Viruses: A Very Short Introduction 3rd

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Viruses: A Very Short Introduction
 VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS are for anyone wanting a stimulating and
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The series began in 1995, and now covers a wide variety of topics in every
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area.

Very Short Introductions available now:

ABOLITIONISM Richard S. Newman

THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS Charles L. Cohen
ACCOUNTING Christopher Nobes
ADOLESCENCE Peter K. Smith
THEODOR W. ADORNO Andrew Bowie
ADVERTISING Winston Fletcher
AERIAL WARFARE Frank Ledwidge
AESTHETICS Bence Nanay
AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGION Eddie S. Glaude Jr
AFRICAN HISTORY John Parker and Richard Rathbone
AFRICAN POLITICS Ian Taylor
AFRICAN RELIGIONS Jacob K. Olupona
AGEING Nancy A. Pachana
AGNOSTICISM Robin Le Poidevin
AGRICULTURE Paul Brassley and Richard Soffe
ALEXANDER THE GREAT Hugh Bowden
ALGEBRA Peter M. Higgins
AMERICAN BUSINESS HISTORY Walter A. Friedman
AMERICAN CULTURAL HISTORY Eric Avila
AMERICAN FOREIGN RELATIONS Andrew Preston
AMERICAN HISTORY Paul S. Boyer
AMERICAN IMMIGRATION David A. Gerber
AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen
THE AMERICAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM Charles L. Zelden
AMERICAN LEGAL HISTORY G. Edward White
AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY Joseph T. Glatthaar
AMERICAN NAVAL HISTORY Craig L. Symonds
AMERICAN POETRY David Caplan
AMERICAN POLITICAL HISTORY Donald Critchlow
AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS L. Sandy Maisel
AMERICAN POLITICS Richard M. Valelly
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY Charles O. Jones
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Robert J. Allison
AMERICAN SLAVERY Heather Andrea Williams
THE AMERICAN SOUTH Charles Reagan Wilson
THE AMERICAN WEST Stephen Aron
AMERICAN WOMEN’S HISTORY Susan Ware
AMPHIBIANS T. S. Kemp
ANAESTHESIA Aidan O’Donnell
ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY Michael Beaney
ANARCHISM Alex Prichard
ANCIENT ASSYRIA Karen Radner
ANCIENT EGYPT Ian Shaw
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE Christina Riggs
ANCIENT GREECE Paul Cartledge
THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST Amanda H. Podany
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Julia Annas
ANCIENT WARFARE Harry Sidebottom
ANGELS David Albert Jones
ANGLICANISM Mark Chapman
THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE John Blair
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR Tristram D. Wyatt
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM Peter Holland
ANIMAL RIGHTS David DeGrazia
THE ANTARCTIC Klaus Dodds
ANTHROPOCENE Erle C. Ellis
ANTISEMITISM Steven Beller
ANXIETY Daniel Freeman and Jason Freeman
THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS Paul Foster
APPLIED MATHEMATICS Alain Goriely
THOMAS AQUINAS Fergus Kerr
ARBITRATION Thomas Schultz and Thomas Grant
ARCHAEOLOGY Paul Bahn
ARCHITECTURE Andrew Ballantyne
THE ARCTIC Klaus Dodds and Jamie Woodward
ARISTOCRACY William Doyle
ARISTOTLE Jonathan Barnes
ART HISTORY Dana Arnold
ART THEORY Cynthia Freeland
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Margaret A. Boden
ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY Madeline Y. Hsu
ASTROBIOLOGY David C. Catling
ASTROPHYSICS James Binney
ATHEISM Julian Baggini
THE ATMOSPHERE Paul I. Palmer
AUGUSTINE Henry Chadwick
JANE AUSTEN Tom Keymer
AUSTRALIA Kenneth Morgan
AUTISM Uta Frith
AUTOBIOGRAPHY Laura Marcus
THE AVANT GARDE David Cottington
THE AZTECS Davíd Carrasco
BABYLONIA Trevor Bryce
BACTERIA Sebastian G. B. Amyes
BANKING John Goddard and John O. S. Wilson
BARTHES Jonathan Culler
THE BEATS David Sterritt
BEAUTY Roger Scruton
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Mark Evan Bonds
BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS Michelle Baddeley
BESTSELLERS John Sutherland
THE BIBLE John Riches
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY Eric H. Cline
BIG DATA Dawn E. Holmes
BIOCHEMISTRY Mark Lorch
BIOGEOGRAPHY Mark V. Lomolino
BIOGRAPHY Hermione Lee
BIOMETRICS Michael Fairhurst
ELIZABETH BISHOP Jonathan F. S. Post
BLACK HOLES Katherine Blundell
BLASPHEMY Yvonne Sherwood
BLOOD Chris Cooper
THE BLUES Elijah Wald
THE BODY Chris Shilling
NIELS BOHR J. L. Heilbron
THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER Brian Cummings
THE BOOK OF MORMON Terryl Givens
BORDERS Alexander C. Diener and Joshua Hagen
THE BRAIN Michael O’Shea
BRANDING Robert Jones
THE BRICS Andrew F. Cooper
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION Martin Loughlin
THE BRITISH EMPIRE Ashley Jackson
BRITISH POLITICS Tony Wright
BUDDHA Michael Carrithers
BUDDHISM Damien Keown
BUDDHIST ETHICS Damien Keown
BYZANTIUM Peter Sarris
CALVINISM Jon Balserak
ALBERT CAMUS Oliver Gloag
CANADA Donald Wright
CANCER Nicholas James
CAPITALISM James Fulcher
CATHOLICISM Gerald O’Collins
CAUSATION Stephen Mumford and Rani Lill Anjum
THE CELL Terence Allen and Graham Cowling
THE CELTS Barry Cunliffe
CHAOS Leonard Smith
GEOFFREY CHAUCER David Wallace
CHEMISTRY Peter Atkins
CHILD PSYCHOLOGY Usha Goswami
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE Kimberley Reynolds
CHINESE LITERATURE Sabina Knight
CHOICE THEORY Michael Allingham
CHRISTIAN ART Beth Williamson
CHRISTIAN ETHICS D. Stephen Long
CHRISTIANITY Linda Woodhead
CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS Russell Foster and Leon Kreitzman
CITIZENSHIP Richard Bellamy
CITY PLANNING Carl Abbott
CIVIL ENGINEERING David Muir Wood
CLASSICAL LITERATURE William Allan
CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY Helen Morales
CLASSICS Mary Beard and John Henderson
CLAUSEWITZ Michael Howard
CLIMATE Mark Maslin
CLIMATE CHANGE Mark Maslin
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Susan Llewelyn and Katie Aafjes-van Doorn
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY Freda McManus
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE Richard Passingham
THE COLD WAR Robert J. McMahon
COLONIAL AMERICA Alan Taylor
COLONIAL LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE Rolena Adorno
COMBINATORICS Robin Wilson
COMEDY Matthew Bevis
COMMUNISM Leslie Holmes
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE Ben Hutchinson
COMPETITION AND ANTITRUST LAW Ariel Ezrachi
COMPLEXITY John H. Holland
THE COMPUTER Darrel Ince
COMPUTER SCIENCE Subrata Dasgupta
CONCENTRATION CAMPS Dan Stone
CONFUCIANISM Daniel K. Gardner
THE CONQUISTADORS Matthew Restall and Felipe Fernández-Armesto
CONSCIENCE Paul Strohm
CONSCIOUSNESS Susan Blackmore
CONTEMPORARY ART Julian Stallabrass
CONTEMPORARY FICTION Robert Eaglestone
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY Simon Critchley
COPERNICUS Owen Gingerich
CORAL REEFS Charles Sheppard
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Jeremy Moon
CORRUPTION Leslie Holmes
COSMOLOGY Peter Coles
COUNTRY MUSIC Richard Carlin
CREATIVITY Vlad Glăveanu
CRIME FICTION Richard Bradford
CRIMINAL JUSTICE Julian V. Roberts
CRIMINOLOGY Tim Newburn
CRITICAL THEORY Stephen Eric Bronner
THE CRUSADES Christopher Tyerman
CRYPTOGRAPHY Fred Piper and Sean Murphy
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY A. M. Glazer
THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION Richard Curt Kraus
DADA AND SURREALISM David Hopkins
DANTE Peter Hainsworth and David Robey
DARWIN Jonathan Howard
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS Timothy H. Lim
DECADENCE David Weir
DECOLONIZATION Dane Kennedy
DEMENTIA Kathleen Taylor
DEMOCRACY Bernard Crick
DEMOGRAPHY Sarah Harper
DEPRESSION Jan Scott and Mary Jane Tacchi
DERRIDA Simon Glendinning
DESCARTES Tom Sorell
DESERTS Nick Middleton
DESIGN John Heskett
DEVELOPMENT Ian Goldin
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY Lewis Wolpert
THE DEVIL Darren Oldridge
DIASPORA Kevin Kenny
CHARLES DICKENS Jenny Hartley
DICTIONARIES Lynda Mugglestone
DINOSAURS David Norman
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY Joseph M. Siracusa
DOCUMENTARY FILM Patricia Aufderheide
DREAMING J. Allan Hobson
DRUGS Les Iversen
DRUIDS Barry Cunliffe
DYNASTY Jeroen Duindam
DYSLEXIA Margaret J. Snowling
EARLY MUSIC Thomas Forrest Kelly
THE EARTH Martin Redfern
