Product Description
Never Highlight a Book Again! Cram101 Textbook Outlines give the student all of the highlights, notes, and practice-tests for their textbook. Only Cram101 is Textbook Specific, not generic. ... Read more

Product Description
A subgroup of homeobox genes, which play an important role in the developmental processes of a variety of multicellular organisms, Hox genes have been shown to play a critical role in vertebrate pattern formation.Hox genes can be thought of as general purpose control genes-that is, they are similar in many organisms and direct the same processes in a variety of organisms, from mouse, to fly, to human.

* Provides researchers an overview and synthesis of the latest research findings and contemporary thought in the area.

* Inclusion of chapters that discuss the evolutionary development of a wide variety of organisms.

* Gives researchers and clinicians insight into how defective Hox genes trigger developmental abnormalities in embryos. ... Read more

Product Description
What are the agents of life? Central to our conception of the biological world is the idea that it contains various kinds of individuals, including genes, organisms, and species. How we conceive of these agents of life is central to our understanding of the relationship between life and mind, the place of hierarchical thinking in the biological sciences, and pluralistic views of biological agency. Genes and the Agents of Life rethinks the place of the individual in the biological sciences, drawing parallels with the cognitive and social sciences. Genes, organisms, and species are all agents of life, but how are each of these conceptualized within genetics, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, and systematics? The book includes highly accessible discussions of genetic encoding, species and natural kinds, and pluralism above the levels of selection, drawing on work from across the biological sciences. A companion to Boundaries of the Mind, (Cambridge, 2004) where the focus is on the cognitive sciences, this volume will appeal to professionals and students in philosophy, biology, and the history of science.Robert A. Wilson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alberta. He is the author of Cartesian Psychology and Physical Minds (Cambridge, 1995). ... Read more

Product Description
This book presents a completely novel approach to understanding aging: it explains both why aging exists in animals and reviews our current understanding of it at the biological level. Dr. Holliday argues that much research needs to be done on the cellular and molecular aspects of aging if the origin of age-related diseases is to be understood. In making this argument, the author draws on material from a wide range of disciplines, including extensive biomedical information about age-related disease in humans. This thought-provoking book will appeal to all students and researchers who are interested in aging, whether they are working in the clinical or basic research sphere. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book, for biologists, on Aging
This book is aimed at the level of a college biology major (or a Scientific American reader).But if you have that kind of background, I cannot recommend it highly enough.It's not the glitziest recent book onaging.But Holliday is a brilliant analyst, and he builds a wonderfulpicture selected from hundreds of studies of the biology of aging.Forexample, skin cells from short-lived animals or long-lived animals willlive 20, versus 60, generations in cell culture.I'd heard that.But didyou know that the efficiency of DNA repair in a mouse is a fraction of thatfor a long-lived animal?Talk about planned obsolescence.It's not just abook of tidbits, Holliday builds a whole sophisticated theory of aging on afirm base of experimental biology from around the world over decades.Thisbook really shaped the way I think about biological aging, with not awasted paragraph in sight. ... Read more

Product Description
The nervous system is highly complex both in its structural order and in its ability to perform the many functions required for survival and interaction with the environment; understanding how it develops has proven to be one of the greatest challenges in biology.. Such precision demands that key events at every developmental stage are executed properly and are coordinated to produce the circuitry underlying each of the adult nervous system's functions.This volume describes the latest research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neural circuitry development, while providing researchers with a one-stop overview and synthesis of contemporary thought in the area.

Reviews current research findings on the development of neural circuitry, providing researchers an overview and synthesis of the latest contemporary thought in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the development of neural circuitry.

Includes chapters discussing topics such as he guidance of nerve growth and the formation of plasticity of synapses, helping researchers better understand underlying mechanisms of neural circuit development and maintenance that may play a role in such human diseases/conditions as depression, anxiety, and pain.

