The End of October

by Lawrence Wright

strategy for survival.

Each pathogen has a strategy for survival

puzzle about the occurrence of nearly identical viruses in widely separated parts of the planet and vastly different environments. Was it possible that viruses—say, in dust or sea spray—could be swept into the atmosphere and transported from one continent to another? The

Puzzle about transferrance of a virus from one continent to another

According to their calculations, more than 800 million viruses were deposited every day on every single meter of the earth’s surface. Most

More than 800 million viruses were deposited on every square meter of the earth every day

most surprising feature of viruses was that they were a guiding force behind evolution. If the infected organism survived, it sometimes retained

If the infected organism survived it sometimes retained a portion of the viral material in its own genome.

spikes called hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), which functioned like a pirate boarding party. The hemagglutinin fastened onto a cell like a grappling hook and plunged viral particles into the cell. Once inside, the virus used the cell’s energy to replicate itself thousands of times. As the newly hatched viruses budded

How influenza viruses work