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE Tim Lenton
ECOLOGY Jaboury Ghazoul
ECONOMICS Partha Dasgupta
EDUCATION Gary Thomas
EGYPTIAN MYTH Geraldine Pinch
EIGHTEENTH‑CENTURY BRITAIN Paul Langford
THE ELEMENTS Philip Ball
EMOTION Dylan Evans
EMPIRE Stephen Howe
EMPLOYMENT LAW David Cabrelli
ENERGY SYSTEMS Nick Jenkins
ENGELS Terrell Carver
ENGINEERING David Blockley
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE Simon Horobin
ENGLISH LITERATURE Jonathan Bate
THE ENLIGHTENMENT John Robertson
ENTREPRENEURSHIP Paul Westhead and Mike Wright
ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS Stephen Smith
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS Robin Attfield
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Elizabeth Fisher
ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS Andrew Dobson
ENZYMES Paul Engel
EPICUREANISM Catherine Wilson
EPIDEMIOLOGY Rodolfo Saracci
ETHICS Simon Blackburn
ETHNOMUSICOLOGY Timothy Rice
THE ETRUSCANS Christopher Smith
EUGENICS Philippa Levine
THE EUROPEAN UNION Simon Usherwood and John Pinder
EUROPEAN UNION LAW Anthony Arnull
EVANGELICALISM John Stackhouse
EVIL Luke Russell
EVOLUTION Brian and Deborah Charlesworth
EXISTENTIALISM Thomas Flynn
EXPLORATION Stewart A. Weaver
EXTINCTION Paul B. Wignall
THE EYE Michael Land
FAIRY TALE Marina Warner
FAMILY LAW Jonathan Herring
MICHAEL FARADAY Frank A. J. L. James
FASCISM Kevin Passmore
FASHION Rebecca Arnold
FEDERALISM Mark J. Rozell and Clyde Wilcox
FEMINISM Margaret Walters
FILM Michael Wood
FILM MUSIC Kathryn Kalinak
FILM NOIR James Naremore
FIRE Andrew C. Scott
THE FIRST WORLD WAR Michael Howard
FLUID MECHANICS Eric Lauga
FOLK MUSIC Mark Slobin
FOOD John Krebs
FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY David Canter
FORENSIC SCIENCE Jim Fraser
FORESTS Jaboury Ghazoul
FOSSILS Keith Thomson
FOUCAULT Gary Gutting
THE FOUNDING FATHERS R. B. Bernstein
FRACTALS Kenneth Falconer
FREE SPEECH Nigel Warburton
FREE WILL Thomas Pink
FREEMASONRY Andreas Önnerfors
FRENCH LITERATURE John D. Lyons
FRENCH PHILOSOPHY Stephen Gaukroger and Knox Peden
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION William Doyle
FREUD Anthony Storr
FUNDAMENTALISM Malise Ruthven
FUNGI Nicholas P. Money
THE FUTURE Jennifer M. Gidley
GALAXIES John Gribbin
GALILEO Stillman Drake
GAME THEORY Ken Binmore
GANDHI Bhikhu Parekh
GARDEN HISTORY Gordon Campbell
GENES Jonathan Slack
GENIUS Andrew Robinson
GENOMICS John Archibald
GEOGRAPHY John Matthews and David Herbert
GEOLOGY Jan Zalasiewicz
GEOMETRY Maciej Dunajski
GEOPHYSICS William Lowrie
GEOPOLITICS Klaus Dodds
GERMAN LITERATURE Nicholas Boyle
GERMAN PHILOSOPHY Andrew Bowie
THE GHETTO Bryan Cheyette
GLACIATION David J. A. Evans
GLOBAL CATASTROPHES Bill McGuire
GLOBAL ECONOMIC HISTORY Robert C. Allen
GLOBAL ISLAM Nile Green
GLOBALIZATION Manfred B. Steger
GOD John Bowker
GOETHE Ritchie Robertson
THE GOTHIC Nick Groom
GOVERNANCE Mark Bevir
GRAVITY Timothy Clifton
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL Eric Rauchway
HABEAS CORPUS Amanda Tyler
HABERMAS James Gordon Finlayson
THE HABSBURG EMPIRE Martyn Rady
HAPPINESS Daniel M. Haybron
THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE Cheryl A. Wall
THE HEBREW BIBLE AS LITERATURE Tod Linafelt
HEGEL Peter Singer
HEIDEGGER Michael Inwood
THE HELLENISTIC AGE Peter Thonemann
HEREDITY John Waller
HERMENEUTICS Jens Zimmermann
HERODOTUS Jennifer T. Roberts
HIEROGLYPHS Penelope Wilson
HINDUISM Kim Knott
HISTORY John H. Arnold
THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY Michael Hoskin
THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY William H. Brock
THE HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD James Marten
THE HISTORY OF CINEMA Geoffrey Nowell-Smith
THE HISTORY OF COMPUTING Doron Swade
THE HISTORY OF LIFE Michael Benton
THE HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS Jacqueline Stedall
THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE William Bynum
THE HISTORY OF PHYSICS J. L. Heilbron
THE HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT Richard Whatmore
THE HISTORY OF TIME Leofranc Holford‑Strevens
HIV AND AIDS Alan Whiteside
HOBBES Richard Tuck
HOLLYWOOD Peter Decherney
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE Joachim Whaley
HOME Michael Allen Fox
HOMER Barbara Graziosi
HORMONES Martin Luck
HORROR Darryl Jones
HUMAN ANATOMY Leslie Klenerman
HUMAN EVOLUTION Bernard Wood
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY Jamie A. Davies
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Adrian Wilkinson
HUMAN RIGHTS Andrew Clapham
HUMANISM Stephen Law
HUME James A. Harris
HUMOUR Noël Carroll
THE ICE AGE Jamie Woodward
IDENTITY Florian Coulmas
IDEOLOGY Michael Freeden
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM Paul Klenerman
INDIAN CINEMA Ashish Rajadhyaksha
INDIAN PHILOSOPHY Sue Hamilton
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Robert C. Allen
INFECTIOUS DISEASE Marta L. Wayne and Benjamin M. Bolker
INFINITY Ian Stewart
INFORMATION Luciano Floridi
INNOVATION Mark Dodgson and David Gann
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Siva Vaidhyanathan
INTELLIGENCE Ian J. Deary
INTERNATIONAL LAW Vaughan Lowe
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION Khalid Koser
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Christian Reus-Smit
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY Christopher S. Browning
INSECTS Simon Leather
IRAN Ali M. Ansari
ISLAM Malise Ruthven
ISLAMIC HISTORY Adam Silverstein
ISLAMIC LAW Mashood A. Baderin
ISOTOPES Rob Ellam
ITALIAN LITERATURE Peter Hainsworth and David Robey
HENRY JAMES Susan L. Mizruchi
JESUS Richard Bauckham
JEWISH HISTORY David N. Myers
JEWISH LITERATURE Ilan Stavans
JOURNALISM Ian Hargreaves
JAMES JOYCE Colin MacCabe
JUDAISM Norman Solomon
JUNG Anthony Stevens
KABBALAH Joseph Dan
KAFKA Ritchie Robertson
KANT Roger Scruton
KEYNES Robert Skidelsky
KIERKEGAARD Patrick Gardiner
KNOWLEDGE Jennifer Nagel
THE KORAN Michael Cook
KOREA Michael J. Seth
LAKES Warwick F. Vincent
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Ian H. Thompson
LANDSCAPES AND GEOMORPHOLOGY Andrew Goudie and Heather Viles
LANGUAGES Stephen R. Anderson
LATE ANTIQUITY Gillian Clark
LAW Raymond Wacks
THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS Peter Atkins
LEADERSHIP Keith Grint
LEARNING Mark Haselgrove
LEIBNIZ Maria Rosa Antognazza
C. S. LEWIS James Como
LIBERALISM Michael Freeden
LIGHT Ian Walmsley
LINCOLN Allen C. Guelzo
LINGUISTICS Peter Matthews
LITERARY THEORY Jonathan Culler
LOCKE John Dunn
LOGIC Graham Priest
LOVE Ronald de Sousa
MARTIN LUTHER Scott H. Hendrix
MACHIAVELLI Quentin Skinner
MADNESS Andrew Scull
MAGIC Owen Davies
MAGNA CARTA Nicholas Vincent
MAGNETISM Stephen Blundell
MALTHUS Donald Winch
MAMMALS T. S. Kemp
MANAGEMENT John Hendry
NELSON MANDELA Elleke Boehmer
MAO Delia Davin
MARINE BIOLOGY Philip V. Mladenov
MARKETING Kenneth Le Meunier-FitzHugh
THE MARQUIS DE SADE John Phillips
MARTYRDOM Jolyon Mitchell
MARX Peter Singer
MATERIALS Christopher Hall
MATHEMATICAL FINANCE Mark H. A. Davis
MATHEMATICS Timothy Gowers
MATTER Geoff Cottrell
THE MAYA Matthew Restall and Amara Solari
THE MEANING OF LIFE Terry Eagleton
MEASUREMENT David Hand
MEDICAL ETHICS Michael Dunn and Tony Hope
MEDICAL LAW Charles Foster
MEDIEVAL BRITAIN John Gillingham and Ralph A. Griffiths
MEDIEVAL LITERATURE Elaine Treharne
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY John Marenbon
MEMORY Jonathan K. Foster
METAPHYSICS Stephen Mumford
METHODISM William J. Abraham
THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION Alan Knight
MICROBIOLOGY Nicholas P. Money
MICROECONOMICS Avinash Dixit
MICROSCOPY Terence Allen
THE MIDDLE AGES Miri Rubin
MILITARY JUSTICE Eugene R. Fidell
MILITARY STRATEGY Antulio J. Echevarria II
JOHN STUART MILL Gregory Claeys
MINERALS David Vaughan
MIRACLES Yujin Nagasawa
MODERN ARCHITECTURE Adam Sharr
MODERN ART David Cottington
MODERN BRAZIL Anthony W. Pereira
MODERN CHINA Rana Mitter
MODERN DRAMA Kirsten E. Shepherd-Barr
MODERN FRANCE Vanessa R. Schwartz
MODERN INDIA Craig Jeffrey
MODERN IRELAND Senia Pašeta
MODERN ITALY Anna Cento Bull
MODERN JAPAN Christopher Goto-Jones
MODERN LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE Roberto González Echevarría
MODERN WAR Richard English
MODERNISM Christopher Butler
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY Aysha Divan and Janice A. Royds