Chapters make use of a variety of human and animal models, allowing researchers to compare and contrast neural circuitry develoment across a wide spectrum of models. ... Read more

Product Description
This book contains both an extensive philosophical commentary on this dichotomy in views and an exposition of the type of theory most favored byphysical scientists.In this theory, living form is a manifestation of the dynamics of chemical change and physical transport or other physics of spatial communication.The Reaction-diffusion theory as initiated by Turing in 1952 and elaborated by Prigogine, Gierer, Meinhardt, and others is discussed in detail. In some respects the book takes up the theme that "the things we see in the cell are less important than the actions we recognize in the cell", which was a major theme of D'Arcy W. Thompson's classic 1917 work On Growth and Form. ... Read more

Product Description
This timely account provides a comprehensive contemporary analysis of morphogenetic processes in vertebrate and invertebrate embryos.Morphogenesis, the generation of tissue organization in embryos, is an increasingly important subject.This is partly because the techniques for investigating many morphogenetic mechanisms have only recently become available and partly because studying the genomic basis of embryogenesis requires an understanding of the developmental phenotype.Following an introduction covering case studies and historical and technical approaches, the book reviews the mechanistic roles of extracellular matrices, cell membranes and the cytoskeleton in morphogenesis.A detailed discussion of how mesenchymal and epithelial cells cooperate to build a wide range of tissues is also included.The book concludes with a dynamical analysis of the subject. With its extensive literature review (more than 500 titles), this book will interest developmental biologists and will also serve as an advanced textbook for postgraduate and final year students. ... Read more

Product Description
Current Topics in Developmental Biology provides a comprehensive survey of the major topics in the field of developmental biology. These volumes are valuable to researchers in animal and plant development, as well as to students and professionals who want an introduction to cellular and molecular mechanisms of development. The series has recently passed its 30-year mark, making it the longest-running forum for contemporary issues in developmental biology.

* Includes many descriptive figures
* Topics covered include the role of mitochondrial function, the use of ARTs to regulate mtDNA disease, nuclear transfer, and more
* Latest volume in the series that covers 10 reviews from leading authorities in developmental biology ... Read more

Product Description
The first comprehensive synthesis on development and evolution: it applies to all aspects of development, at all levels of organization and in all organisms, taking advantage of modern findings on behavior, genetics, endocrinology, molecular biology, evolutionary theory and phylogenetics to show the connections between developmental mechanisms and evolutionary change. This book solves key problems that have impeded a definitive synthesis in the past. It uses new concepts and specific examples to show how to relate environmentally sensitive development to the genetic theory of adaptive evolution andto explain major patterns of change. In this book development includes not only embryology and the ontogeny of morphology, sometimes portrayed inadequately as governed by "regulatory genes," but also behavioral development and physiological adaptation, where plasticity is mediated by genetically complex mechanisms like hormones and learning. The book shows how the universal qualities of phenotypes--modular organization and plasticity--facilitate both integration and change. Here you will learn why it is wrong to describe organisms as genetically programmed; why environmental induction is likely to be more important in evolution than random mutation; and why it is crucial to consider both selection and developmental mechanism in explanations of adaptive evolution. This book satisfies the need for a truly general book on development, plasticity and evolution that applies to living organisms in all of their life stages and environments. Using an immense compendium of examples on many kinds of organisms, from viruses and bacteria to higher plants and animals, it shows how the phenotype is reorganized during evolution to produce novelties, and how alternative phenotypes occupy a pivotal role as a phase of evolution that fosters diversification and speeds change. The arguments of this book call for a new view of the major themes of evolutionary biology, as shown in chapters on gradualism, homology, environmental induction, speciation, radiation, macroevolution, punctuation, and the maintenance of sex. No other treatment of development and evolution since Darwin'soffers such a comprehensive and critical discussion of the relevant issues. Developmental Plasticity and Evolution is designed for biologists interested in the development and evolution of behavior, life-history patterns, ecology, physiology, morphology and speciation. It will also appeal to evolutionary paleontologists, anthropologists,psychologists, and teachers of general biology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Not a productive tome.
West-Eberhard has produced a 794 page tome that chokes the brain and deadens the senses. On the reverse cover, it asks a question about the picture on the cover, and refers to a chapter for the answer. As far as I can see, the question is never addressed.

