. However, retroviruses function differently, as their RNA is reverse-transcribed into DNA, which is integrated into the host cell's genome (when it becomes a provirus), and then undergoes the usual transcription and translational processes to express the genes carried by the virus.
7. dsDNA-RT viruses – double-stranded retroviruses are also called "pararetrovirus.
There is about 10 million viruses in each millilitre of seawater. They infect bacteria, which burst apart and their remains are consumed by other life forms.
Notes:
Tree of life consists of three domains:
1. Archaea – single celled organisms, whose cells have no nucleus and able to withstand extreme temperatures and highly acidic conditions. Their membranes are hydrocarbon chains
2. Bacteria - single celled organisms, whose cells have no nucleus. Their membranes are made of fatty acid chains.
3. Eukarya members have a nucleus containing genetic material and are represented by four kingdoms: Plantae, Protista, Animalia, and Fungi.
There are proposals to add two more that represent non-cellular life:
4. Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA viruses (also called Megavirales)
5. Prionobiota (acellular and without nucleic acid) and Virusobiota (acellular but with nucleic acid)
A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of other organisms. Viruses can infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
While not inside an infected cell or in the process of infecting a cell, viruses exist in the form of independent particles. These viral particles, also known as virions, consist of two or three parts:
• the genetic material made from either DNA or RNA, long molecules that carry genetic information;
• a protein coat, called the capsid, which surrounds and protects the genetic material; and in some cases
• an envelope of lipids that surrounds the protein coat when they are outside a cell.
The average virion is about one one-hundredth the size of the average bacterium.
The difference between DNA and RNA in the most basic way is that DNA is double stranded whereas RNA is single stranded. The next difference is that DNA is made from deoxyribose and RNA is made from ribose. DNA is contained within the nucleus of a cell and cannot leave. The job of RNA is to copy a strand of DNA in the nucleus to carry out the manufacture of a specific protein, carry the code outside into the cytoplasm of the cell, where it attaches to a ribosome that manufactures protein strands to become amino acids. Each strand of RNA can carry the recipe for several protein strands.
In most viruses, DNA is transcribed into RNA, and then RNA is translated into protein. However, retroviruses function differently, as their RNA is reverse-transcribed into DNA, which is integrated into the host cell's genome (when it becomes a provirus), and then undergoes the usual transcription and translational processes to express the genes carried by the virus.
There are seven classes of viruses:
1. dsDNA viruses – with double-stranded DNA genomes. They land on a bacterial cell and inject their DNA into the cell. The virus DNA destructs host’s DNA and use it as a building blocks for its replication. The virus gets multiplied and when cell is full, it ruptures and viruses can go and start the cycle again.
2. ssDNA viruses – with single-stranded DNA genomes. The virus enters the plant by feeding insect. Two its DNA segments move into nucleus and convert into double-stranded DNA. Replicated viruses move to neighbouring cells and are acquired by the other insects to propagate firther.
3. dsRNA viruses – double-stranded RNA viruses. Include a group called rotaviruses. Rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrhoeal disease among infants and young children.
4. (+)ssRNA viruses - A positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus uses positive sense, single-stranded RNA as its genetic material. Single stranded RNA viruses are classified as positive or negative depending on the sense or polarity of the RNA. They account for a large fraction of known viruses, including many pathogens such as the hepatitis C virus, West Nile virus, dengue virus, and SARS and MERS coronaviruses, as well as less clinically serious pathogens such as the rhinoviruses that cause the common cold.
5. (−)ssRNA viruses - A negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus uses negative sense, single-stranded RNA as its genetic material. The negative viral RNA must be converted to a positive RNA. Therefore, is not infectious by itself.
6. ssRNA-RT viruses - A retrovirus is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus with a DNA intermediate and, as an obligate parasite, targets a host cell.
In most viruses, DNA is transcribed into RNA, and then RNA is translated into protein. However, retroviruses function differently, as their RNA is reverse-transcribed into DNA, which is integrated into the host cell's genome (when it becomes a provirus), and then undergoes the usual transcription and translational processes to express the genes carried by the virus.