MOLECULES Philip Ball
MONASTICISM Stephen J. Davis
THE MONGOLS Morris Rossabi
MONTAIGNE William M. Hamlin
MOONS David A. Rothery
MORMONISM Richard Lyman Bushman
MOUNTAINS Martin F. Price
MUHAMMAD Jonathan A. C. Brown
MULTICULTURALISM Ali Rattansi
MULTILINGUALISM John C. Maher
MUSIC Nicholas Cook
MUSIC AND TECHNOLOGY Mark Katz
MYTH Robert A. Segal
NAPOLEON David Bell
THE NAPOLEONIC WARS Mike Rapport
NATIONALISM Steven Grosby
NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE Sean Teuton
NAVIGATION Jim Bennett
NAZI GERMANY Jane Caplan
NEGOTIATION Carrie Menkel-Meadow
NEOLIBERALISM Manfred B. Steger and Ravi K. Roy
NETWORKS Guido Caldarelli and Michele Catanzaro
THE NEW TESTAMENT Luke Timothy Johnson
THE NEW TESTAMENT AS LITERATURE Kyle Keefer
NEWTON Robert Iliffe
NIETZSCHE Michael Tanner
NINETEENTH‑CENTURY BRITAIN Christopher Harvie and H. C. G. Matthew
THE NORMAN CONQUEST George Garnett
NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green
NORTHERN IRELAND Marc Mulholland
NOTHING Frank Close
NUCLEAR PHYSICS Frank Close
NUCLEAR POWER Maxwell Irvine
NUCLEAR WEAPONS Joseph M. Siracusa
NUMBER THEORY Robin Wilson
NUMBERS Peter M. Higgins
NUTRITION David A. Bender
OBJECTIVITY Stephen Gaukroger
OCEANS Dorrik Stow
THE OLD TESTAMENT Michael D. Coogan
THE ORCHESTRA D. Kern Holoman
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY Graham Patrick
ORGANIZATIONS Mary Jo Hatch
ORGANIZED CRIME Georgios A. Antonopoulos and Georgios Papanicolaou
ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY A. Edward Siecienski
OVID Llewelyn Morgan
PAGANISM Owen Davies
PAKISTAN Pippa Virdee
THE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT Martin Bunton
PANDEMICS Christian W. McMillen
PARTICLE PHYSICS Frank Close
PAUL E. P. Sanders
IVAN PAVLOV Daniel P. Todes
PEACE Oliver P. Richmond
PENTECOSTALISM William K. Kay
PERCEPTION Brian Rogers
THE PERIODIC TABLE Eric R. Scerri
PHILOSOPHICAL METHOD Timothy Williamson
PHILOSOPHY Edward Craig
PHILOSOPHY IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD Peter Adamson
PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY Samir Okasha
PHILOSOPHY OF LAW Raymond Wacks
PHILOSOPHY OF MIND Barbara Gail Montero
PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS David Wallace
PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Samir Okasha
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION Tim Bayne
PHOTOGRAPHY Steve Edwards
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY Peter Atkins
PHYSICS Sidney Perkowitz
PILGRIMAGE Ian Reader
PLAGUE Paul Slack
PLANETARY SYSTEMS Raymond T. Pierrehumbert
PLANETS David A. Rothery
PLANTS Timothy Walker
PLATE TECTONICS Peter Molnar
PLATO Julia Annas
POETRY Bernard O’Donoghue
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY David Miller
POLITICS Kenneth Minogue
POLYGAMY Sarah M. S. Pearsall
POPULISM Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser
POSTCOLONIALISM Robert Young
POSTMODERNISM Christopher Butler
POSTSTRUCTURALISM Catherine Belsey
POVERTY Philip N. Jefferson
PREHISTORY Chris Gosden
PRESOCRATIC PHILOSOPHY Catherine Osborne
PRIVACY Raymond Wacks
PROBABILITY John Haigh
PROGRESSIVISM Walter Nugent
PROHIBITION W. J. Rorabaugh
PROJECTS Andrew Davies
PROTESTANTISM Mark A. Noll
PSYCHIATRY Tom Burns
PSYCHOANALYSIS Daniel Pick
PSYCHOLOGY Gillian Butler and Freda McManus
PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis
PSYCHOPATHY Essi Viding
PSYCHOTHERAPY Tom Burns and Eva Burns-Lundgren
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Stella Z. Theodoulou and Ravi K. Roy
PUBLIC HEALTH Virginia Berridge
PURITANISM Francis J. Bremer
THE QUAKERS Pink Dandelion
QUANTUM THEORY John Polkinghorne
RACISM Ali Rattansi
RADIOACTIVITY Claudio Tuniz
RASTAFARI Ennis B. Edmonds
READING Belinda Jack
THE REAGAN REVOLUTION Gil Troy
REALITY Jan Westerhoff
RECONSTRUCTION Allen C. Guelzo
THE REFORMATION Peter Marshall
REFUGEES Gil Loescher
RELATIVITY Russell Stannard
RELIGION Thomas A. Tweed
RELIGION IN AMERICA Timothy Beal
THE RENAISSANCE Jerry Brotton
RENAISSANCE ART Geraldine A. Johnson
RENEWABLE ENERGY Nick Jelley
REPTILES T.S. Kemp
REVOLUTIONS Jack A. Goldstone
RHETORIC Richard Toye
RISK Baruch Fischhoff and John Kadvany
RITUAL Barry Stephenson
RIVERS Nick Middleton
ROBOTICS Alan Winfield
ROCKS Jan Zalasiewicz
ROMAN BRITAIN Peter Salway
THE ROMAN EMPIRE Christopher Kelly
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC David M. Gwynn
ROMANTICISM Michael Ferber
ROUSSEAU Robert Wokler
RUSSELL A. C. Grayling
THE RUSSIAN ECONOMY Richard Connolly
RUSSIAN HISTORY Geoffrey Hosking
RUSSIAN LITERATURE Catriona Kelly
THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION S. A. Smith
SAINTS Simon Yarrow
SAMURAI Michael Wert
SAVANNAS Peter A. Furley
SCEPTICISM Duncan Pritchard
SCHIZOPHRENIA Chris Frith and Eve Johnstone
SCHOPENHAUER Christopher Janaway
SCIENCE AND RELIGION Thomas Dixon and Adam R. Shapiro
SCIENCE FICTION David Seed
THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION Lawrence M. Principe
SCOTLAND Rab Houston
SECULARISM Andrew Copson
SEXUAL SELECTION Marlene Zuk and Leigh W. Simmons
SEXUALITY Véronique Mottier
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Stanley Wells
SHAKESPEARE’S COMEDIES Bart van Es
SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS AND POEMS Jonathan F. S. Post
SHAKESPEARE’S TRAGEDIES Stanley Wells
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW Christopher Wixson
MARY SHELLEY Charlotte Gordon
THE SHORT STORY Andrew Kahn
SIKHISM Eleanor Nesbitt
SILENT FILM Donna Kornhaber
THE SILK ROAD James A. Millward
SLANG Jonathon Green
SLEEP Steven W. Lockley and Russell G. Foster
SMELL Matthew Cobb
ADAM SMITH Christopher J. Berry
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY John Monaghan and Peter Just
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Richard J. Crisp
SOCIAL WORK Sally Holland and Jonathan Scourfield
SOCIALISM Michael Newman
SOCIOLINGUISTICS John Edwards
SOCIOLOGY Steve Bruce
SOCRATES C. C. W. Taylor
SOFT MATTER Tom McLeish
SOUND Mike Goldsmith
SOUTHEAST ASIA James R. Rush
THE SOVIET UNION Stephen Lovell
THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR Helen Graham
SPANISH LITERATURE Jo Labanyi
THE SPARTANS Andrew Bayliss
SPINOZA Roger Scruton
SPIRITUALITY Philip Sheldrake
SPORT Mike Cronin
STARS Andrew King
STATISTICS David J. Hand
STEM CELLS Jonathan Slack
STOICISM Brad Inwood
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING David Blockley
STUART BRITAIN John Morrill
THE SUN Philip Judge
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY Stephen Blundell
SUPERSTITION Stuart Vyse
SYMMETRY Ian Stewart
SYNAESTHESIA Julia Simner
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY Jamie A. Davies
SYSTEMS BIOLOGY Eberhard O. Voit
TAXATION Stephen Smith
TEETH Peter S. Ungar
TELESCOPES Geoff Cottrell
TERRORISM Charles Townshend
THEATRE Marvin Carlson
THEOLOGY David F. Ford
THINKING AND REASONING Jonathan St B. T. Evans
THOUGHT Tim Bayne
TIBETAN BUDDHISM Matthew T. Kapstein
TIDES David George Bowers and Emyr Martyn Roberts
TIME Jenann Ismael
TOCQUEVILLE Harvey C. Mansfield
LEO TOLSTOY Liza Knapp
TOPOLOGY Richard Earl
TRAGEDY Adrian Poole
TRANSLATION Matthew Reynolds
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES Michael S. Neiberg
TRIGONOMETRY Glen Van Brummelen
THE TROJAN WAR Eric H. Cline
TRUST Katherine Hawley
THE TUDORS John Guy
TWENTIETH‑CENTURY BRITAIN Kenneth O. Morgan
TYPOGRAPHY Paul Luna
THE UNITED NATIONS Jussi M. Hanhimäki
UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES David Palfreyman and Paul Temple
THE U.S. CIVIL WAR Louis P. Masur
THE U.S. CONGRESS Donald A. Ritchie
THE U.S. CONSTITUTION David J. Bodenhamer
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT Linda Greenhouse
UTILITARIANISM Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek and Peter Singer
UTOPIANISM Lyman Tower Sargent
VETERINARY SCIENCE James Yeates
THE VIKINGS Julian D. Richards
VIOLENCE Philip Dwyer
THE VIRGIN MARY Mary Joan Winn Leith
THE VIRTUES Craig A. Boyd and Kevin Timpe
VIRUSES Dorothy H. Crawford
VOLCANOES Michael J. Branney and Jan Zalasiewicz
VOLTAIRE Nicholas Cronk
WAR AND RELIGION Jolyon Mitchell and Joshua Rey
WAR AND TECHNOLOGY Alex Roland
WATER John Finney
WAVES Mike Goldsmith
WEATHER Storm Dunlop
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 Dorothy H. Crawford

