{"product_id":"hepatitis-b-the-hunt-for-a-killer-virus-9780691006925","title":"Hepatitis B: The Hunt for a Killer Virus","description":"\u003cp\u003eAbout 375 million people are infected with the hepatitis B virus. It has killed more people than AIDS and also causes millions of cases of liver cancer. The discovery of this deadly virus and the vaccine against it--a vaccine that is sharply decreasing the infection rate worldwide and is probably the first effective cancer vaccine--was one of the great triumphs of twentieth-century medicine. And it almost didnt happen.  With wit and insight  this scientific memoir and story of discovery describes how Baruch Blumberg and a team of researchers found a virus they were not looking for and created a vaccine for a disease they previously knew little about--work that took the author around the world and won him the Nobel Prize.  Blumberg and his collaborators were investigating relationships between gene distribution and disease susceptibility  research that was yielding interesting data but no real breakthroughs. Many viewed their work as more field trip than science. But  through decades of hard work and investigative twists and turns  their pursuit led to the hepatitis B antigen  the elusive virus itself  and  ultimately  the vaccine. As he takes the reader through the detective work that culminated in his incredible discovery  the author recounts with immediacy exciting moments in the lab and in the field--from a hair-raising flight to Africa to an unpleasant encounter with Alaskan sled dogs.  The hepatitis B story is more than a fascinating chronicle of a major discovery. What Blumberg followed to the virus was a trail of remarkable \"accidents\" that happen when scientists seek answers to interesting questions. Those events  combined with the investigators determined persistence  resulted in studies that generated a pharmaceutical industry  have far-flung public-health applications  and saved millions of lives.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648100622389,"sku":"ByrdShop_069100692X","price":58.65,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780691006925.jpg?v=1781709470","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/hepatitis-b-the-hunt-for-a-killer-virus-9780691006925","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}