The Mysterious World of the Human Genome

Download The Mysterious World of the Human Genome PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Prometheus Books
ISBN 13 : 1633881539
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (338 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Mysterious World of the Human Genome by : Frank Ryan

Download or read book The Mysterious World of the Human Genome written by Frank Ryan and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2016-02-16 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The human genome is indeed a mysterious world, but, as this fascinating book shows, its vital secrets are now being uncovered. The latest studies are revealing exciting new discoveries, such as how the DNA and related chemical compounds in our cells work together to direct the processes of life. Scientists are not only unraveling how life evolved in the ancient past, but are also finding the keys to creating a healthier future. How does the minuscule chemical cluster in each of our 100 trillion cells accomplish the amazing feat of creating and maintaining our bodies? Frank Ryan, a physician and an evolutionary biologist, describes the complex ways in which the genome operates as a holistic system and not solely through genes coding for proteins—the building blocks of life. Also involved are elaborate switching mechanisms that regulate and control portions of our DNA, as well as the interplay of retroviruses and bacteria. This groundbreaking book explains that we are on the cusp of an amazing era of disease treatment and eradication.

The Genome Odyssey

Download The Genome Odyssey PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Celadon Books
ISBN 13 : 1250234972
Total Pages : 221 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (52 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Genome Odyssey by : Dr. Euan Angus Ashley

Download or read book The Genome Odyssey written by Dr. Euan Angus Ashley and published by Celadon Books. This book was released on 2021-02-23 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Genome Odyssey, Dr. Euan Ashley, Stanford professor of medicine and genetics, brings the breakthroughs of precision medicine to vivid life through the real diagnostic journeys of his patients and the tireless efforts of his fellow doctors and scientists as they hunt to prevent, predict, and beat disease. Since the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, the price of genome sequencing has dropped at a staggering rate. It’s as if the price of a Ferrari went from $350,000 to a mere forty cents. Through breakthroughs made by Dr. Ashley’s team at Stanford and other dedicated groups around the world, analyzing the human genome has decreased from a heroic multibillion dollar effort to a single clinical test costing less than $1,000. For the first time we have within our grasp the ability to predict our genetic future, to diagnose and prevent disease before it begins, and to decode what it really means to be human. In The Genome Odyssey, Dr. Ashley details the medicine behind genome sequencing with clarity and accessibility. More than that, with passion for his subject and compassion for his patients, he introduces readers to the dynamic group of researchers and doctor detectives who hunt for answers, and to the pioneering patients who open up their lives to the medical community during their search for diagnoses and cures. He describes how he led the team that was the first to analyze and interpret a complete human genome, how they broke genome speed records to diagnose and treat a newborn baby girl whose heart stopped five times on the first day of her life, and how they found a boy with tumors growing inside his heart and traced the cause to a missing piece of his genome. These patients inspire Dr. Ashley and his team as they work to expand the boundaries of our medical capabilities and to envision a future where genome sequencing is available for all, where medicine can be tailored to treat specific diseases and to decode pathogens like viruses at the genomic level, and where our medical system as we know it has been completely revolutionized.

Life's Greatest Secret

Download Life's Greatest Secret PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0465062660
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Life's Greatest Secret by : Matthew Cobb

Download or read book Life's Greatest Secret written by Matthew Cobb and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2015-07-07 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everyone has heard of the story of DNA as the story of Watson and Crick and Rosalind Franklin, but knowing the structure of DNA was only a part of a greater struggle to understand life's secrets. Life's Greatest Secret is the story of the discovery and cracking of the genetic code, the thing that ultimately enables a spiraling molecule to give rise to the life that exists all around us. This great scientific breakthrough has had farreaching consequences for how we understand ourselves and our place in the natural world, and for how we might take control of our (and life's) future. Life's Greatest Secret mixes remarkable insights, theoretical dead-ends, and ingenious experiments with the swift pace of a thriller. From New York to Paris, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Cambridge, England, and London to Moscow, the greatest discovery of twentieth-century biology was truly a global feat. Biologist and historian of science Matthew Cobb gives the full and rich account of the cooperation and competition between the eccentric characters -- mathematicians, physicists, information theorists, and biologists -- who contributed to this revolutionary new science. And, while every new discovery was a leap forward for science, Cobb shows how every new answer inevitably led to new questions that were at least as difficult to answer: just ask anyone who had hoped that the successful completion of the Human Genome Project was going to truly yield the book of life, or that a better understanding of epigenetics or "junk DNA" was going to be the final piece of the puzzle. But the setbacks and unexpected discoveries are what make the science exciting, and it is Matthew Cobb's telling that makes them worth reading. This is a riveting story of humans exploring what it is that makes us human and how the world works, and it is essential reading for anyone who'd like to explore those questions for themselves.