VIRUSES
A Very Short Introduction
THIRD EDITION
 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the
University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing
worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in
certain other countries
© Dorothy H. Crawford 2011, 2018, 2022
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First edition published 2011
Second edition published 2018
Third edition published 2022
Impression: 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in
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You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same
condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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ISBN 978–0–19–286506–9
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Printed in the UK by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only.
Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website
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Contents

Acknowledgments

List of illustrations

List of tables

1 What are viruses?

2 Kill or be killed

3 Emerging virus infections: vertebrate-transmitted viruses

4 Emerging virus infections: arthropod-transmitted viruses

5 Emerging virus infections: the coronaviruses

6 Virus acquisition and eradication

7 Persistent viruses

8 Tumour viruses

9 Viruses past and future

Glossary
Further reading

Publisher’s acknowledgements

Index
Acknowledgements

My sincere thanks go to Dr Karen McAulay for her critical review of

the manuscript and for providing essential information on arthropod-
transmitted viruses.
List of illustrations

1 The structure of viruses

This article was published in Medical Microbiology, 16th edn, D. Greenwood et al.
(eds), p. 23, fig. 2.16 © Elsevier

2 The comparative sizes of a typical bacterium and representative viruses

From L. Collier and J. S. Oxford, Human Virology (OUP, 1993), p. 4, fig. 1.1 © Oxford
University Press

3 The structure of DNA

From B. and D. Charlesworth, Evolution: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2003), p. 25,
fig. 5b

4 The retrovirus infectious cycle

© 2017 Takara Bio USA., Inc

5 Molecular evolution of a viral gene over time

Kindly provided by Professor Paul Sharp, University of Edinburgh

6 Portals of virus entry into the human body

7 The Cow-Pock-or-The Wonderful Effects of the New Inoculation, by James

Gillray, 1802
British Cartoon Prints Collection. Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress,
LC-USZC4-3147

8 Graphs showing Ebola cases in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, 2014–16
Reprinted from Ebola: Mapping the outbreak—BBC News with permission, based on
data taken from WHO Ebola situation reports, data summary, all data and statistics
and Ebola maps Ebola virus disease (who.int)
9 The yellow fever transmission cycle
Source from Fig 15 from D. H. Crawford, The Invisible Enemy (OUP, 2021) © Oxford
University Press