This reveals two of the books problems. First, its grandiose aspirations, to be a new 'Modern Synthesis,' and to bring developmental biology into the fold, are never backed with a strength of data and arguments that equal her claims. Secondly, the book is a morass of arguments, constantly pointing to other parts of the book. I started drawing little circle around each time we were referred to another chapter, but I quickly stopped as my pages became tangled messes of circles.

The writing is murky at best, and the reader learns to treasure moments of lucidity, as they are long in coming. The structure often seems backwards, confusing, and generally awkward. This tome is in dire need of a biologically educated editor. Her tone is often confrontational and bullying towards other authors.

Technically speaking, her ideas within are vague, and while she lays out a clear path for phenotypic plasticity leading evolution, the reader quickly realizes her definitions of concepts like 'Phenotype' are so nebulous and removed from what any other average biologist uses that to argue against is to try and staple Jell-O to your roof. At times, she attempts to have things in two different ways - arguing phylogenetic inertia isn't a relevant or especially frequent, but also wanting traits to remain perfect and unexpressed for absurd periods of time.

The mathematical treatment of the subject in this book is non-existent. This is almost unforgivable, in a topic that clearly needs a mathematical treatment to establish its true importance in any given system beyond the examples given. Its testable predictions are rare in coming, often muddied in content, and frequently overlap with predictions made by alternate competing hypothesis. Those looking for a research programme had best look elsewhere. It definitely has not, and will not, sway any sceptics.

Its sole, redeeming quality is that it aggressively challenges the readers pre-existing notions of evolution, and forces the reader to reconsider long-held notions. But for those of us with limited time, a more succinct volume could accomplish the same introspection.

One of the important books no one reads
There seems to be a consensus in evolutionary biology that this is an important book representing a major advance in our understanding.However, most of the biologists saying this haven't read the book; or have, perhaps, skimmed a chapter or two.The reason for this is simple:this book is far too long, far too dense, and far too abstruse.There is a lot of potential here; rewritten as a 150-200 page book with a good editor, it could have been an excellent and influential book.At 640 pages of text with constant grammatical & spelling errors (Lamarck only has his "c" about half the time) and writing that is, even by academic standards, hopelessly tangled, this is bound to be only an excellent decoration for the academic bookshelf.

Nonetheless, for those willing to take the long slog through there really is a lot of value here.There are just so many more enjoyable ways to spend one's time...

OK but who's going to read this ?
I have a PhD in biochemistry (meaning I can understand a reasonable amount of jargon) and hoped that with this book I'd be able to understand what modern developmental biology (in particular developmental genetics, "evo-devo", etc.) is about, but this book bored me to death.There is no continuum, no logical progression in the teaching.When you reach the end of a chapter you've forgotten what it was about.I admire the central concept and the work but, frankly, as a book it's completely missed.It is not a textbook, it is not a popularization book, it's a 600+pages small print dissertation.Who wants to read that ?Who has the time to go to the library and check the details of any of the hundreds of referenced articles (all of them are treated only superficially) ? Not students, not professional scientists (their time would be better spent reading review articles), not laypersons.Who then ?

New ways of thinking about Biology
I think that Mary Jane West-Eberhard is trying to formulate a new Shyntesis in Biology, she is trying to include Development in Neo-Darwinism. Her book makes the difference in the role that gives to phenotype, every biologist needs to read it to express his/her own opinions. Really deserves to be read.