7. dsDNA-RT viruses – double-stranded retroviruses are also called "pararetrovirus.
There is about 10 million viruses in each millilitre of seawater. They infect bacteria, which burst apart and their remains are consumed by other life forms.
December 2, 2016
Beautiful photographs taken by transmission electron microscopy fill the pages of this fine book. The book starts off with some basics like What is a Virus? History of Virology. Virus Controversies. A Virus Classification Scheme. Then, it launches into the viruses. First up are the human viruses. Scary stuff. Ebola, Yellow Fever, Mumps, etc. Then there are vertebrate animal viruses, invertebrate animal viruses, plant viruses, fungal and protest viruses and finally bacterial and archaeal viruses. For each of the 101 viruses featured there is detail Group, Order, Family, Genus, Genome, Geography, Hosts, Associated Diseases, Transmission and Vaccine. It is amazingly easy to read for a book so heavy on science.
Read
February 6, 2020This is a book about viruses, so it was obviously amazing
March 22, 2022
English country doctor Edward Jenner noticed how certain kinds of people were resistant to the disease - notably milkmaids who had contracted cowpox, a very mild disease, from the cows they milked. Jenner's insight was that cowpox could protect against smallpox, and that injecting people with extracts from cowpox pustules might confer the same immunity to smallpox previously enjoyed by milkmaids. The word "vaccine" comes from "vaccinia," derived from the Latin word for a cow - and a proper name for the infectious agent of cowpox.
Around the same time, French Canadian scientist Félix d'Hérelle reported the discovery of a "microbe" that could kill the bacteria that caused dysentery. He called it a "bacteria phage," meaning a "bacteria eater."
The role of vectors is one of the most important factors in emerging diseases, especially as viruses can acquire new vectors. Chikungunya virus offers a good case history. First described in Tanzania in 1952, it was transmitted by the same species of mosquito that also transmits dengue and yellow fever, and was only a risk to people in parts of Africa. It has now evolved so that it can be transmitted by a closely related species, the Asian tiger mosquito, which has spread from Asia to Europe and the Americas, taking the Chikungunya virus with it.
This process involves the synthesis of salicylic acid, the molecule that is found in high levels in willow bark, which was used by Native Americans for bringing down fever and treating pain. In the late nineteenth century scientists at Bayer developed a synthetic form of the compound that we know as aspirin.
A different system of bacterial immunity, discovered much more recently, is the CRISPR system, which is an acquired immune system with a memory. CRISPR stands for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats." After a virus infection, small pieces of the viral genome may be incorporated into a specific part of the host genome, where they can later be activated to make small RNAs that then degrade related incoming viruses. This system has some similarities to the small RNA immunity of plants, insects, and fungi, but the details are quite different. The CRISPR system has caused a sensation in the scientific world, as it allows scientists to target any desired DNA sequence in any organism, thus editing its genome.
Aedes mosquitoes breed in standing water and are well adapted to urban environments; their control requires being vigilant about emptying small containers such as flower pots or old tires of their standing water.
It is possible that in the future we may recognize the importance of the human virome (the collection of viruses in the body), just as we now recognize the importance of the microbiome, which usually refers to bacteria.
Robert Koch was a famous German microbiologist who studied a number of bacterial diseases at the end of the nineteenth century. He developed a standard, known as Koch's postulates, that is still the standard to prove that a microbe causes a disease: the microbe must be present in all affected individuals, but not in non-affected individuals; the microbe must be isolated from the affected individual; the microbe must be introduced to healthy individuals and cause the disease; the microbe must be re-isolated from the newly infected individuals.
In 2010 two common brands of vaccine for Rotavirus, which protect children from diarrhea, were found to be contaminated with Porcine circovirus.
