A Planet Of Viruses

A Planet of VIRUSES Carl Zimmer The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London CARL ZIMMER writes about science for the New York Times and other publications and is the author of eight books, including Parasite Rex, Soul Made Flesh, and Microcosm. He is a lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches writing about science and the environment, and visiting scholar at the Science, Health, and Environment Reporting Program at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 2011 by The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved. Published 2011. Printed in the United States of America 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 12345 ISBN-13: 978-0-226-98335-6 ISBN-10: 0-226-98335-8 (cloth) (cloth) The essays in this book were written for the World of Viruses project, funded by the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health through the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Grant No. R25 RR024267 (2007–2012). Its content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NCRR or NIH. Visit http://www.worldofviruses.unl.edu for more information and free educational materials about viruses. World of Viruses is a project of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zimmer, Carl, 1966– A planet of viruses / Carl Zimmer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-226-98335-6 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-226-98335-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Viruses. I. Title. QR360.Z65 2011 362.196’9—dc22 2010036742 This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). ISBN 978-0-226-98333-2 (electronic) To Grace, my favorite host Contents Foreword by Judy Diamond and Charles Wood INTRODUCTION “A Contagious Living Fluid”: Tobacco Mosaic Virus OLD COMPANIONS The Uncommon Cold Rhinovirus Looking Down from the Stars Influenza Virus Rabbits with Horns Human Papillomavirus EVERYWHERE, IN ALL THINGS The Enemy of Our Enemy Bacteriophages The Infected Ocean Marine Phages Our Inner Parasites Endogenous Retroviruses THE VIRAL FUTURE The Young Scourge Human Immunodeficiency Virus Becoming an American West Nile Virus Predicting the Next Plague Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola The Long Goodbye Smallpox EPILOGUE The Alien in the Watercooler: Mimivirus Acknowledgments Selected references Credits Index Foreword Viruses wreak chaos on human welfare, affecting the lives of almost a billion people. They have also played major roles in the remarkable biological advances of the past century. The smallpox virus was humanity’s greatest killer, and yet it is now one of the only diseases to have been eradicated from the globe. New viruses, such as HIV, continue to pose new threats and challenges. Viruses are unseen but dynamic players in the ecology of Earth. They move DNA between species, provide new genetic material for evolution, and regulate vast populations of organisms. Every species, from tiny microbes to large mammals, is influenced by the actions of viruses. Viruses extend their impact beyond species to affect climate, soil, the oceans, and fresh water. When you consider how every animal, plant, and microbe has been shaped through the course of evolution, one has to consider the influential role played by the tiny and powerful viruses that share this planet. Carl Zimmer wrote these essays for the World of Viruses project as part of a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the National Institutes of Heal