Viruses and the Evolution of Life

Viruses and the Evolution of Life PDF Author: Luis P. Villarreal
Publisher: Amer Society for Microbiology
ISBN: 9781555813093
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
Viruses and the Evolution of Life is an intriguing presentation of the virus–host relationship, as revealed through an examination of host evolution. This new volume avails the informed reader of a new perspective on the evolution of life while targeting the expert reader with discussions of specific scientific literature. Addresses the adaptation and evolution of viruses and, more importantly, the role of viruses in evolutionary biology Develops integrated themes for study of virology Contributes valuable information to the understanding of the virus–host relationship Integrates the relationship between genetic parasites found in host genomes with the virology of the host Communicates basic principles to the informed reader while presenting a scholarly evaluation of literature to challenge the specialist Written by one of the foremost experts in the field

Viruses and the Evolution of Life

Viruses and the Evolution of Life PDF Author: Luis P. Villarreal
Publisher: Amer Society for Microbiology
ISBN: 9781555813093
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 395

Get Book Here

Book Description
Viruses and the Evolution of Life is an intriguing presentation of the virus–host relationship, as revealed through an examination of host evolution. This new volume avails the informed reader of a new perspective on the evolution of life while targeting the expert reader with discussions of specific scientific literature. Addresses the adaptation and evolution of viruses and, more importantly, the role of viruses in evolutionary biology Develops integrated themes for study of virology Contributes valuable information to the understanding of the virus–host relationship Integrates the relationship between genetic parasites found in host genomes with the virology of the host Communicates basic principles to the informed reader while presenting a scholarly evaluation of literature to challenge the specialist Written by one of the foremost experts in the field

Origin and Evolution of Viruses

Origin and Evolution of Viruses PDF Author: Esteban Domingo
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080564968
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 573

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Book Description
New viral diseases are emerging continuously. Viruses adapt to new environments at astounding rates. Genetic variability of viruses jeopardizes vaccine efficacy. For many viruses mutants resistant to antiviral agents or host immune responses arise readily, for example, with HIV and influenza. These variations are all of utmost importance for human and animal health as they have prevented us from controlling these epidemic pathogens. This book focuses on the mechanisms that viruses use to evolve, survive and cause disease in their hosts. Covering human, animal, plant and bacterial viruses, it provides both the basic foundations for the evolutionary dynamics of viruses and specific examples of emerging diseases. - NEW - methods to establish relationships among viruses and the mechanisms that affect virus evolution - UNIQUE - combines theoretical concepts in evolution with detailed analyses of the evolution of important virus groups - SPECIFIC - Bacterial, plant, animal and human viruses are compared regarding their interation with their hosts

Viruses: Essential Agents of Life

Viruses: Essential Agents of Life PDF Author: Günther Witzany
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 940074899X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
A renaissance of virus research is taking centre stage in biology. Empirical data from the last decade indicate the important roles of viruses, both in the evolution of all life and as symbionts of host organisms. There is increasing evidence that all cellular life is colonized by exogenous and/or endogenous viruses in a non-lytic but persistent lifestyle. Viruses and viral parts form the most numerous genetic matter on this planet.

Virus as Populations

Virus as Populations PDF Author: Esteban Domingo
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128163321
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
Virus as Composition, Complexity, Quasispecies, Dynamics, and Biological Implications, Second Edition, explains the fundamental concepts surrounding viruses as complex populations during replication in infected hosts. Fundamental phenomena in virus behavior, such as adaptation to changing environments, capacity to produce disease, and the probability to be transmitted or respond to treatment all depend on virus population numbers. Concepts such as quasispecies dynamics, mutations rates, viral fitness, the effect of bottleneck events, population numbers in virus transmission and disease emergence, and new antiviral strategies are included. The book's main concepts are framed by recent observations on general virus diversity derived from metagenomic studies and current views on the origin and role of viruses in the evolution of the biosphere. - Features current views on key steps in the origin of life and origins of viruses - Includes examples relating ancestral features of viruses with their current adaptive capacity - Explains complex phenomena in an organized and coherent fashion that is easy to comprehend and enjoyable to read - Considers quasispecies as a framework to understand virus adaptability and disease processes

Virolution

Virolution PDF Author: Frank Ryan
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0007545274
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
The extraordinary role of viruses in evolution and how this is revolutionising biology and medicine.