Simian virus 40 is a small DNA virus that can cause tumors under specific conditions. The virus is normally dormant in infected animals, and only becomes active if there is some cause of immune suppression. The virus was discovered in some batches of the live attenuated vaccine for polio in 1960. The vaccine was grown in monkey cells in culture, and later it was found that polio cannot replicate in monkey cells without a helper virus. Most people who received the Salk vaccine for polio prior to 1961 were probably also inoculated with Simian virus 40, and the virus may have been in the Sabin vaccine too. Simian virus 40 is found frequently in the human population now, but appears to be latent, although there have been suggestions that it could be involved in some types of human cancerous tumors.
In laboratory experiments aphids that were carrying the virus preferred to feed on uninfected plants, while aphids without the virus preferred to feed on infected plants. The virus manipulates the production of plant compounds that attract aphids, to enhance its spread.
The virus is common in tobacco products and is very stable; it can pass through the human gut and remain infectious. Smokers and other tobacco users can easily transmit the virus by handling plants.
Material scientists have recognized for some time that plant viruses can make very effective nanoparticles, and currently Tomato bushy stunt virus is being developed for use in nanotechnology.
For example, La Crosse virus is a human pathogen that is transmitted by mosquitoes. The virus induces the mosquitoes to bite more frequently, enhancing the spread of the virus.
Crops that originated in the Americas, which includes about 60 percent of the food eaten in the world today, are usually pollinated by bumblebees and other insects, birds, or the wind.
Just before they die, infected larval stages of insects such as the European gypsy moth climb to the tops of the trees, rather than hiding from predators under leaves as healthy insects do. When the larvae die the virus liquefies their entire bodies, and billions of viruses are released and rain down through the tree leaves, providing plenty of virus to be ingested by the next round of insects. Recently a specific gene in the virus was shown to be responsible for changing the insect behavior.
Cells with a nucleus, known as eukaryotic cells, have many copies of a structure originally derived from a bacteria, known as the mitochondria. These are a key component of metabolism, where the energy of the cell is made.
Cyanobacteria, or photosynthetic bacteria, are the most abundant organisms on earth (although viruses are by far the most abundant life form, they are not usually called organisms).
March 18, 2017
This fascinating account of viruses is really informative and interesting. Starting out with an introduction to virology and the basic history of what we know of viruses, the book dives headfirst into discussing 101 different viruses. Each page on a virus starts out the same way, but some of them include a photograph or some other image representing the virus. Let's take the Ebola virus as an example. On the one page is an image from a scanning electron microscope. On the other page facing the picture is a set of information about the virus itself. So it describes the Group, Order, Family, Genus, Genome, Geography, Hosts, Associated Diseases, Transmission, and Vaccine. So for Ebola, the information is all meticulously described. The Group is V or five. The Order is Mononegavirales. The Family is Filoviridae. The Genus is Ebolavirus. The Genome is described as Linear, single component, single-stranded RNA of 19,000 nucleotides, encoding 8 proteins. The Geography is Central Africa and West Africa. The Hosts of the virus are Humans and other primates, possibly bats. Diseases Associated with the Ebola virus are Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. The mode of Transmission is through Bodily Fluids. There is an experimental DNA vaccine and an experimental recombinant vaccine.
All of this data is at the top of the page with a Mercator Projection of the Earth that shows where the virus is located visually. The main portion of the page is taken up describing the virus in more detail. This particular section talks about the history of Ebola, from when it was first documented in the 1970s to the recent outbreak in 2013-15. This section also talks a bit about the Marburg virus but mentions it only in passing. The final third of the page shows a cross-section of the virus and displays the external view of the virus.
So this book is really packed with information. Further on, the viruses that don't affect humans or the plants they grow lack a vaccine. This makes sense since I won't really lose any sleep over the Cricket Paralysis virus or the Barley Yellow Dwarf virus.
This particular book was obtained from the Library, though I don't think I would mind owning a copy of this since it was so interesting.
All of this data is at the top of the page with a Mercator Projection of the Earth that shows where the virus is located visually. The main portion of the page is taken up describing the virus in more detail. This particular section talks about the history of Ebola, from when it was first documented in the 1970s to the recent outbreak in 2013-15. This section also talks a bit about the Marburg virus but mentions it only in passing. The final third of the page shows a cross-section of the virus and displays the external view of the virus.