DNA

Download DNA PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Knopf
ISBN 13 : 0307521486
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (75 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis DNA by : James D. Watson

Download or read book DNA written by James D. Watson and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2009-01-21 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifty years ago, James D. Watson, then just twentyfour, helped launch the greatest ongoing scientific quest of our time. Now, with unique authority and sweeping vision, he gives us the first full account of the genetic revolution—from Mendel’s garden to the double helix to the sequencing of the human genome and beyond. Watson’s lively, panoramic narrative begins with the fanciful speculations of the ancients as to why “like begets like” before skipping ahead to 1866, when an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel first deduced the basic laws of inheritance. But genetics as we recognize it today—with its capacity, both thrilling and sobering, to manipulate the very essence of living things—came into being only with the rise of molecular investigations culminating in the breakthrough discovery of the structure of DNA, for which Watson shared a Nobel prize in 1962. In the DNA molecule’s graceful curves was the key to a whole new science. Having shown that the secret of life is chemical, modern genetics has set mankind off on a journey unimaginable just a few decades ago. Watson provides the general reader with clear explanations of molecular processes and emerging technologies. He shows us how DNA continues to alter our understanding of human origins, and of our identities as groups and as individuals. And with the insight of one who has remained close to every advance in research since the double helix, he reveals how genetics has unleashed a wealth of possibilities to alter the human condition—from genetically modified foods to genetically modified babies—and transformed itself from a domain of pure research into one of big business as well. It is a sometimes topsy-turvy world full of great minds and great egos, driven by ambitions to improve the human condition as well as to improve investment portfolios, a world vividly captured in these pages. Facing a future of choices and social and ethical implications of which we dare not remain uninformed, we could have no better guide than James Watson, who leads us with the same bravura storytelling that made The Double Helix one of the most successful books on science ever published. Infused with a scientist’s awe at nature’s marvels and a humanist’s profound sympathies, DNA is destined to become the classic telling of the defining scientific saga of our age.

Genome

Download Genome PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Extinction Files
ISBN 13 : 1788541324
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (885 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Genome by : A. G. Riddle

Download or read book Genome written by A. G. Riddle and published by Extinction Files. This book was released on 2018-10-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ''In 2003, the first human genome was sequenced. It was a breakthrough of historic proportions, but only one scientist knows the full truth of what lies buried in our DNA. That secret will change everything we thought we knew about our past. And our future. Dr. Paul Kraus has spent his career searching for what he calls humanity's lost tribes--human ancestors who have gone extinct. When Kraus compares the DNA samples of the lost tribes with our own, he discovers a pattern of changes. A code. He believes he knows what the code is, but the technology doesn't exist to fully decode it. To protect the secret, Kraus hides his work and disappears. For years, the secret remains buried. When Kraus dies mysteriously, his work is lost forever. Now the technology exists to finally unravel the code buried in the human genome. The race to find Kraus's research has begun, and one group will do anything to find it. Dr. Peyton Shaw and her mother have obtained part of Kraus's research--and a cryptic message that could lead to the remaining pieces. They soon learn that finding those pieces may be more dangerous than anyone imagined. But there's no choice. His work is the key to stopping a global conspiracy--and an event that will change humanity forever. The ultimate secret, buried in the human genome, will change our very understanding of what it means to be human. For Peyton, finding it may come at an incredible price. She must weigh the lives of strangers against those she loves: Desmond Hughes and her mother. With time running out, Peyton makes a fateful choice--one that can never be undone''--

Mysterious Commonplace, The: A Life In Science

Download Mysterious Commonplace, The: A Life In Science PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 9811238472
Total Pages : 221 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (112 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Mysterious Commonplace, The: A Life In Science by : Charles Delisi

