This book explains the role of simple biological model systems in the growth of molecular biology. Essentially the whole history of molecular biology is presented here, tracing the work in bacteriophages in E. coli, the role of other prokaryotic systems, and also the protozoan and algal models - Paramecium and Chlamydomonas, primarily - and the move into eukaryotes with the fungal systems - Neurospora, Aspergillus and yeast. Each model was selected for its appropriateness for asking a given clas...
C. elegans (Practical Approach, #213)
Caenorhabditis Elegans has been a popular model organism for biological research for over thirty years and has been used to investigate many aspects of animal development, for example apoptosis, the Hox genes, signal transduction pathways, and the development of the nervous system. It has recently taken on new importance with the publication of the entire genome sequence in 1998. The first chapter gives all the basic information on C. elegans required to use it: it's natural history, anatomy, li...
High Blood Pressure (Thorsons Natural Health) (New Self Help S.)
by Leon Chaitow
This series of self-help guides contain natural, safe and effective treatments for a wide range of health problems. High blood pressure – hypertension – is one of the most common and serious of all health conditons. This accessible self-help guide clearly explains the background and causes of high blood pressure and describes ways to restore health and stablilize blood pressure. It includes:• self-help treatment such as fasting, diet, exercise, breathing and relaxation.• how life...
This book presents a unique synthesis of the current neuroscience of cognition by one of the world's authorities in the field. The guiding principle to this synthesis is the tenet that the entirety of our knowledge is encoded by relations, and thus by connections, in neuronal networks of our cerebral cortex. Cognitive networks develop by experience on a base of widely dispersed modular cell assemblies representing elementary sensations and movements. As they develop cognitive networks organize t...
In 2004 genetic testing revealed that Masha Gessen had a mutation that predisposed her to ovarian and breast cancer. The discovery initiated Gessen into a club of sorts: the small (but exponentially expanding) group of people in possession of a new and different way of knowing themselves through what is inscribed in the strands of their DNA. As she wrestled with a wrenching personal decision - what to do with such knowledge - Gessen explored the landscape of this brave new world, speaking with o...
Phyllosphere Microbial Plant Pathogens: Detection and Crop Disease Management
by P. Narayanasamy
This book provides comprehensive knowledge of the methods of detection and identification of phyllosphere microbial pathogens and the management of different kinds of diseases caused by them in various crops. Interactions between pathogens and host plants result in the induction of defense responses expressed via molecular signals, from initiation of infection to systemic progression of pathogen invasion in susceptible plants and contrasting signals in resistant plants, leading to inhibition of...
DNA Adducts
Numerous physical and chemical stress factors, endogenous or exogenous, challenge living organisms. Metabolisation processes generate highly reactive intermediates which can covalently bind to DNA, resulting in bulky addition products called "adducts." DNA adduct formation appears to be a general response of plants to organic chemical exposure, whether in controlled conditions or in the field. In particular, common carcinogenic pollutants and pesticides promote the formation of DNA adducts in pl...
This text examines the protein subunits of neurofilaments - the major structures found inside neurons. It reviews late-1990s literature on the subunits; the control of their expression; their polymerization to form 10nm filaments; their distribution in the nervous system; and their possible role in various disease states. The proposed functions of these proteins are also discussed.
DNA Repair (Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology, #12)
DNA is the central repository of genetic information in the cell, yet it is under constant attack by chemical mutagens, radiation and other processes. Cells therefore put a great deal of resources into repairing any damage to this precious store. Mechanisms of DNA repair vary greatly in their level of complexity, from specific reversal mechanisms that involve a single protein, to sequential pathways that require many enzymes. But at the heart of all these mechanisms lie proteins that recognize d...
The mechanism by which ribosomal RNA is synthesized has been a topic of intensive research for many years. In 1981 the first in-vitro transcription system for ribosomal RNA from a eukaryote - mouse ascites cells - was reported, followed rapidly by similar systems in a variey of other eukaryotes, all revealed by a relatively small number of research groups. This monograph brings together the results and opinions of all these groups. Though it emphasizes the common features of ribosomal RNA transc...
RNA Polymerase III Transcription (Biotechnology Intelligence Unit)
by R. J. A. White
This monograph reviews and summarizes the substantial body of work that has been published on the transcription by polymerase III over the past 5 years. Progress in this field has been very rapid since 1993, and this new edition incorporates all the recent developments and offers the reader a highly detailed analysis of the current state of research on this largest and most complex of the eukaryotic RNA polymerases.
Mammalian Genomics
Genomics has experienced a dramatic development during the last 15-20 years. Data from mammalian genomes such as the human, mouse and rat have already been published, while others such as the dog, cattle and chimpanzee will soon follow. This book summarizes the current knowledge of mammalian genomics and offers a comparative analysis of genomes known today. This analysis includes farm, companion and lab animals. Topics covered include structural and functional aspects of the mammalian genome, me...
