Virus X
A Medical, Health, Illness book. What do scientists mean when they talk of a virus? This is not quite...
In the 1980s our comforting illusion that we had conquered plagues through our discovery of vaccines and antibiotics was shattered by the arrival of AIDS. But AIDS is just one of the many emerging viruses for which we have, as yet, no cure. Even the old plagues – TB, cholera, bubonic plague – are making a comeback, resistant now to our drugs.Frank Ryan, a leading authority on disease,...
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- Filetype: PDF
- Pages: 388 pages
- ISBN: / 9781874082
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More About Virus X
What do scientists mean when they talk of a virus? This is not quite so elementary as some people might believe. In The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, a virus is defined as "a morbid principle, or a poisonous venom, especially one capable of being introduced into another person or animal." The dictionary takes its cue from the Latin virus, which denotes a slimy liquid, a poison, an offensive odor or taste. It is a colorful definition, redolent of medieval notions of disease origins in evil emanations, but it offers little by way of scientific understanding....
A little dated (1997), but hearty and informative. Fun and interesting read.It was hard not to compare this book to The Hot Zone, which I read ad nauseum during high school. I was delighted to find that it had more information, including real names and more specific locations in Africa, and a juicier story of what happened at Reston... I loved the book becuase of how informative it was but I am not convinced that viruses will one day reign supreme. A well written book though partially for the non scientist and partially for the scientist. Our author gets a little carried away with technicalities which does make the book slightly painful in parts. Overall a very insightful thought provoking text and despite its age, it is still extremely relevant today.
