1. The Question of Life"It's alive! It's alive!" - Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein
An introduction to viruses through some examples that illustrate the size, quantity, and diversity of viruses on earth, followed by a short history of the discovery of viruses. The chapter focuses on the concepts that define life through an examination of animals, plants, and single-cell organisms. These basic features of living organisms are then related to viruses to demonstrate that viruses fail most of the definitions of life and act instead as unique, self-replicating nano-machines.
1.1. Weird Facts and Big Numbers
A playful discussion of the sizes and numbers of viruses in our world
1.2. From Ignorance to Fascination
A brief history of the discovery of viruses
1.3. A Biological Primer - Multicellular Organisms
The biological, functional, and genetic characteristics that define plants and animals
1.4. Smaller, but Still Alive - Unicellular Organisms
The biological, functional, and genetic characteristics that define bacteria and yeast
1.5. Biochemistry - You Can't Escape It
The important biomolecules needed for all living organisms
1.6. Viruses at Last
A comparison of viruses with living organisms to illustrate the just how different and unique viruses are from any other organisms on Earth
2. Families, Form, and Function
"A virus a piece of bad news wrapped in protein" - Sir Peter Medawar
An overview of viral taxonomy (families); structure, organization, genetics, and reproduction (form); and pathogenic mechanisms (function). This chapter develops the foundational concepts and vocabulary that are expanded on with specific topics in the subsequent chapters.
2.1. Taxonomy and Other Geeky Things
An explanation of how viruses are named and classified
2.2. Virions, the Viral Vehicle
A discussion of the viral particle including its shape, component pieces, and functions
2.3. Alive or Not, Viruses Have a Life Cycle
The steps in the reproduction process that are common to all viruses 2.4. Infection and Disease - How Viruses Spread and do Nasty Things
The mechanisms by which viruses infect cells and cause damage to cells and organs in our bodies
3. Ancient or New - On the Origin of Viruses
"Endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved" - Charles Darwin
An examination of the origins of viruses and their co-evolution with living organisms. Are they the ancient progenitors of all life or are they degenerate offspring that devolved from more complex existing organisms? Competing views on viral origin will be compared and contrasted. The co-evolution of viruses with humans and our hominid ancestors is also explored.
3.1. We Don't Know Exactly Where We Came From, but We're Here Anyway
A brief history of the universe and the evolution of life on Earth
3.2. Are Viruses the Chicken or the Egg?
An introduction to viral origin theories; how did they arise and where did they come from? 3.3. Hypotheses, Hypotheses, and More Hypotheses
Examination of the major historical theories for viral origin evolution
3.4. New Data at Last
Use of nucleic acid and protein information to analyze viral origins and familial relationships
3.5. Closer to Home
How did ancient viruses give rise to modern viral families Papillomaviruses and Hominid Evolution - human papillomaviruses (HPVs) as an example of viral co-evolution with humans
4. Of Predators and Prey
"The single biggest threat to man's continued dominance on the planet is the virus"
About the Author:
Van G. Wilson is a Full Professor in the Department of Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis in the College of Medicine at Texas A&M University Health Science Center since 1999, and also served 12 years as the college's Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. Van's scientific career focused on viruses of the papovavirus group, including SV40, polyomaviruses, and papillomaviruses with funding from the NIH, the National Science Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and several other agencies. During that period Van published 71 scientific papers, 22 book chapters, 130 abstracts, and has edited 4 scientific books. Van has taught medical and graduate students for over 35 years and has lectured on his science around the world. Through these experiences, he has accumulated a broad, yet detailed, perspective about human-viruses interactions, from the molecular to the societal level. Van believes there are exciting, important, and interesting aspects of viral biology that would be appealing and accessible to a general audience, and therefore he decided to create a book that is both educational and entertaining.