Viruses

Viruses PDF Author: Michael G. Cordingley
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674972082
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
While viruses—the world’s most abundant biological entities—are not technically alive, they invade, replicate, and evolve within living cells. Michael Cordingley goes beyond our familiarity with infections to show how viruses spur evolutionary change in their hosts and shape global ecosystems, from ocean photosynthesis to drug-resistant bacteria.

A Planet of Viruses

A Planet of Viruses PDF Author: Carl Zimmer
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022632026X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 133

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Book Description
For years, scientists have been warning us that a pandemic was all but inevitable. Now it's here, and the rest of us have a lot to learn. Fortunately, science writer Carl Zimmer is here to guide us. In this compact volume, he tells the story of how the smallest living things known to science can bring an entire planet of people to a halt--and what we can learn from how we've defeated them in the past. Planet of Viruses covers such threats as Ebola, MERS, and chikungunya virus; tells about recent scientific discoveries, such as a hundred-million-year-old virus that infected the common ancestor of armadillos, elephants, and humans; and shares new findings that show why climate change may lead to even deadlier outbreaks. Zimmer’s lucid explanations and fascinating stories demonstrate how deeply humans and viruses are intertwined. Viruses helped give rise to the first life-forms, are responsible for many of our most devastating diseases, and will continue to control our fate for centuries. Thoroughly readable, and, for all its honesty about the threats, as reassuring as it is frightening, A Planet of Viruses is a fascinating tour of a world we all need to better understand.

Plant Virus Evolution

Plant Virus Evolution PDF Author: Marilyn J. Roossinck
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540757635
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive look at the field of plant virus evolution. It is the first book ever published on the topic. Individual chapters, written by experts in the field, cover plant virus ecology, emerging viruses, plant viruses that integrate into the host genome, population biology, evolutionary mechanisms and appropriate methods for analysis. It covers RNA viruses, DNA viruses, pararetroviruses and viroids, and presents a number of thought-provoking ideas.

Origin of Group Identity

Origin of Group Identity PDF Author: Luis P. Villarreal
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387779981
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 632

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Book Description
A sense of belonging is basic to the human experience. But in this, humans are not unique. Essentially all life, from bacteria to humans, have ways by which it determines which members belong and which do not. This is a basic cooperative nature of life I call group membership which is examined in this book. However, cooperation of living things is not easily accounted for by current theory of evolutionary biology and yet even viruses display group membership. That viruses have this feature would likely seem coincidental or irrelevant to most scientist as having any possible relationship to human group identity. Surely such simple molecular-based relationships between viruses are unrelated to the complex cognitive and emotional nature of human group membership. Yet viruses clearly affect bacterial group membership, which are the most diverse and abundant cellular life form on Earth and from which all life has evolved. Viruses are the most ancient, numerous and adaptable biological entities we know. And we have long recognized them for the harm and disease they can cause, and they have been responsible for the greatest numbers of human deaths. However, with the sequencing of entire genomes and more recently with the shotgun sequencings of habitats, we have come to realize viruses are the black hole of biology; a giant force that has until recently been largely unseen and historically ignored by evolutionary biology. Viruses not only can cause acute disease, but also persist as stable unseen agents in their host.

The Evolution and Emergence of RNA Viruses

The Evolution and Emergence of RNA Viruses PDF Author: Edward C. Holmes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199211124
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
While the study of viral evolution has developed rapidly in the last 30 years, little attention has been directed toward linking the mechanisms of viral evolution to the epidemiological outcomes of these processes. This book intends to fill this gap by considering the patterns and processes of viral evolution at all its spatial and temporal scales.