So this book is really packed with information. Further on, the viruses that don't affect humans or the plants they grow lack a vaccine. This makes sense since I won't really lose any sleep over the Cricket Paralysis virus or the Barley Yellow Dwarf virus.
This particular book was obtained from the Library, though I don't think I would mind owning a copy of this since it was so interesting.
November 14, 2020
I skipped reading some of the background in the beginning, not because it was bad but I didn’t want to spend the time trying to understand it all. However, this book includes just enough background that it wouldn’t be overwhelming and does provide enough detail without putting you to sleep! I also didn’t read about every single virus the book includes, but maybe 75% of them.
This book is very well assembled, excellent diagrams, infographics, and printed color pictures. Quality content. Definitely a 5-star guidebook to learning about viruses.
This book is very well assembled, excellent diagrams, infographics, and printed color pictures. Quality content. Definitely a 5-star guidebook to learning about viruses.
March 30, 2020
Gara-gara si Mika pengen baca soal virus tapi pengen yg banyak gambarnya. Isi buku ini berupa penjelasan singkat tentang berbagai virus, kelas-kelas virus dan bagaimana cara menginfeksi mahluk hidup. Tidak hanya berisi virus patogen bagi manusia tetapi juga tumbuhan dan hewan.
Oh ya, virus juga ada gunanya bagi manusia. Misal virus Herpes Simplex tipe 1 yang dikembangkan untuk membunuh sel kanker, sudah dilakukan percobaan klinis dengan virus yang sudah dimodifikasi ini.
Oh ya, virus juga ada gunanya bagi manusia. Misal virus Herpes Simplex tipe 1 yang dikembangkan untuk membunuh sel kanker, sudah dilakukan percobaan klinis dengan virus yang sudah dimodifikasi ini.
February 10, 2024
A good reference book about Viruses that you may want to keep in a shelf in case of need. The pictures, schematics, drawings and explanations are easy to follow. Viruses are extremely small so the pictures included here are a rich collection taken using Transmission or Scanning Electron Microscopes, TEM or SEM. Simple optical microscopes are not suitable. It is a very good collection of pictures of viruses that you may only be able to obtain by searching multiple scientific journals.
March 1, 2019
A fascinating look into the "lives" of viruses, with colorized electron microscope photos and diagrams of their structure. Learn about orphan viruses, bottle-shaped viruses, codependent viruses, viruses which run in the family, viruses which make our bacterial diseases deadlier, and viruses who more or less want to be left alone.
March 2, 2021
Many Good Electron Spectroscopy Images
Think of this as an encyclopedia for 101 viruses giving al sorts of information including geography of the locations typically found. It gets a little monotonous trying to read straight through, so I recommend taking it in a few viruses at a time.
Think of this as an encyclopedia for 101 viruses giving al sorts of information including geography of the locations typically found. It gets a little monotonous trying to read straight through, so I recommend taking it in a few viruses at a time.
July 30, 2022
Topics of the book:
*Classification of viruses based on the genomes and their replication
*brief description of 101 selected viruses that infect humans, vertebrates, insects, plants, fungi, and bacteria
Relevance: Ontario Curriculum, Science
Grade 11 Biology, SBI3U, Strand B – Diversity of Living Things
*Classification of viruses based on the genomes and their replication
*brief description of 101 selected viruses that infect humans, vertebrates, insects, plants, fungi, and bacteria
Relevance: Ontario Curriculum, Science
Grade 11 Biology, SBI3U, Strand B – Diversity of Living Things
December 30, 2020
Wow. Wonderful book that gives a glimpse into the complexity of viruses and the many forms of co-existence in Earth's life forms. Mind-bending twists on the neat DNA -> RNA -> proteins paradigm, as well the definition of life itself. Virology seems a fascinating and vast field with great potential for practical applications.