jump starting a revolutiion
Darwin developed his theory of evolution without knowing much about the mechanisms of heredity. These mechanisms were rediscovered in the 1900's as part of the science of genetics. By the 1930's a school of evolutionary thinkers came to the realization that Darwin's theory could be further developed by recasting it in terms of population genetics. The resulting synthetic theory of evolution has ruled mainstream biology ever since. But genetics has not stood still in the meantime. The rise of molecular biology has made possible a new discipline, evo-devo which seeks to explain how the genes control development. Evo-devo has developed a new approach to evolution. While the synthetic theory tended to see evolution as a matter of the loss of old genes within a population or the fixation of new ones, evo-devo has found that large parts of the genome are conserved over vast periods of time and shared by widely divergent phyla. Evolution has produced diversity by modifying the mechanisms which control the expression of these ancient genes. New ideas are now required to explain how this kind of diversity evolves. West-Eberhard proposes that genetic control mechanisms can be exposed to selection by the phenotypic adaptation of organisms to new kinds of environmemt. This phenotypic adaptation ultimately drives evolution. The germ of this idea had been put forward by J. Baldwim more than one hundred years ago but neither Baldwin or anybody else knew about evo-devo and the idea had little influence. Now its time may have come.
... Read more

Product Description
Like humans, mice naturally develop diseases that affect their immune, endocrine, nervous, cardiovascular, skeletal, and other physiological systems.As such mouse has become the premier mammalian model system for studying such diseases as cancer, atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, and glaucoma; moreover, certain diseases that occur in humans but not normally in mouse-CF, ALS, Huntingdon's disease, for example-can be induced by manipulating the mouse genome and environment.This volume reviews current research findings and thought on mouse models for such human diseases as diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, coronary disease, and hypertension, to name a few.

* Provides busy clinical and basic science researchers a one-stop overview and synthesis of the latest research findings and contemporary thought in the area.

* Allows researchers to compare and contrast disease models and also to learn about what models have been developed for large-scale distribution.

* Allows researchers to evaluate basic differences in mouse and human biology and propose alternate pathways and possible gene interactions of the disease. ... Read more

Product Description

Understanding the mechanisms whereby plant development is regulated is crucial for crop improvement using genetic engineering. This work, comprising two volumes, reviews recent advances in plant developmental biology and explores the possibility of their biotechnological applications.

Volume 2 focuses on development-related areas, including tissue culture (somatic and microspore embryogenesis, somaclonal variation), plant processes (photosynthesis, seed maturation and seed proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, alkaloids, flower pigments and scent), signalling (amino compound-containing lipids, auxins, cytokinins and light), and molecular genetics of developmental regulation (RNA silencing, DNA methylation, epigenetics, activation tagging, homologous recombination and synthetic promoter engineering).

This work is a key reference for plant breeders, researchers and graduate students in the fields of plant biotechnology, agronomy, horticulture, genetics and functional genomics, and cell and molecular biology.

Product Description
Experimental Developmental Biology: A Laboratory Manual is designed for use in college-level laboratory courses in developmental biology. It offers challenging experiments for students to perform as independent investigators as they probe developmental processes in living embryos at the organizational, cellular, and subcellular levels.

* Combines classical embryology with modern experimental methods
* Provides numerous in-depth experiments in each exercise that focus on a single species of an organism
* Concentrates on the living embryos of sea urchins, frogs, chicks, Drosophila, and sponges
* Covers the procedures for gel electrophoresis and microscopy
* Assembles essential references for background and further study
* Offers guidelines for writing lab notes and reports
* Contains an extensive preparer's guide to show students how to set up each lab
* Outlines the theory of optics ... Read more

Product Description
Research into the causes of aging, and strategies to delay that process, have gained much ground and attention in recent years. This volume covers the major threads in the molecular genetics of aging, including genes that regulate aging, causes of aging, evolutionary theories of aging, and the relationship between diet and aging. Among specific topics covered are calorie restriction, mitochondria, sirtuins, telomeres, stem cells, and cancer. Each chapter is written by one or more leaders in the field, and the book presents the current status of this exciting research area and provides an invaluable source of information in a single volume. Related Titles from the Publisher Ageless Quest: One Scientist's Search for the Genes That Prolong Youth Clocks and Rhythms: Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, LXXll ... Read more

Product Description
This landmark publication provides the first definitive account of how and why subtle influences on the fetus and during early life can have such profound consequences for adult health and diseases. Although the epidemiological evidence for this link has long proved compelling, it is only much more recently that the scientific and physiological basis has begun to be studied in depth and fully understood.The compilation, written by many of the world's leading experts in this exciting field, summarizes these scientific and clinical advances. ... Read more

Product Description

The Handbook of the Biology of Aging, Seventh Edition, provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research findings in the biology of aging.  Intended as a summary for researchers, it may also be used as a high level textbook for graduate courses.

