Читать книгу Basic Virology - Martinez J. Hewlett - Страница 13

Preface to the Fourth Edition

It seems like only yesterday that Ed and Marty spoke on the phone and said, in effect, “Let's do this thing,” giving birth to Basic Virology. And here we are, completing the revisions for the fourth edition of what we hope will remain a useful and relevant textbook for the teaching of introductory virology to undergraduates.

As it has from its very beginnings, the field of virology is changing at an astounding pace, with newly recognized diseases and their viral causes being reported, accompanied by ever more sophisticated techniques for studying these entities that exist at the fringes of the living world.

In this latest edition we have attempted to capture some of this dynamism, while retaining the organization and pedagogical approach of the original. To that end we have added new and expanded discussions of such agents as Ebola virus, Zika virus, and H1N1 and H7N9 influenza virus, as well as the SARS‐CoV‐2/COVID‐19 pandemic, with information that is current as of this writing. We have modified our presentation of techniques, removing some that are outdated (CoT curves, as an example), retaining the classics that have defined the field (pulse and pulse‐chase labeling), and introducing the newest approaches that are opening new areas of investigation (CRISPR‐Cas).

The organization of the book has been retained from the third edition, with 25 chapters divided into five parts, including the Case Studies, updated as necessary. We have tried to avoid textbook size creep by making judicious editorial choices. Figures have been changed as needed to reflect new information, with the addition of new graphics where necessary to complete new or expanded coverage.

We hope that you find this version of our work both useful and relevant in your teaching of our favorite topic . . . virology!

David Camerini, Martinez “Marty” Hewlett, and Dave Bloom: Michael's Kitchen and Bakery, Taos, New Mexico, March 2017.