September 16, 2017
Fantastic - can't wait to use this for degree
January 6, 2020
Excellent starting point for learning how to visualize viruses. Touches in the fact that most viruses don't cause disease in humans and that they aren't something to be feared.
March 1, 2020
This book is a good introduction to the beautiful world of viruses.
May 11, 2020
Una breve introduccion Al fascinante mundo de los virus.
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A brief introduction to the fascinating world of viruses.
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A brief introduction to the fascinating world of viruses.
June 1, 2020
So fascinating.
July 17, 2020
Admittedly, stopped reading at the plant and fungal viruses. However, I really feel like I learned a lot about viruses in general - especially those affecting humans and other animals.
June 12, 2022
Great book on viruses. Not the usual bore that textbooks tend to be. The author does a great work turning basic virology into a presentable easy-read book.
July 6, 2021
Con esta pandemia provocada por el Covid-19, los términos virus, inmunidad y vacuna están en boca de todo el mundo. Esta guía ilustrada nos ofrece un mundo apasionante con una óptica diferente de los virus.
Esta obra comienza con una completa introducción donde aprenderemos qué es un virus (aunque veremos que los científicos no se ponen de acuerdo en buscar una definición), una breve historia de la virología con su correspondiente cronología, la clasificación de los virus, su replicación (de las siete clases de virus), empaquetamiento y transmisión, acabando por la inmunidad. Todo esto nos va a ayudar para entender los capítulos posteriores.
Tras esta exhaustiva introducción, donde se asientan unos conocimientos científicos, el libro está dividido en una serie de capítulos: virus humanos, de animales vertebrados, vegetales, de animales invertebrados, de hongos y protistas y de bacterias y arqueas. De todos ellos quizás los más conocidos son los humanos (yo desconocía por completo los vegetales). Aprenderemos también que no todos los virus son malos, algunos son beneficiosos para el hospedador e incluso otros virus se usan para matar las células cancerígenas. Es más, otros son esenciales para el equilibrio del ecosistema.
Todas estas "fichas" de virus tienen unas características en común. Cada capítulo comienza con una introducción con aspectos generales de los virus, dependiendo del hospedador (los vegetales son los más diferentes y únicos). Posteriormente el catálogo de virus, casi todos ocupando dos páginas. En una de ellas tendremos una imagen de microscopio electrónico con tinta para poder ver sus distintas partes. En la otra, una ficha con su clasificación, orden, familia, género, genoma, geografía, síntomas, transmisión, vacuna, etc. Le sigue un análisis sobre el virus, con un poco de historia, sus síntomas más en profundidad, aspectos interesantes y sus vacunas. Acaba con un dibujo o dos del propio virus con sus diferentes partes.
Los virus aquí recogidos son muy diversos. Tenemos virus muy conocidos, como el chikunguña, el dengue, el ébola, la hepatitis C, el herpes, el VIH, el papiloma, el sarampión, la gripe, el virus del resfriado común, el zika o, en los animales, el parvovirus (canino y felino), la peste porcina o bovina o la rabia. En cambio, otros son muchísimo menos conocidos en nuestra vida cotidiana, quizás los más desconocidos son los vegetales, los de los hongos y las bacterias. Además, los vegetales son muy interesantes, ya que tienen una estructura y una actuación totalmente distintos.
El lenguaje empleado por esta doctora es un lenguaje divulgativo. Sí, tendremos términos científicos (porque es totalmente inevitable) pero todo está tan bien explicado que la información es fácilmente recogida y asimilada por cualquier lector, tenga conocimientos previos o no. De hecho, al acabar el libro tendremos unos conocimientos generales para entender y diferenciar estos virus. Además, si tenemos problemas con algún término científico, al final los tendremos recogidos en un glosario. Acaba con una bibliografía (toda en inglés, obviamente) y unos recursos de internet muy interesantes. La pega, el tamaño de la letra es algo pequeña.
https://lagranbibliotecadedavid.blogs...
