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Viruses Agents of Evolutionary Invention
Michael G. Cordingley
Harvard University Press, first edition, 2017
ISBN: 978067497087 |
This is an interesting book that focuses less on viral biology (which is fascinating in its own right) and more, as the subtitle suggests, on the evolutionary significance of viruses (equally fascinating, but more abstract). Topics of particular interest include the adaptive pressures that integrating viruses have on their host genomes, the significance of virus cospeciation or codivergence with their host species, and the dynamics of cross-species infections. These, among many more concepts, are skillfully discussed in the larger context of how viruses permeate, modify and even threaten life. If there is one caveat to this book, it is that the reader should be comfortable with modern evolutionary theory and basic molecular genetics to fully appreciate the narrative. Without this background knowledge, I fear that the book will quickly turn cumbersome and mire the reader in academic jargon. Nevertheless, given the paucity of popular science books dealing with evolutionary virology, this publication is a refreshing addition to the scientific literary landscape.