10 Worldwide distribution of Zika virus, dengue fever, and Chikungunya viruses

© NaTHNaC; used with permission of NaTHNaC under Open Government License
v3.0, UK; courtesy of CDC; © 2021, F. Hucke, M. Bestehorn-Willmann & J.J. Bugert,
under exclusive licence to Springer Science Business Media

11 The emergence of SARS in Hong Kong

Used with permission of the Sars Expert Committee

12 Chart showing age-related deaths from COVID-19

From D. H. Crawford, The Invisible Enemy (OUP, 2000), © Oxford University Press

13 CD4 count and viral load during the acute, asymptomatic, and symptomatic
phases of HIV infection
Reproduced from A. Mindel and M. Tenant-Flowers, ‘Natural History and Management
of early HIV infection’, ABC of Aids (2001), with permission from BMJ Publishing Group
Ltd

14 World map showing areas of high incidence of virus-associated tumours

From D. H. Crawford, The Invisible Enemy (OUP, 2000), p. 92, © Oxford University
Press

15 Chart showing the age-related incidence of Burkitt’s lymphoma in Africa

From Hämmerl, L., Colombet, M., Rochford, R. et al. The burden of Burkitt lymphoma
in Africa. Infect Agents Cancer 14, 17 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13027-019-
0236-7
List of tables

1 Comparison of reproductive number (R0) and herd immunity threshold (HIT)

2 Comparison of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2

3 Cervical cancer incidence rates worldwide in 2018, by region

Data from Statista 2022, Cervical cancer incidence rates by region worldwide 2018 |
Statista
Chapter 1
What are viruses?

The microbe is so very small

You cannot make him out at all,
But many sanguine people hope
To see him through a microscope.
His jointed tongue that lies beneath
A hundred curious rows of teeth;
His seven tufted tails with lots
Of lovely pink and purple spots,
On each of which a pattern stands,
Composed of forty separate bands;
His eyebrows of a tender green;
All these have never yet been seen—
But Scientists, who ought to know,
Assure us that they must be so…
Oh! let us never, never doubt
What nobody is sure about.
‘The Microbe’ (1896), Hilaire Belloc

Primitive microbes evolved on Earth approximately three billion years

ago but were isolated by humans only in the late 19th century,
around 20 years before Hilaire Belloc wrote ‘The Microbe’.

Written to amuse, the poem nonetheless reflects the scepticism of

the times. It must have taken a huge leap of faith for people to
accept that tiny, living organisms were responsible for diseases that
had hitherto been attributed variously to the will of the gods, the
alignment of planets, or miasmic vapours emanating from swamps
and decomposing organic material. Of course, this realization did not
dawn overnight, but as more and more microbes were identified, the
‘germ theory’ took hold, and by the beginning of the 20th century it
was widely accepted even in non-scientific circles that microbes
could cause disease.

Key to this momentous leap in understanding were technical

developments in microscopes made by the Dutch lens-maker Antonie
van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) in the 17th century. He was the first
to visualize microbes, but it was not until the mid-1800s that Louis
Pasteur (1822–95) working in Paris and Robert Koch (1843–1910) in
Berlin established ‘germs’ as the cause of infectious diseases.

Koch discovered the first bacterium, Bacillus anthraci, in 1876, and

soon the causative microbes of feared diseases like anthrax,
tuberculosis, cholera, diphtheria, tetanus, and syphilis were
identified and characterized. But these were all caused by bacteria,
and it soon became clear that there remained a group of infectious
diseases for which causative organisms could not be found, such as
smallpox, measles, mumps, rubella, and flu. These microbes were
obviously very small as they passed through filters that trapped
bacteria, and in consequence were called ‘filterable agents’. At the
time, most scientists thought these were just tiny bacteria. It was
not until the invention of the electron microscope in 1939, able to
magnify over 100,000 times, that viruses were first visualized and
their structure elucidated, showing them to be a unique class of
microbes.

Viruses are not cells but particles. They consist of a protein coat, the
capsid, surrounding and protecting a piece of genetic material. The
whole structure is called a virion. Capsids come in various shapes
and sizes, each characteristic of the family to which a virus belongs.
They are built up of protein subunits called capsomeres and it is the
arrangement of these around the central genetic material that
determines the shape of the virion. For example, pox viruses are
brick-shaped, herpes viruses are icosahedral (20-sided polygons),
the rabies virus is bullet-shaped, and the tobacco mosaic virus is
long and thin like a rod (Figure 1).
1. The structure of viruses.

Some viruses have an outer layer surrounding the capsid called an

envelope, which they acquire when budding through the cell surface
membrane.

Most viruses are too small to be seen under a light microscope. In

general, they vary in size from 20 to 300 nanometres (nm) in
diameter (1 nm is a thousand millionth of a metre) (Figure 2).
2. The comparative sizes of a typical bacterium and representative
viruses.

However, the genus of so-called giant viruses forms an exception.

Mimivirus (short for ‘microbe-mimicking virus’) was the first of these
to be discovered, in 1992, and measures 600 nm; larger than some
bacteria.

Inside the virus capsid is the genetic material, or genome, which is

either RNA or DNA depending on the type of virus (Figure 3). The
genome contains the virus’s genes, which carry the code for making
new viruses, and transmits their inherited characteristics to the next
generation. Viruses usually have between 4 and 200 genes, but
again the giant viruses are unusual in having an estimated 600 to
1,000 genes, more than many bacteria.
3. The structure of DNA, showing the two complementary strands that
form the helix. The backbone of each strand is composed of molecules
of the sugar deoxyribose (S) that are linked to each other through
phosphate molecules (P). Each sugar is connected to a nucleotide
molecule, and these form the ‘letters’ of the genetic alphabet. These
are: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). The
structure of RNA is similar to DNA but its nucleotides are adenine,
guanine, cytosine, and uracil.

Once it was appreciated that viruses carried either DNA or RNA, but
never both, a system of classification was devised based on the
following criteria to assign viruses into families, genera, and species:

• the type of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA);

• the shape of the virus capsid;
• the capsid diameter and/or number of capsomeres;
• the presence or absence of a viral envelope.

Since the early 1980s, when the first virus genome was fully
mapped, genome sequencing has become a routine technique that
provides valuable information for virus classification. Indeed, with
increasingly sophisticated methods for virus discovery, many viruses
are now identified long before their actual physical structure is
visualized. In these cases, the molecular structure of the DNA or
RNA is compared with that of other known viruses to assign the new
virus to a family.

Cells of free-living organisms, including bacteria, contain a variety of

organelles essential for life such as ribosomes that manufacture
proteins, mitochondria, or other structures that generate energy, and
complex membranes for transporting molecules within the cell across
the cell wall. Viruses, not being cells, have none of these, and are
therefore inert until they infect a living cell. Once inside, they hijack
the cell’s organelles and use what they need to complete the virus
life cycle, often killing the cell in the process. As such they are called
obligate parasites. Even mimivirus, which infects amoebae, must
borrow the amoeba’s organelles to manufacture its proteins in order
to assemble new mimiviruses.

Plant viruses either enter cells through a break in the cell wall or are
injected by sap-sucking insect vectors like aphids. They then spread
very efficiently from cell to cell via plasmodesmata, pores that
transport molecules between cells. In contrast, animal viruses infect
cells by binding to specific cell surface receptor molecules. The cell
receptor is like a lock, and only viruses that carry the right receptor-
binding key can open it and enter that particular cell. Receptor
molecules differ from one type of virus to another, and while some
are found on many cell types, others have a much more restricted
distribution. This is exemplified by the two pandemic viruses: human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and severe acute respiratory
syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of COVID-19. The
cell receptor for HIV is the CD4 molecule, which is mainly expressed
on immune cells called helper T cells. This specific interaction
defines the outcome of HIV infection, since it leads to destruction of
CD4-positive ‘T’ cells that are critical to the immune response.
Without antiviral treatment the immune system eventually fails, and
lethal opportunistic infections ensue. In contrast, the cell receptor for
SARS-CoV-2, ACE-2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme-2), is widely
expressed in the body, particularly on cells in the respiratory tract,
blood vessels, heart, and kidneys, and this distribution determines
the manifestations of severe COVID-19 (see Chapter 5).