Esta obra comienza con una completa introducción donde aprenderemos qué es un virus (aunque veremos que los científicos no se ponen de acuerdo en buscar una definición), una breve historia de la virología con su correspondiente cronología, la clasificación de los virus, su replicación (de las siete clases de virus), empaquetamiento y transmisión, acabando por la inmunidad. Todo esto nos va a ayudar para entender los capítulos posteriores.
Tras esta exhaustiva introducción, donde se asientan unos conocimientos científicos, el libro está dividido en una serie de capítulos: virus humanos, de animales vertebrados, vegetales, de animales invertebrados, de hongos y protistas y de bacterias y arqueas. De todos ellos quizás los más conocidos son los humanos (yo desconocía por completo los vegetales). Aprenderemos también que no todos los virus son malos, algunos son beneficiosos para el hospedador e incluso otros virus se usan para matar las células cancerígenas. Es más, otros son esenciales para el equilibrio del ecosistema.
Todas estas "fichas" de virus tienen unas características en común. Cada capítulo comienza con una introducción con aspectos generales de los virus, dependiendo del hospedador (los vegetales son los más diferentes y únicos). Posteriormente el catálogo de virus, casi todos ocupando dos páginas. En una de ellas tendremos una imagen de microscopio electrónico con tinta para poder ver sus distintas partes. En la otra, una ficha con su clasificación, orden, familia, género, genoma, geografía, síntomas, transmisión, vacuna, etc. Le sigue un análisis sobre el virus, con un poco de historia, sus síntomas más en profundidad, aspectos interesantes y sus vacunas. Acaba con un dibujo o dos del propio virus con sus diferentes partes.
Los virus aquí recogidos son muy diversos. Tenemos virus muy conocidos, como el chikunguña, el dengue, el ébola, la hepatitis C, el herpes, el VIH, el papiloma, el sarampión, la gripe, el virus del resfriado común, el zika o, en los animales, el parvovirus (canino y felino), la peste porcina o bovina o la rabia. En cambio, otros son muchísimo menos conocidos en nuestra vida cotidiana, quizás los más desconocidos son los vegetales, los de los hongos y las bacterias. Además, los vegetales son muy interesantes, ya que tienen una estructura y una actuación totalmente distintos.
El lenguaje empleado por esta doctora es un lenguaje divulgativo. Sí, tendremos términos científicos (porque es totalmente inevitable) pero todo está tan bien explicado que la información es fácilmente recogida y asimilada por cualquier lector, tenga conocimientos previos o no. De hecho, al acabar el libro tendremos unos conocimientos generales para entender y diferenciar estos virus. Además, si tenemos problemas con algún término científico, al final los tendremos recogidos en un glosario. Acaba con una bibliografía (toda en inglés, obviamente) y unos recursos de internet muy interesantes. La pega, el tamaño de la letra es algo pequeña.
https://lagranbibliotecadedavid.blogs...
February 11, 2017
Along with basics on life cycles, transmission and immunity, Roossinck offers some descriptions (which fell short sometimes and had to google it for better understanding), schematics and a gallery of electron-microscopy images of not only disease causing viruses like Polio, Ebola etc which hit headlines but also benign or symbiotic viruses that infect everything from humans to archaea.
May 2, 2017
My seven-year-old asked me to check out this book for him at the library. Mostly I thought we'd end up looking at the pictures together, but then I got sucked into reading it. For someone with a degree in environmental microbiology, there was such a lot here that I didn't know!
I ended up taking this book with us on a road trip, and at some point Solomon asked to look at it, then ended up reading to us from the backseat. It was amazing how well he did with the pronunciations, and how interested he was in it.
A lovely book, the pictures are not the half of it! I learned so much. About viruses, evolution, molecular biology... Highly recommended.
I ended up taking this book with us on a road trip, and at some point Solomon asked to look at it, then ended up reading to us from the backseat. It was amazing how well he did with the pronunciations, and how interested he was in it.
A lovely book, the pictures are not the half of it! I learned so much. About viruses, evolution, molecular biology... Highly recommended.
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