Download or read book Mysterious Commonplace, The: A Life In Science written by Charles Delisi and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2021-10-28 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acclaimed biomedical scientist Charles DeLisi tells the story of the rewards and frustrations of a life in science. The memoir spans half a century beginning in grade school when we find a somewhat shy boy deeply affected by the profoundly saddening sight of trees and woods in his beloved Bronx neighborhood being displaced by tons of steel and concrete. The reader is taken inside the mind of a complex non-conformist as he struggles with personal tragedy and ambivalence and moves from physics to history back to physics, and eventually into a career as a biomedical scientist. Among the most important parts of the memoir are his personal recollections of the years as director of the Department of Energy's Health and Environmental Research Programs when he fought the mighty battles that would move two Federal Agencies and place the Human Genome Project, including a unique ethical component, on the National Agenda. We watch an uncannily successful strategist and leader; who sees himself as an ordinary person, distinguished only by an intense passion for science, as he and his colleagues successfully engage Congressmen, his superiors at the DOE, and scientists of different backgrounds. The story closes where it began, with environmental change dominating the emotional landscape, as he and his colleagues struggle to fight the battle against a changing climate.

Cracking the Genome

Download Cracking the Genome PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : JHU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780801871405
Total Pages : 358 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (714 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Cracking the Genome by : Kevin Davies

Download or read book Cracking the Genome written by Kevin Davies and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2002-10 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This newly updated edition sheds light on the secrets of the sequence, highlighting the myriad ways in which genomics will impact human health for generations to come.

The Genome War

Download The Genome War PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Ballantine Books
ISBN 13 : 0307417069
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Genome War by : James Shreeve

Download or read book The Genome War written by James Shreeve and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The long-awaited story of the science, the business, the politics, the intrigue behind the scenes of the most ferocious competition in the history of modern science—the race to map the human genome. On May 10, 1998, biologist Craig Venter, director of the Institute for Genomic Research, announced that he was forming a private company that within three years would unravel the complete genetic code of human life—seven years before the projected finish of the U.S. government’s Human Genome Project. Venter hoped that by decoding the genome ahead of schedule, he would speed up the pace of biomedical research and save the lives of thousands of people. He also hoped to become very famous and very rich. Calling his company Celera (from the Latin for “speed”), he assembled a small group of scientists in an empty building in Rockville, Maryland, and set to work. At the same time, the leaders of the government program, under the direction of Francis Collins, head of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, began to mobilize an unexpectedly unified effort to beat Venter to the prize—knowledge that had the potential to revolutionize medicine and society. The stage was set for one of the most thrilling—and important—dramas in the history of science. The Genome War is the definitive account of that drama—the race for the greatest prize biology has had to offer, told by a writer with exclusive access to Venter’s operation from start to finish. It is also the story of how one man’s ambition created a scientific Camelot where, for a moment, it seemed that the competing interests of pure science and commercial profit might be gloriously reconciled—and the national repercussions that resulted when that dream went awry.

Curiosity Guides: The Human Genome

Download Curiosity Guides: The Human Genome PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Charlesbridge
ISBN 13 : 1607343568
Total Pages : 189 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (73 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Curiosity Guides: The Human Genome by : John Quackenbush

Download or read book Curiosity Guides: The Human Genome written by John Quackenbush and published by Charlesbridge. This book was released on 2011-02-01 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The DNA sequence that comprises the human genome--the genetic blueprint found in each of our cells--is undoubtedly the greatest code ever to be broken. Completed at the dawn of a new millennium, the feat electrified both the scientific community and the general public with its tantalizing promise of new and better treatments for countless diseases, including Alzheimer's, cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson's. Yet what is arguably the most important discovery of our time has also opened a Pandora's box of questions about who we are as humans and how the unique information stored in our genomes can and might be used, making it all the more important for everyone to understand the new science of genomics. In the CURIOSITY GUIDE TO THE HUMAN GENOME, Dr. John Quackenbush, a renowned scientist and professor, conducts a fascinating tour of the history and science behind the Human Genome Project and the technologies that are revolutionizing the practice of medicine today. With a clear and engaging narrative style, he demystifies the fundamental principles of genetics and molecular biology, including the astounding ways in which genes function, alone or together with other genes and the environment, to either sustain life or trigger disease. In addition, Dr. Quackenbush goes beyond medicine to examine how DNA-sequencing technology is changing how we think of ourselves as a species by providing new insights about our earliest ancestors and reconfirming our inextricable link to all life on earth. Finally, he explores the legal and ethical questions surrounding such controversial topics as stem cell research, prenatal testing, forensics, and cloning, making this volume of the Curiosity Guides series an indispensable resource for navigating our brave new genomic world.