Once a virus has bound to its cellular receptor, the capsid penetrates
the cell and its genome (DNA or RNA) is released into the cell
cytoplasm. The main ‘aim’ of a virus is to reproduce successfully, and
to do this its genetic material must download the information it
carries. Mostly, this will take place in the cell’s nucleus, where the
virus can access the molecules it requires to begin manufacturing its
own proteins. Some large viruses, like pox viruses, carry genes for
the enzymes they need to make their proteins and so are more self-
sufficient and can complete the whole life cycle in the cytoplasm.

Inside a cell DNA viruses simply masquerade as pieces of cellular

DNA, and their genes are transcribed and translated using as much
of the cell’s machinery as they require. The viral DNA code is
transcribed into RNA messages (transcription) which are read and
translated into individual viral proteins (translation) by the cell’s
ribosomes.

The separate virus components are then assembled into thousands

of new viruses which are often so tightly packed inside the cell that
it eventually bursts open and releases them, inevitably killing the
cell. Alternatively, new viruses leave rather more sedately by
budding through the cell membrane and in doing so acquire an
envelope. In the latter case, the cell may survive and act as a
reservoir of infection.

RNA viruses are one step ahead of DNA viruses in already having
their genetic code as RNA. As they carry enzymes that enable their
RNA to be copied and translated into proteins, they are not so
dependent on cellular enzymes and can often complete their life
cycle in the cytoplasm without causing major disruption to the cell.

Retroviruses are a family of RNA viruses, including HIV, that have

evolved a unique trick for establishing a lifelong infection of a cell
while hiding from immune attack. Retrovirus particles contain an
enzyme called reverse transcriptase which, once inside a cell,
converts their RNA to DNA (Figure 4). This viral DNA can then join
into the cell’s DNA chain using another viral enzyme called integrase;
a process called integration. The integrated viral sequence is called
the provirus, and is effectively archived in the cell, remaining there
permanently to be copied along with cellular DNA when the cell
divides. The provirus is inherited by the two daughter cells, so
building up a store of infected cells inside its host. At any time, a
provirus can manufacture new viruses which bud from the cell
surface, but in this instance it kills the cell.

4. The retrovirus infectious cycle, showing viral entry into a cell

followed by reverse transcription, integration, transcription, and
translation of the genome, virus assembly, and budding of new particles
from the cell surface.

In mammalian cells, the process of copying DNA during cell division

is highly regulated, with a proof-reading system and checkpoints in
place to detect damaged or miscopied DNA and to correct the
mistakes. If the damage is too great, cells have an ‘auto-destruct’
programme called apoptosis that induces cell death rather than
allowing the cell to pass on its faulty DNA. Despite these checks,
mistakes slip through, causing mutations to be replicated and passed
on to future generations (Figure 5).
5. Molecular evolution of a viral gene over time. The extent of
accumulated difference between the sequences is used to construct an
evolutionary tree, in which the lengths of the horizontal branches are
drawn to scale, and denote the time since common ancestors (shown as
circles).

Virus genomes mutate far more rapidly than the human genome,
partly because viruses reproduce in a day or two with many
thousands of offspring. Also, RNA viruses generally have no proof-
reading system so they have a higher mutation rate than DNA
viruses.

Thus, every time a virus infects a cell, its DNA or RNA may be copied
thousands of times, and as each new strand is incorporated into a
new virus particle, every round of infection throws up several mutant
viruses. This high mutation rate in viruses is their lifeline; in some, it
is essential for their survival. Each round of infection produces some
viruses that are non-viable due to mutations that interrupt the
function of essential genes, and others with mutations that cause no
change in function. But a few of the offspring will have beneficial
mutations, giving them a selective advantage over their siblings. The
benefit may be due to any number of changes, including a
heightened ability to hide from immune attack; to infect more easily;
to resist antiviral drugs; or to reproduce at a faster rate. Whatever
the advantage, it will lead to that particular mutant virus outstripping
its siblings and eventually taking over in the population. Measles
virus, for example, has been infecting the human population for at
least 2,000 years, but scientists calculate that the present-day
measles strain arose much more recently (see Chapter 7).
Presumably, this virus strain was ‘fitter’ than its predecessor in some
way and so eventually replaced the former strain worldwide. And as
I write we are regularly experiencing the emergence of new strains
of SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with strains better at
transmission between hosts replacing their predecessors globally
(see Chapter 5).

Analysing the mutations in a virus’s genome is a useful way of

tracking its history. The molecular clock hypothesis, which was
developed in the 1960s, states that the mutation rate per generation
is constant for any given gene. In other words, as applied to viruses,
two samples of the same virus isolated at the same time from
different sources will have evolved for the same length of time since
their common ancestor (Figure 5). Because they will both have been
accumulating mutations at a constant rate, the degree of difference
between their gene sequences provides a measure of the time that
has passed since their common ancestor. Scientists use the
molecular clock to estimate the time of origin of certain viruses, and
plot evolutionary (or phylogenetic) trees showing their degree of
relatedness to other viruses. Because viruses have a high mutation
rate, significant evolutionary change, estimated at around 1 per cent
per year for HIV, can be measured over a short timescale. This
technique was instrumental in uncovering the animal origin of HIV
and is at present being used to search for the origin of SARS-CoV-2.
Because virus particles are inert, lacking the ability to generate
energy or manufacture proteins independently, they are not
generally regarded as living organisms. Nonetheless, they are pieces
of genetic material that parasitize cells, very efficiently exploiting the
cells’ internal machinery to reproduce themselves. So how and when
did these cellular hijackers originate?

We do not yet know the answer to this question, but there are three
theories—the virus-first, the progressive, and the regressive
theories, none of which explains the various features of all the
viruses we observe today. It is now generally accepted that viruses
are truly ancient. The fact that viruses sharing common features
infect organisms in all three domains of life—Archaea, Bacteria, and
Eukarya—suggests that they evolved before these domains
separated from their common ancestor, called the ‘last universal
cellular ancestor’ (LUCA). It is also generally accepted that the first
replicating molecule to evolve was RNA rather than DNA. So the
virus-first theory suggests that RNA viruses evolved before more
complex cells although they now depend on them for their survival.
Then DNA viruses may have evolved from their more ancient RNA
counterparts. This suggestion is supported by the existence of
retroviruses, with their ability to transcribe RNA into DNA. In so
doing, they reverse the more usual flow of genetic information from
DNA to RNA to protein.

The regressive theory proposes that large DNA viruses, for example
pox and mimiviruses, may represent previously free-living life forms
that have now lost their ability to reproduce independently. In
contrast the progressive theory suggests that viruses derived from
escaped fragments of genetic material that acquired a protein coat
and became infectious.

Whatever the truth of it, none of these theories can explain the
evolution of both RNA and DNA viruses, which may therefore have
evolved separately.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 A Sanitary Drinking Tube

To make this tube, procure a piece of ³⁄₄-in. gauge glass, about 10

in. long, and bend it by heating the glass with a blowtorch 2¹⁄₂ in.
from one end, as shown. If this is done in a place where no air will
strike the glass while it is heated and the tube is then allowed to cool
slowly, it will not crack. It is used by putting the short end under the
faucet and drawing on it as on a pipe.
 A Comb Cleaner

The Twisted Wires Form an Excellent Device for Cleaning a Comb

A very handy device for cleaning combs can be made from a piece
of spring sheet brass, 4¹⁄₂ in. long and about 3 in. wide. Notches are
cut in the ends of the brass with a hacksaw, making the projections
as wide as the saw cut. The brass is then bent into shape with a
special clamp made for the purpose, which consists of three pieces
of wood, two being cut to form a curved slot, then fastened to the
third piece. The brass is sprung into the slot, and then fine wire is
stretched between the ends in the notches. The wire should be very
fine and two strands twisted together and run through the notches.
 Concealing the House Key
The time-honored custom of concealing the house key under the
door mat, or in the letter box, when the family has not enough keys
to go around, is so well known that an unauthorized person seeking
to enter the house would look in these places first of all.