Mass Spectrometry and Genomic Analysis (Focus on Structural Biology, #2)
76 2. Short Oligonucleotide Mass Analysis 76 2. 1. Method Outline 76 2. 2. Design of PCR Primers and Fragments for Analysis 78 2. 3. Typical PCR Reaction Conditions 79 3. Electrospray Ionisation Mass Spectrometry 79 Formation of Ions 3. 1. 79 3. 2. Tandem Mass Spectrometry 79 3. 3. Typical ESI-MS Settings for SOMA 80 4. Purification Procedures 80 4. 1. Phenol/Chloroform Extraction and Ethanol Precipitation 80 4. 2. In-line HPLC Purification 81 5. Genotyping Using SOMA 81 5. 1. APC Genotyping in...
Vectors (Essential Techniques, #9) (Essential Techniques S.)
by P. Gacesa and Dipak P. Ramji
Cloning vectors are small DNA molecules which can have DNA fragments introduced in vitro using restriction enzymes and DNA ligases. Vectors: Cloning Applications is a handy laboratory manual which allows quick and easy access to the key protocols required by those working with vectors. This volume guides readers towards the best choice of method, conditions, equipment and reagents and provides them with trouble shooting tips to help if and when a technique runs into problems. The manual provides...
High Performance Liquid Chromatography of Small Molecules
Aspartic Proteinases (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, #436)
The VIIth International Conference on Aspartic Proteinases was held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, from October 22 to 27, 1996. The venue was the Banff Centre in the Canadian Rockies, a setting well known worldwide for the scenic beauty and mountain grandeur. It was perhaps presumptuous of the organizers to call this the seventh Aspartic Proteinase Conference but it was felt that the meeting in 1982, organized by Tom Blundell and John Kay, was of an international stature and covered topics sufficien...
Eukaryotic Transcription Factors
Familiarity with the mechanisms of eukaryotic gene regulation is now essential for scientists and students in both clinical and basic disciplines. However, the vast array of transcription factors, which are central to such regulation, can prove daunting to students and newcomers to this fascinating field of molecular genetics. The Third Edition of Eukaryotic Transcription Factors provides the reader with a clear and concise understanding not only of transcription factors, but also of their vital...
Principles and Techniques of Contemporary Taxonomy (Tertiary Level Biology)
by Donald L. J. Quicke
This volume in the "Tertiary Level Biology" series fills a gap in the taxonomic literature by providing a comprehensive survey of the arguments and techniques of systematics as they are applied today to all groups of organisms. It covers the principles of nomenclature and classification, the logic and practice of cladistics, and, in a series of chapters, considers the scope, application, benefits and drawbacks of a wide range of sources of phylogenetically informative character systems, from beh...
Genetics and Biotechnology of Lactic Acid Bacteria
A prime reference volume for geneticists, food technologists and biotechnologists in the academic and industrial sectors. Fermentations with lactic acid bacteria determine important qualities such as taste, shelf-life, and food values. New methods of food production require fast and reliable manufacture, which has led to a dramatic surge of interest in the genetic, microbiological and biochemical properties of lactic acid bacteria.
Population Genetics of Forest Trees (Forestry Sciences, #42)
Tropical climates, which occur between 23°30'N and S latitude (Jacob 1988), encompass a wide variety of plant communities (Hartshorn 1983, 1988), many of which are diverse in their woody floras. Within this geographic region, temperature and the amount and seasonality of rainfall define habitat types (UNESCO 1978). The F AO has estimated that there 1 are about 19 million km of potentially forested area in the global tropics, of which 58% were estimated to still be in closed forest in the mid-197...
Plant Gene Silencing
This book is an up-to-date and comprehensive collection of reviews on various aspects of epigenetic gene silencing in plants. Research on this topic has undergone explosive growth during the past decade and has revealed novel features of gene regulation and plant defense responses that also apply to animals and fungi. Gene silencing is relevant for agricultural biotechnology because stable expression of transgenes is required for the successful commercialization of genetically engineered...
Transposable Elements and Genome Evolution (Georgia Genetics Review, #1)
Once considered merely `selfish' or `parasitic' DNA, transposable elements are today recognized as being of major biological significance. Not only are these elements a major source of mutation, they have contributed both directly and indirectly to the evolution of genome structure and function. On October 8-10, 1999, 100 molecular biologists and evolutionists representing 11 countries met on the campus of The University of Georgia in Athens for the inaugural Georgia Genetics Symposium...
Chromosome Painting
Chromosome Painting is the most modern and novel technique for directly identifying several gene sequences simultaneously in the chromosome, with the aid of specific probes in molecular hybridization. Its resolution ranges from single copy to entire genome sequences. It is now applied in plant, animal, and human systems, in gene mapping, identification of genetic disorders, evolutionary studies, and gene transfer experiments. This treatise is the first of its kind to cover the technique with all...