DNA

Download DNA PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Knopf
ISBN 13 : 0385351186
Total Pages : 513 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (853 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis DNA by : James D. Watson

Download or read book DNA written by James D. Watson and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive insider's history of the genetic revolution--significantly updated to reflect the discoveries of the last decade. James D. Watson, the Nobel laureate whose pioneering work helped unlock the mystery of DNA's structure, charts the greatest scientific journey of our time, from the discovery of the double helix to today's controversies to what the future may hold. Updated to include new findings in gene editing, epigenetics, agricultural chemistry, as well as two entirely new chapters on personal genomics and cancer research. This is the most comprehensive and authoritative exploration of DNA's impact--practical, social, and ethical--on our society and our world.

The One and the Golden Circle

Download The One and the Golden Circle PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : iUniverse
ISBN 13 : 059527921X
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (952 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The One and the Golden Circle by : Don Beene

Download or read book The One and the Golden Circle written by Don Beene and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2003-06-02 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some call the author a mystic, a seer. He knows himself simply as, "The Seeker." Editors note: The One and The Golden Circle is intelligent, fascinating, ingenious and thoroughly entertaining. The sequencing of the human genome is complete and great strides forward in medicine are anticipated. But what other secrets await us in our DNA internal roadmap of life? Do we have ancestral and evolutionary memory locked in our genetic make up? Do we have the ability to consciously recall the events that led to modern man? This book examines that very possibility in an ingenious and compelling way. Learn what man may become thousands of evolutionary years from now! Wind your way through the fascinating world of the human genome. Savor the mystery, intrigue and romance. Live in the mind of primitive man. Trace further back into your personal past to common ancestor to all life on this planet, and beyond! Experience the shocking and controversial conclusion! You will want to read it a second time, and a third. You will want to share what you've learned with friends. Disclaimer: This book may change your life!

Curiosity Guides: The Human Genome

Download Curiosity Guides: The Human Genome PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Charlesbridge Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1936140152
Total Pages : 189 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (361 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Curiosity Guides: The Human Genome by : John Quackenbush

Download or read book Curiosity Guides: The Human Genome written by John Quackenbush and published by Charlesbridge Publishing. This book was released on 2011-02-01 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The DNA sequence that comprises the human genome--the genetic blueprint found in each of our cells--is undoubtedly the greatest code ever to be broken. Completed at the dawn of a new millennium, the feat electrified both the scientific community and the general public with its tantalizing promise of new and better treatments for countless diseases, including Alzheimer's, cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson's. Yet what is arguably the most important discovery of our time has also opened a Pandora's box of questions about who we are as humans and how the unique information stored in our genomes can and might be used, making it all the more important for everyone to understand the new science of genomics. In the CURIOSITY GUIDE TO THE HUMAN GENOME, Dr. John Quackenbush, a renowned scientist and professor, conducts a fascinating tour of the history and science behind the Human Genome Project and the technologies that are revolutionizing the practice of medicine today. With a clear and engaging narrative style, he demystifies the fundamental principles of genetics and molecular biology, including the astounding ways in which genes function, alone or together with other genes and the environment, to either sustain life or trigger disease. In addition, Dr. Quackenbush goes beyond medicine to examine how DNA-sequencing technology is changing how we think of ourselves as a species by providing new insights about our earliest ancestors and reconfirming our inextricable link to all life on earth. Finally, he explores the legal and ethical questions surrounding such controversial topics as stem cell research, prenatal testing, forensics, and cloning, making this volume of the Curiosity Guides series an indispensable resource for navigating our brave new genomic world.

The Mysterious Epigenome

Download The Mysterious Epigenome PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Kregel Publications
ISBN 13 : 0825488826
Total Pages : 170 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (254 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Mysterious Epigenome by : Thomas Woodward

Download or read book The Mysterious Epigenome written by Thomas Woodward and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 2011-12-01 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this creative and inventive treatment, authors Thomas E. Woodward and James P. Gills take readers on an exploration of the human epigenome. Acting as tour guides leading visitors through a 3-D model of a human cell, Woodward and Gills bring to life the human molecular makeup. Readers (as visitors) will get up close and personal with the minute details of human molecular structure, including E. coli, flagellum, a DNA helix, an RNA molecule, and more. By seeing it with their own eyes, readers will gain a better understanding of their genetic systems and a better appreciation for the Creator who put this all into place.

