Bedtime Stories From the Viral Universe

doi:10.1128/jmbe.v12i2.334

Brinda Govindan
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, E-mail:
brinda@sfsu.edu .

Review of: Planet of Viruses; Carl Zimmer; (2011). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. Hardcover, 128 pages. ISBN-10: 0226983358.

Carl Zimmer’s latest collection of science essays , Planet of Viruses, is a thoughtfully assembled collage of the viral world. Like a sampler of handpicked chocolates, this book provides the perfect introduction to the diversity of humanity’s viral companions. The essays in this volume were originally written for the World of Viruses project (http://www.worldofviruses.unl.edu) in order to educate the public about virology research. Although this book is aimed at a general audience, scientists and nonscientists alike will devour the fascinating viral vignettes that are laid out in three broad categories: “Old companions”; “Everywhere in all things”; and “Viral future.” Each essay sketches its viral protagonist within a historical, epidemiological, and cellular context. Infused throughout the text are broader themes such as viral evolution, host-pathogen interactions, and the role of genomics in modern virology.

Reading Zimmer’s prose is like sitting in on a favorite professor’s lecture — at once informative, entertaining, and transformative. Zimmer guides the reader through major scientific breakthroughs and challenges without jargon and with a vivid anecdotal flair. In every essay, he gives the reader accessible insights into the scientific process with accuracy and brevity. Like Lewis Thomas before him, Zimmer also revels in describing the etymology of the language of biology. For example, the word “virus” itself was coined during Roman times, and meant both snake venom and semen! “Creation and destruction in one word,” Zimmer marvels.

Throughout the book, the essential role of viruses for the survival of living beings is juxtaposed with their destructive potential. The chapter on endogenous retroviruses illustrates this point. Endogenous retroviruses are “dangerous parasites,” lurking in cells and mutating to cause cancers. However, a human endogenous retroviral gene is also essential for the process of placental development. The use of poetic imagery throughout the text brings the most invisible realm into view for the reader. For example, membrane fusion depicted as “colliding soap bubbles” and other phrases offer salient points with just the right amount of detail.

This book is suitable as a supplement for advanced high school biology courses, college-level non-majors courses, or simply as a coffee table book. One noticeable omission from the text is that links to useful virus-related websites are not given in the list of references. While the front page of each chapter contains a beautifully colorized photomicrograph of its viral subject, only some of the images have scale bars. An overall picture showing the relative sizes of all of the viruses discussed would have been a useful addition. Since the essays are each only a few pages in length, these make ideal reading assignments for discussion sections or homework assignments for an introductory non-majors microbiology course.

The selected references for each chapter are quite brief and comprise relatively recent primary research articles that can also be used for undergraduate assignments. This book is an excellent quick reference guide for biology instructors who want to introduce students to the latest findings in virology research.

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JMBE
ISSN: 1935-7885

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Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

Bedtime Stories From the Viral Universe