John J. Holland – författare

New viral diseases are emerging continuously. Viruses adapt to new environments at astounding rates. Genetic variability of viruses jeopardizes vaccine efficacy. For many viruses mutants resistant to antiviral agents or host immune responses arise readily, for example, with HIV and influenza. These variations are all of utmost importance for human and animal health as they have prevented us from controlling these epidemic pathogens. This book focuses on the mechanisms that viruses use to evolve, survive and cause disease in their hosts. Covering human, animal, plant and bacterial viruses, it provides both the basic foundations for the evolutionary dynamics of viruses and specific examples of emerging diseases.- NEW - methods to establish relationships among viruses and the mechanisms that affect virus evolution- UNIQUE - combines theoretical concepts in evolution with detailed analyses of the evolution of important virus groups- SPECIFIC - Bacterial, plant, animal and human viruses are compared regarding their interation with their hosts

New viral diseases are emerging continuously. Viruses adapt to new environments at astounding rates. Genetic variability of viruses jeopardizes vaccine efficacy. For many viruses mutants resistant to antiviral agents or host immune responses arise readily, for example, with HIV and influenza. These variations are all of utmost importance for human and animal health as they have prevented us from controlling these epidemic pathogens. This book focuses on the mechanisms that viruses use to evolve, survive and cause disease in their hosts. Covering human, animal, plant and bacterial viruses, it provides both the basic foundations for the evolutionary dynamics of viruses and specific examples of emerging diseases. NEW - methods to establish relationships among viruses and the mechanisms that affect virus evolution UNIQUE - combines theoretical concepts in evolution with detailed analyses of the evolution of important virus groups SPECIFIC - Bacterial, plant, animal and human viruses are compared regarding their interation with their hosts

Der vorliegende 48. Band der Reihe "Fortschritte der Arzneimittelfor- schung" enthalt acht Beitrage, die wiederum von anerkannten Forschern verfasst wurden. Ausserdem sind auch in diesem Band ein Stichwortver- zeichnis des Bandes sowie ein Autoren-und Titelverzeichnis und ein Titel- verzeichnis aller 48 Bande enthalten. Der Leser hat dadurch die Mog- lichkeit, nicht nur den vorliegenden Band zu konsultieren, sondern auch alle bisher erschienenen Bande quasi als enzyklopadisches N achschla- gewerk zu benutzen. Da alle Beitrage umfangreiche Literaturnachweise enthalten, ist die Moglichkeit des Zugriffes auf Original-Publikationen gegeben, was dem aktiven Forscher besonders wichtig ist und seinen eige- nen Arbeiten Impulse geben kann. Die Artikel des 48. Bandes behandeln neue Entwicklungen der Genetik, der enzymatischen Herstellung von komplexen Peptiden und bringen die neuesten Erkenntnisse der Apoptose unserem Verstandnis naher.Immun- therapie bei Hirnerkrankungen und psychischen Storungen, der Einsatz vonNaturproduktenzur Vorbeugung von Krebserkrankungen, das beun- ruhigende Anwachsen der Arzneimittelresistenz, die Mannigfaltigkeit der Dopamin-Rezeptor-Wirkung und die faszinierende Darstellung einer grosseren Gruppe von neuartigen Nukleosiden als Arzneimittel runden den vorliegenden Band der "Fortschritte der Arzneimittelforschung" ab und bieten dem Leser viel Neuartiges und Interessantes.

Many RNA viruses have been known for decades to be genetically and biologically quite variable. Some well-known examples are influenza viruses, foot and mouth disease viruses, and Newcastle disease virus. During the past decade, it has become clear that most, it not all. , RNA viruses (riboviruses and retroviruses) are much more mutable than was recognized previously, and that this great mutability generates extremely complex populations consisting of indeterminate mixtures of related variants (Le. , "mutant swarms" or "quasispecies" populations). This is also true of DNA viruses (such as hepatitis DNA genomes via RNA transcripts B virus) which replicate their that are reverse-transcribed back to DNA. This hypermutability of RNA replicons provides great biological adaptability for RNA virus genomes. It also allows (but does not necessitate) RNA viruses, so that they can extremely rapid evolution of evolve over a million times more quickly than their eukaryotic DNA-based hosts. The genetics of RNA replicons is so unusual (and often counterintuitive) that it has many important biological conse­ quences which are neither readily apparent nor widely under­ stood. Failure to understand the distinctive aspects of RNA genetics frequently generates confusion and controversy and can adversely impact vaccine and antiviral drug programs and other applications of medical virology. The 14 chapters in this volume describe advances in a number of significant areas of RNA virus genetics and evolution.