A simple and effective hiding place for the key can be quickly and
easily made with the aid of an auger and two pieces of tin. Pick out
an obscure section of the porch railing, and in the edge of this bore a
³⁄₄-in. hole, about ¹⁄₄ in. deeper than the length of the key. Make a
piece of tin into a cylinder, the same length as the key, so that the
latter will slide easily into the hole. At one end of this cylinder solder
a 1-in. disk of tin, which will make it appear as in the illustration.
If the key is placed in the cylinder and the latter pushed into the
hole until it is flush with the surface, it will scarcely be noticed by
anyone not in the secret, and by painting it the same color as the
railing it will become still more inconspicuous.—Contributed by Frank
L. Matter, Portland, Ore.
 A Mysterious Watch

A very interesting experiment may be made with the ordinary

dollar watch in illustrating the law of the pendulum. A pendulum 39.1
in. long will make 60 one-way swings per minute, the number of
swings varying inversely as the square root of the length. By actual
count it was found that the balance wheel of the watch in question
made 240 one-way swings per minute, which is just 4 times as fast
as the 39-in. pendulum. Therefore, according to the foregoing law, a
pendulum ¹⁄₁₆ as long, or about 2¹⁄₂ in., would swing in unison with
the wheel of the watch. The question then arises as to what would
happen if the watch itself were suspended so as to swing as a
pendulum of the latter length. The experiment was made as
illustrated, with the result that the watch keeps on swinging
continuously. The swing amounts to about ³⁄₈ in., and appears so
vigorous that it is almost incomprehensible that the small spring in a
watch should be able to maintain so much weight in continuous
motion for 24 hours.
 Bait Casting for
Game Fish
by Stillman Taylor

There are many enjoyable phases of the fisher’s art, but bait casting
from the free reel probably has a wider appeal than any other
branch of angling. The pleasure of handling a short bait-casting rod
is in itself a good sport, even when casting done in the back yard is
made for distance and accuracy only. Get two or three enthusiastic
casters together, and you may have an interesting little tournament,
held on a vacant lot, on the lake, or on the greensward of a city park.
There is plenty of action in casting from the reel, and it is its variety
that has made angling of this type so universally popular. True,
considerable practice is required before the caster is able to shoot
an accurate plug far off, but the knack may be gained after
reasonable application. The handling of the short rod differs from all
other angling methods—it is an active sport rather than a
contemplative recreation—and when the fun of handling a good outfit
is combined with the sport of coaxing out a black bass, shooting a
wooden minnow among the lily pads for pickerel, or casting the bait
for those pirates of our fresh-water lakes, the wall-eyed pike and the
muskellunge, the angler gets a taste of fishing—plus.

The Outfit and Its Selection

A good firearm is necessary to the good marksman and a well-

made, nicely balanced rod, to which is clamped a smooth-running
reel, is the essential equipment of an able angler. Bait casting is, of
course, more a matter of skill than of outfit, but that is no reason why
the angler should be handicapped by poor tackle, although large
expenditure is not necessary in obtaining a satisfactory outfit. The
casting rod may be from 5 to 6 ft. long. Where the caster regards
length of cast as the important factor, the 5-ft. length will probably
give the best satisfaction. However, the superiority of one over the
other in this regard is rather to be found in the elasticity and quality
of the rod than its length. The skill of the caster is, moreover, the
ruling factor. The 5¹⁄₂-ft. rod is better than the 5-ft. length for fishing
purposes, and the 6-ft. rod is more resilient than the 5¹⁄₂-ft. tip. If the
greatest range is not of more importance than the landing of the fish,
the longer rod will prove the most pleasant to handle.
The split-bamboo rod has many friends, and a well-made rod of
this material is a thoroughly satisfactory casting tool. A fine-quality
casting rod of split bamboo costs from $10 to $25. A fairly good rod
may be bought for $2 or a trifle less, and a smooth-running reel for
another $2, while a line for it will bring the total up to about $5. An
outfit of this kind purchased with discrimination, while not embodying
everything that a critical angler would desire, will cast a long and
accurate line and stand up under the strain of handling our heaviest
game fish. The one-piece rod is classed by many anglers as the
ideal casting rod. The two-piece rod is handier to pack and is more
generally used.
The chief fault in bait-casting rods is the stiff action of the tip
section. For tournament casting, a fairly stiff rod is desirable. The
same requirement holds good for muskellunge and other heavy
fishing. A flexible rod affords more pleasure in playing black bass
and other active “gamey” fish. However, the best way to test out a
rod is by casting with it.

A Serviceable Reel Costing $4, a High-Grade Reel Costing $13.50, and a Fine
Tournament Casting Reel Costing $26, are Shown from Left to Right. The
Center One Has a Level-Winding Device and a Thumb-Click Drag on the
Rims of the Plates. The Tournament Casting Reel Has a Cork Arbor and
Jeweled Bearings

The steel casting rod is well liked by some casters, but only a
high-quality steel rod is worthy of consideration. It is generally not
classed as the equal of a well-made solid-wood or split-bamboo rod,
for casting. The better-grade steel rod is springy and flexible, and for
this reason is a good rod for casting for black bass. Still, most
anglers have a steel rod in their outfits, but it is not as generally used
at tournaments as the time-tried wooden rod.
The guide is an important detail of a casting rod. Inexpensive rods
are usually provided with large metal guides, while the better rods
are fitted with agate guides, or with agate tip and hand guides. A
guide, ¹⁄₂ in. in diameter, at the butt of the rod is large enough and
will handle the line smoothly.
The single grip is sometimes preferred by casters, but the
additional grip placed above the reel is desirable if much fishing is
done. Solid-cork hand grasps are most satisfactory, being less
slippery when wet and less tiring to the hand than handles made of
other materials. If the lower grip is properly shaped with a forward
edge, the forefinger will find a firm grip upon it, and the finger hook
will not be needed. However, some anglers prefer to use the hook,
and if the rod is not so fitted, a detachable hook may be fastened to
it. A reel band that locks securely is desirable, and all the better
grades of casting rods are so fitted.
 The quadruple reel is the logical choice of the bait caster, the
spool turning four times to one turn of the handle. As the work
demanded of a bait-casting reel is different and more exacting than
that of the click reel used in fly casting, its design is radically
different. The best type of click reel is of large spool diameter and
narrow between plates, while the typical casting reel is its direct
opposite—being long-barreled, with plates of comparatively small
diameter. For tournament casting the finest outfit will naturally be
selected, but for practical work it is unnecessary to pay $25 for a
finely wrought reel. Three typical reels are shown in the illustration.
The one at the left holds 80 yd. of line, can be easily taken apart for
cleaning, and costs $4. In the center is a level-winding reel with
thumb click and adjustable drag placed on the rims of the plates. It
holds 60 yd. of line, and costs $13.50. At the right is a very high-
grade reel for tournament casting. It has a cork arbor, jeweled
bearings holds 60 yd. of line, and costs $26.
Any of the better grades of braided silk are suitable for the bait-
casting line. The average price for a dependable line is about $1 for
50 yd. A small size line is best, and sizes G and E are preferred. A
brown and green, or other dark-colored, line is preferable for fishing.
The black and white, all white and other light-colored, lines are
satisfactory for tournament use. After a day’s fishing the line should
be unreeled and looped around the back of a chair in loose coils to
dry, or loosely wound upon a drying reel.
For practice and tournament casting one of the standard ¹⁄₄ and
¹⁄₂-oz. loaded wooden or metal plugs may be used. The popularity of
bait casting from the reel has brought forth a large variety of artificial
baits. These wooden and enameled lures are used by anglers
because they bring the catches.
The wooden minnows, and other forms of artificial bait, may be
roughly classed in three divisions: the surface lures for use on top of
the water; the diving and under-water baits; and the weedless
varieties, which are usually of the surface type. No bait caster’s outfit
is complete unless it includes one bait of each class, and to meet
fully the different and varying conditions of weather, season, and
water, it is a good plan to select one of each type in light and
medium-dark colors. A variety of typical baits are shown in the page
plate at A, B, C, etc. Many of the baits are provided with one or more
eyes for attaching the line, thus enabling the caster to spin his bait at
different depths. All of the wooden-body baits will float, and only dive
under the surface when reeled in; the quicker they are retrieved the
deeper they spin. While many of these baits have been designed
especially to entice the black bass, practically all of them are good
for pickerel and general fresh-water casting, particularly the minnow
baits.
The other items which complete the bait caster’s outfit are the
landing net and tackle box. The net should be well made, with a steel
hoop 13 in. or larger in diameter, and should have a handle about 3
ft. long. The folding type of net is the most convenient, and is
provided with a separate handle. The tackle box may be of sheet
metal or leather, with partitions for holding reels, baits, and the
angling “what not.” A convenient and serviceable landing net costs
$1 or more, and a tackle box will cost about as much.