Decoding Life

Download Decoding Life PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN 13 : 9780822511960
Total Pages : 124 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (119 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Decoding Life by : Ron Fridell

Download or read book Decoding Life written by Ron Fridell and published by Twenty-First Century Books. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The discovery and purpose of DNA, as well as what understanding the human genome means for the future, are competently outlined in this volume. Pros and cons of many ethical issues are covered--from stem cell research to designer babies.

The Book of Man

Download The Book of Man PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0195114876
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (951 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Book of Man by : Walter Fred Bodmer

Download or read book The Book of Man written by Walter Fred Bodmer and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1997 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: James Watson, a discoverer of the structure of DNA, described it as "the most golden of molecules," the true chemical for life. Indeed, it is the essential component from which our genes are made. In it is encoded the genetic language that controls our destinies. Astonishingly powerful, just six millionths of a gram of DNA carries as much information as ten volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary. The "Book of Man," is the term used by Walter Bodmer and Robin McKie for the DNA that is the instruction set according to which all humans are made. At conception, a single cell--the fertilized egg--is produced, and it is this one cell that has the potential to form a new and unique individual under the guidance of the DNA within its nucleus. The human body is made up of a hundred million million cells of many different sorts, and all contain the inherited information that comes from that first, single cell created at fertilization. Bodmer and McKie assert that when we learn how to read DNA's pages and chapters we will obtain the information relevant to the understanding of most diseases, individual differences in behavior, and a new awareness of our own history and evolution. The Book of Man explores how genetic information is now being read and interpreted by focusing on biology's most ambitious undertaking to date--the Human Genome Project, an attempt to uncover all the 100,000 genes that control our development and detail the DNA alphabet of each. The authors go on to wrestle with the moral and ethical issues of modern genetics, making a case for a rational appraisal of genetic engineering and for the public to become sufficiently "DNA literate" in order to appreciate the crucial role it plays in our lives. From Gregor Mendel's discovery of the laws of inheritance to the high-tech, crime-stopping power of forensics science and the fascinating but sometimes troublesome implications of the latest science of genetic engineering, The Book of Man brilliantly explores and explains the quest that is changing our understanding of what it means to be a human being.

The Secret Life of Genes

Download The Secret Life of Genes PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Cassell
ISBN 13 : 178840159X
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (884 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Secret Life of Genes by : Derek Harvey

Download or read book The Secret Life of Genes written by Derek Harvey and published by Cassell. This book was released on 2019-04-04 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Genes have a huge impact on who we are, from defining us as humans, to governing how we behave. Whether controlling our cells or creating new forms of life, discover how DNA makes each of us unique. In The Secret Life of Genes, you'll learn all about the past, present and future of the human genome. Filled with colourful, graphic illustrations to help you to understand the world of genetics, from the basics to the most complex theories, this book brings the inner workings of the human body to life. Derek Harvey answers the biggest questions, from the nature of inheritance, evolution and reproduction, to how genes are arranged and how DNA is read. Take a trip through the history of the world's DNA and unlock the future of the field.

Virusphere

Download Virusphere PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1633886050
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (338 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Virusphere by : Frank Ryan

Download or read book Virusphere written by Frank Ryan and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-02-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating and long overdue examination of viruses - from what they are and what they do, to the vital role they have played in human history.What are viruses? Do they rely on genes, like all other forms of life? Do they follow the same patterns of evolution as plants and animals?Dr. Frank Ryan answers these questions and many more in a sweeping tour of illnesses caused by viruses. He examines the common cold, measles, chicken pox, herpes, mumps, and rubella, as well as less familiar maladies, such as rabies, "breakbone fever," hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola, and virus-induced cancers. Along the way, readers will learn about the behaviors of viruses and what drives them to infect a human host. Ryan explains the role of viruses in the evolution of life, revealing how viruses have changed us at the most intimate level, helping to make us quintessentially human.