Product Description
In this volume of ASPA, devoted to developmental biology research, 9 authors from different fields of developmental biology present their investigations on various developing plant and animal models. An a priori concern in mind that weightlessness might have negative effects on developmental processes, it is encouraging to know that the overall development of various organisms tested so far is essentially correct under spaceflight conditions, leading to viable individuals with viable offspring. On the other hand, particular studies on specifically neurophysiological aspects in developing organisms reveal important flight or postflight disturbances; however it is encouraging to know that they appear to be transient only.

The book contains ten chapters, giving details on how, in technical terms, experiments for spaceflights are prepared, performed and analysed and on how, in scientific terms, the available results have to be interpreted. One contribution is devoted to plant systems, five consider the overall aspects of embryonic development in invertebrates and vertebrates, two focus on neurophysiological aspects and one reports on the "mother-offspring system" in weightlessness in a mammalian model, the last chapter presents new ESA facilities and instruments to be integrated into the European research Laboratory "Columbus" of the ISS. ... Read more

Product Description
Computational structural biology has made tremendous progress over the last two decades, and this book provides a recent and broad overview of such computational methods in structural biology. It covers the impact of computational structural biology on protein structure prediction methods, macromolecular function and protein design, and key methods in drug discovery. It also addresses the computational challenges of experimental approaches in structural biology. In addition to reviewing the current state of computational structural biology, each chapter ends with a brief, visionary discussion on the future outlook, whereby the main challenges for the coming years are elucidated. Written by an international panel of expert contributors, this book can serve as a reference manual for students and practitioners alike.

Contents: Structure Prediction and Assessment Methods: Protein Fold Recognition and Threading (L J McGuffin); Assessment of Protein Structure Predictions (E Capriotti & M A Marti-Renom); From Structure to Function to Design: Evolution of Protein Folds (A N Lupas & K K Koretke); Atomistic Simulations of Reactions and Transition States (M Meuwly); Protein Protein Interactions and Aggregation Processes (R I Dima); Drug Discovery and Pharmacology: MD-Based Free Energy Simulations (M A Cuendet et al.); Structure-Based Computational Approaches to Drug Metabolism (M A Lill); New Frontiers in Experimental Methods: New Frontiers in X-ray Crystallography (C U Stirnimann & M G Grütter); New Frontiers in Characterizing Structure and Dynamics by NMR (M Nilges et al.); Selected Topics: Docking for Neglected Diseases as Community Efforts (M Podvinec et al.); Protein Structure Databases (M John et al.); Molecular Graphics in Structural Biology (A M Lesk et al.); and other chapters. ... Read more

Product Description
The central thesis of this book is that Volvox and its unicellular and colonial relatives provide a wholly unrivaled opportunity to explore the proximate and ultimate causes underlying the evolution from unicellular ancestors of multicellular organisms with fully differentiated cell types.A major portion of the book is devoted to reviewing what is known about the genetic, cellular and molecular basis of development in the most extensively studied species of Volvox: V. cateri, which exhibits a complete division of labor between mortal somatic cells and immortal germ cells. However, this topic has been put in context by first considering the ecological conditions and cytological preconditions that appear to have fostered the evolution of organisms of progressively increasing size and with progressively increasing tendency toproduce terminally differentiated somatic cells.The book concludes by raising the question of whether the germ-soma dichotomy may have evolved by similar or different genetic pathways in different species of Volvox. ... Read more