Today I close out a month-long guest blog over at the University of Chicago Press to mark the publication of my book A Planet of Viruses. I’ve been talking with experts about some of the most thought-provoking areas of virus research–

1. Can viruses control our minds?

2. Should we eliminate smallpox?

3. How can we use viruses to cure disease?

Today I talk with Penny Chisholm of MIT about the viruses that fill the worlds oceans (a billion in every spoonful). They kill off half the bacteria in the ocean every day, dumping out carbon and having enormous ecological effects–and perhaps even effects on the planet’s climate. Chisholm and I speculate on whether we could use viruses to manipulate the planet as a whole. It’s extreme speculation to be sure–but, then again, when it comes to viruses, the truth can sometimes seem too fantastic to be real. Check it out!

Originally published May 27, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.

Last week I announced that I had 17 autographed copies of the US hardback edition of Microcosm, and in 85 minutes you folks cleared me out. There were a few cries of “Arg!” later on Facebook and Twitter, to which I responded that I still needed to deal with more books in advance of our house renovation. And so (voice turning crazy), here’s the next deal: we’ve got 8 autographed copies of the British hardback edition of Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life. It’s out of print, but between now and next Tuesday, it’s available for ten dollars from my Amazon store.

Again, here’s a quick description of Microcosm: In the book, I tilt at one of my favorite windmills–the definition of life. But rather than try to take on all of life on Earth, I chose one species–the one that we know best of all. That would be our gastrointestinal lodger, Escherichia coli, the little bug that helped build modern biology and launch the entire biotechnology industry. In my biography of this scrutinized germ, I explore the origin of life, our inner ecology, and the search for life on other planets. You can find out more about the book on at carlzimmer.com, or check out this review from Anthony Doerr in the Boston Globe, in which he calls it “quietly revolutionary.”

If we run out of these books, remember that the paperback and Kindle editions are still in print, and I have plenty of other autographed books to buy. And we still have too many books in the house, so more sales will be in the offing. Thanks again!

Originally published May 24, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.

Viruses that infect bacteria–known as bacteriophages–are the most abundant living things on Earth. (Yeah, that’s right. I called viruses living things. You gotta problem with that?) For nearly a century, doctors and scientists have dreamed of using them as medical weapons against the microbes that make us sick. Over at the University of Chicago Press’s blog, I discuss the enduring dream of phage therapy with MIT phage engineer Tim Lu, whom I profiled last year for Technology Review. This is my third UCP blog post to celebrate the publication of A Planet of Viruses; the next and last will appear next Friday.

Originally published May 20, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.