Suggestions on Making the Cast

Although much practice is required before the caster can take his
place in a tournament, “getting the hang” of handling the short rod
and free-running reel comes quickly. As soon as the simple
principles are understood, length and accuracy will come only
through practice. Bait casting is easier than fly casting and the angler
need concern himself only with the length and accuracy of his cast,
since delicacy does not enter into this phase of fishing. The coarser
sweet-water fish, like black bass and pickerel, are not frightened
when the bait hits the water with a splash—indeed, the splash of the
bait attracts them.
Two methods of casts are used by bait casters, the overhead and
the underhand or side cast. The overhead cast is used largely by the
practical angler, as well as by those who take part in tournament
contests, because the bait is projected a longer distance and may be
more accurately placed. If the novice will thumb the line, as shown in
Fig. 1, with thumb bearing directly on the cross rod of the reel with
the ball of the thumb resting lightly on the line, one or two trials will
show the correct manner of spooling. The line is retrieved as shown
in Fig. 2, care being taken to form correct habits from the start. To
make the cast, reel in the bait until it is some 6 in. from the tip,
release the click or drag, and press the ball of the thumb firmly upon
the spooled line. Carry the rod over the shoulder until it is horizontal
or nearly so, as in Fig. 3, and then bring it smartly forward, checking
it quickly when it reaches an angle of some 45°, as shown in Fig. 4.
This projects the bait forward in a straight line. When the rod is
brought forward the tension of the thumb on the spool is released so
that the spool will revolve freely, but enough pressure must be
communicated by the thumb to prevent the reel from spinning faster
than the line is unreeled from the spool, otherwise backlash will
occur. The use of the whole arm and the weight of the body,
combined with the elasticity of the pliant rod, enables the caster to
cover a surprisingly long distance after a little practice. A distance of
150 ft. is not difficult to attain, but for fishing, a well-placed cast of 60
or 75 ft. is long enough to reach promising stretches of water.
 The Method of Thumbing the
A Line is Shown in Figure 1, and
the Correct form in Retrieving
the Line, in Figure 2. The
Overhead Cast is Illustrated in
Fig. 3 Figures 3 and 4, and the
B Underhand or Side Cast in
Figures 5 and 6
C
D
Fig. 4 Fig. 1
E
Fig. 2 Fig. 5
F
Typical Baits:
A, Under-Water Minnow; G
B, Wabbler Spoon;
C, Bass;
D, Fluted Wabbler;
E, Weedless; H Fig. 6
F, Diving;
G, Combination Color, Taste,
and Smell;
H, Spoon and Minnow Bass; I
I, Surface

The underhand or side cast is somewhat easier to master, and is

made much in the same way as the overhead cast, only the rod is
swung horizontally to the rear, the tip on a level with the angler’s
chest, as shown in Fig. 5. Bring the rod forward smartly in the
direction it is desired to shoot the bait, check the rod when about
horizontal, partly releasing the pressure of the thumb, just enough to
allow the spool to revolve freely, and check the line as the bait hits
the water. Figure 5 shows the beginning of the side cast and Fig. 6
the cast completed. This cast is useful when fishing from a shore
overhung with trees, and with practice the bait may be projected a
long distance.
 The chief factor of skill in bait casting from the reel lies in
controlling the line, and the thumb must be trained to do this through
practice. Some casters turn the reel sideways with the handle
downward while making the cast, but the majority keep the reel level
and cast with it in the same position as when reeling in. Thumbing
the line is easiest done when the spool is well filled, and if the
casting line is not long enough to do this, sufficient common line
should be first wound on to fill it.
The successful bait caster is one who possesses an intimate
knowledge of the fish he casts for, and while a lengthy exposition is
not to form a part of this article, reference to the fish commonly
sought by the caster will not be amiss. The fish generally of interest
to the bait caster are small and large-mouth black bass, pike,
muskellunge, and pickerel. The small-mouth black bass is classed
as the finest game fish, ounce for ounce, by many casters. The
muskellunge, often confused with the Great Lakes or English pike, is
more limited in range than the pike, being found in the Great Lakes
region and the waters of the St. Lawrence River.
Since the habits and general characteristics of the large-mouth
bass are much the same as its near relative, the small-mouth, the
following hints apply to both. When wading, it is well to cast
downstream. Cast in the shallows, near the weeds and snags, and
close to stumps. As little noise should be made as possible.
For early-spring casting, bass are likely to be found in the shallows
and sheltered places during the day, because the water is cool at
this season. The pickerel will also be found in the warmer and
shallower waters. The most successful baits at this time are the
diving minnows, and other under-water lures. As the warmer days of
late spring and early summer appear, the bass swim out into deeper
and cooler water, while the pickerel remain close to the lily pads. The
wooden minnows are excellent baits to use at this season. When the
weeds are very thick, one of the several kinds of weedless baits may
be used.
The early-morning and late-afternoon hours are the best for
midsummer casting, and the shallow places are the good spots to
work over. If there are any brooks or streams emptying into the lake
or pond, do not neglect to work this stretch well at the mouth. When
the sun is low, the white or light-colored surface baits may be
substituted for the medium-dark colored diving varieties, and for
casting after dark, a luminous or moonlight bait will often give good
results. During the fall months fishing conditions are similar to
casting in the spring, but the deep water is then the warmest, and
the under-water or diving baits are usually the best.
To catch bass, the angler must cast his bait where the fish are
feeding, and he will find it an advantage to match natural conditions,
so far as possible, in selecting his baits. For casting on bright days in
clear waters, the red, white and red, white, or green minnows are
good lures, as are also the silverplated spoon baits. Cast well ahead
of the boat, and reel in very slowly to keep the plug spinning well
below the surface. On cloudy days and in muddy waters, after a
heavy rain, for example, use red and yellow baits and goldplated or
burnished-copper spoons. The best all-around bait—equally good for
bass and pickerel—is one of the green-backed minnows, but no one
bait can be expected to meet all conditions, hence the caster should
have a fair assortment of baits.
A stiff casting rod with plenty of backbone is essential for
muskellunge. The angler is out after big game and must be prepared
for the sport. A hard, braided silk line, size E, and 3-0 or 4-0 hooks,
snelled and swiveled, are the best. Any of the wooden baits suitable
for pickerel—the minnows especially—are good for muskellunge. A
man to handle the oars is a handy companion, and after casting the
bait just outside the weed bed, make for deep water as soon as a
fish is hooked. The fish will be seen and felt quickly enough, and
when it breaks water and leaps in the air, give it a little slack line
quickly, otherwise the strain will snap the leader. A twisted, bronzed
trace is the best to use between line and bait, and this need not be
longer than a foot—6 in. is enough. When the fish is brought
alongside, shoot him through the head with a revolver which is
probably the most satisfactory manner of making an easy landing.
A Cat-Proof Bird Table
 Our bird table is a source of great enjoyment, particularly since the
birds feel secure from cats or other enemies because of the
construction of this ornament in our garden. The sketch shows the
arrangement of the table braced at the top of a 6-ft. post. Shrubbery
surrounds the table and a light evergreen climber clings to the post,
yet does not give the cats a good foothold.
Experience has taught us that birds in general prefer bread
crumbs to other varieties of food, and they are also fond of cracked
wheat. The linnets like oranges particularly. We cut an orange in two
and place the halves on the table. It is amusing to see the birds
balance on one side of the orange while they peck at the fruit. Soon
the orange peel is almost entirely emptied. We provide a small basin
of fresh water on the table, and the birds use it as a drinking cup as
well as a bathtub.—F. H. Sweet, Waynesboro, Va.