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We normally think of viruses in terms of the devastating diseases they cause, from smallpox to AIDS. But in The Life of a Virus, Angela N. H. Creager introduces us to a plant virus that has taught us much of what we know about all viruses, including the lethal ones, and that also played a crucial role in the development of molecular biology. Focusing on the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) research conducted in Nobel laureate Wendell Stanley's lab, Creager argues that TMV served as a model system for virology and molecular biology, much as the fruit fly and laboratory mouse have for genetics and cancer research. She examines how the experimental techniques and instruments Stanley and his colleagues developed for studying TMV were generalized not just to other labs working on TMV, but also to research on other diseases such as poliomyelitis and influenza and to studies of genes and cell organelles. The great success of research on TMV also helped justify increased spending on biomedical research in the postwar years (partly through the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis's March of Dimes)—a funding priority that has continued to this day.
I. Introduction Of the ever increasing number of viruses known to affect man and higher animals, the virus of lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) was one of the first to be discovered. Indeed, this virus has been known and maintained in the laboratory by passages in a relatively simple host, the mouse, for 35 years. Yet our knowl edge of its properties is still scanty when compared with the wealth of informa tion available for other viruses, some of which have come to our attention much more recently. There are at least four reasons which may help to explain this seeming paradox. (1) The early belief that the LCM virus was the frequent cause of human diseases had soon to be abandoned; infections of man with this virus are rare. (2) By way of contrast, laboratory infections are not uncommon and they frequently run severe and even fatal courses. (3) Until recently, the only means of titrating the virus was by mouse inoculation, a method in which accuracy and economy are poorly correlated. (4) The virus is of unusual lability, being quickly inactivated under conditions which leave other viruses intact. Thus, when balancing medical and theoretical importance against personal hazard and tech nical difficulties, the result was quite unfavorable, and lack of interest was really not surprising. In the last few years, however, the situation has gradually changed and an increasing number of workers have turned their attention to this virus.
Vitamins and Hormones
Viruses encapsulates for the lay reader the enormous scientific and medical contributions that have come from the field of virology. Dr. Arnold Levine presents the story of the scientists behind our current understanding of these infective agents and explains how that knowledge has helped us comprehend life at both the molecular and the human level. Many intriguing facets of viral behavior are explored, as Dr. Levine provides a clear account of their natural history, the mechanisms by which they spread and survive, and the toll they exact on their animal, plant, and bacterial hosts. Dr. Levine celebrates the great successes that have come from viral studies--the development of a wide range of vaccines, the eradication of smallpox, and the insights into the origins of cancer. He also examines the challeges we still face, with a series of interconnected chapters on the specific viruses behind some of our most urgent public health problems, including the viruses that cause AIDS, influenza, herpes, and hepatitis. A concluding chapter on the origin and evolution of viruses touches on some of the most provocative issues in molecular biology today. Viral infections continue to be an immediate health concern of imposing proportions. Viruses is written for the general reader eager to know how we study and confront these diseases and where today's research may lead.