Frank Ryan (1) (1944–)

'Virusphere' was published in 2019 (my copy a paperback from 2020) so it misses the fun we all had with COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV2. However, he discusses albeit briefly, SARS-Cov which caused an international outbreak of the respiratory disease, and finishes with this: "Thankfully, no further epidemics of SARS have been reported since 2004." Hold my beer.

I was astounded and fascinated by the number and variety of viruses, and had always thought they were "bad". How wrong I was.

The infinitesimally tiny world of the virus is mindblowing.

I think the whole COVID thing might have got to me a bit. Apart from this book, in the last couple of years I've also read Camus' 'The Plague' and Christina Sweeney-Baird's 'The End of Men'. Is a pattern emerging?… (más)

This is a surprising book. Initially, I thought it a bit superficial given that the world of viruses and phage are so incredibly diverse and omni-present. And, yes, in some ways it is a bit superficial but Ryan is also trying to make a point. And that point is that viruses and life in general have evolved together. He comes up with his own definition of a virus as an obligate symbiont...and this makes sense. He also makes a case for viruses conferring benefits on the host so they are not just parasites.......Though I did find some tension between the benefits being bestowed and the fact that 99 percent of the viral infection cycles at every level in the oceans were "lytic in nature". This means that they were explosively effective in multiplying and killing the hosts......whichh enriches the environment with organic matter but has a rather devastating impact on the infected species.
He does describe some interesting symbiotic relationships such as the rhizobia of panic grass in the geothermal soils of Yellowstone National Park. Neither plant nor fungus could survive alone with soil temperatures above 38 degrees but a symbiotic virus conferred the heat tolerance,

The author is clearly most at home with human related viral illness, and, in this respect, I felt it was a bit weak.Yes he does have a bit to say about plants, soils and oceans, but it's more like an afterthought. Overall, good though maybe not great. i give it 3.5 stars.… (más)