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Editorial Review Product Description X ... Read more Customer Reviews (2)
A truly gripping read
A frequent complaint about neuroscience books is that they are a bit dry, but I am pleased to report that "Single Channel Recording" is as taut and suspenseful a tale as has ever hit the mystery shelf. Jumping immediately into the action with Chapter one, "A Practical Guide to Patch Clamping", the book provides a sinister foreshadowing of hidden dangers yet to come. Will recording noise preclude detection of the crucial signals? Will junction potentials throw the investigation off completely? And what of poor Calcium?
I don't want to give away the explosive finale (although I will give a hint: dielectric membrane breakdown), but suffice it to say that by the time the book is over, you will be exposed to a bigger bag of tricks than was ever dreamed up by "Q branch" from the James Bond series (The analogy was obviously on the authors' minds, with direct references to the "Q matrix").
Not only is the plot crisp, but the writing is also highly satisfying and complex, sometimes with a whimsical air that vaguely recalls Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions" but other times with a cold analytical nature that more closely resembles Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood". The book is truly a masterpiece, and Neher and Sakmann work as well together as their Sesame Street namesakes. Dust off the shelves for another Nobel, boys, this time in literature!
The Patcher's Bible
Single Channel Recording is the possibly the single most useful text for the patch-clamp novice, and the text continues to be a fundamental resource for veterans.Sakmann and Neher, inventors of the technique, have compileda book to give both theoretical background and practical advice regardingboth experimental setup and data analysis.Whole-cell, single channels,and perforated patch are discussed.The practicalities of suitable patchglass, noise abatement, and capacitance cancelation are also covered.Thisbook is a must have for all electrophysiologists.
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