The book discusses the controversial issue of whether animals are designed according to the same rules that engineers use in building machines, namely that materials and energy are used economically while attempting to achieve a high level of performance. There is considerable scientific controversy surrounding this question because, although there is much evidence suggesting that animals are indeed well designed, evolutionary biology tells us that animals are not 'engineered' but result from evolution by natural selection. This book collates this evidence which is discussed by a group of eminent biologists from many different biological disciplines."

Environmental temperature varies in time and space on timescales ranging from a few hours to long-term climate change. Organisms are therefore continually challenged to regulate and maintain functional capacities as their thermal environment changes. This volume brings together many of the leading workers in thermal biology, with backgrounds spanning the disciplines of molecular biology, cell biology, physiology, zoology, ecology and evolutionary biology, to discuss the responses of a wide range of species to temperature change at all scales of organization, ranging through the molecular, cellular, organismal, population and ecosystem levels. The volume provides an important and comprehensive contribution to the study of temperature adaptation, which, given the concern about global climate change, will provide much to interest a wide range of biologists.

How do hormones and growth factors regulate animal growth in the developing embryo and after injury? What processes at the molecular level determine the growth patterns of different tissues? In this diverse synthesis of recent research the regulation of growth in response to environmental and genetic stimuli is discussed at the level of the animal, tissues and cells. Contrasts are drawn between regulation in foetal and adult tissues, and in different tissues such as the CNS, bone and muscle. Functional chapters focus on the molecular links between mechanical tension and muscle growth, for example, while other chapters review the roles of specific molecules such as growth hormone. This state-of-the-art review will be of significant interest to graduate students and research scientists in the fields of animal growth, endocrinology and cell biology.

Ion channels are crucial components of living cells. Situated in the cell membrane, they allow ions to pass from one side of the membrane to the other. This book provides an overview of ion channel study, including up-to-date coverage of the permeability and selectivity of channels, their gating and modulation, their response to drugs and toxins, and the human diseases that result from channel malfunction. Students of molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, and neurobiology will benefit from this modern, concise text.

In this unique book, Sir Donald Harrison draws on his wide-ranging experience as a surgeon and comparative anatomist to produce an authoritative and detailed account of the anatomy and physiology of the mammalian larynx. His investigation of the larynx has involved the study of over 1400 specimens of mammalian larynges from around the world, as well as using data from his own clinical experiences. The comparative morphology of the larynx is discussed from a developmental and functional perspective and the involvement of the larynx in respiration, locomotion and vocalisation is highlighted. Throughout the book the relationship of structure to function is drawn out and the clinical relevance of features of the human larynx is emphasised. This book will be an invaluable reference for all researchers and clinicians involved in laryngology as well as for anatomists, zoologists and anaesthesiologists.

In most animals, from bees to bulls, mice to men, it is possible to see at a glance whether an individual is male or female. How and why these differences in appearance and behavior developed and the nature and extent of the differences between males and females is a complex subject. This book reviews the latest molecular, genetic, hormonal, anatomical, and behavioral data in a wide range of species in a series of lively and highly readable articles from the world's leading experts in this field. Unashamedly Darwinian, this book brings sexual selection up to date and discusses not only a dazzling array of differences between the sexes, but probes the mechanisms by which they are produced and the adaptive significance of the differences themselves. It should have a wide appeal, especially to undergraduates and graduates in the biological and medical sciences, and should help to bridge the gap between those who study genes and molecules in the laboratory and those who study the behavior of animals in the wild.

Bioenergetics is the name given to the collection of disciplines within biochemistry and physiology that aims at a description and understanding of the function of living systems. These functions include the exchange, metabolism and accumulation of matter, as well as their related energy transformations. The authors present an accessible textbook, providing the reader with the fundamental principles of the subject and how these can then be applied to practical problems. This textbook is ideal for graduate students and researchers in biochemistry, physiology and chemistry. The book should also be of interest to workers in the applied life sciences.

However well the anatomy of the gastrointestinal tracts of a wide range of mammals are described and quantified, there can be no real explanation of observed patterns without consideration of the mechanical and chemical properties of the food consumed, and digestive stages involved in its processing. This book aims to integrate findings from the many different types of investigations of mammalian digestive systems into a coherent whole. Using the themes of food, form and function, researchers discuss models of digestive processes, linking this with evolutionary aspects of food utilization. Macroscopic and ultrastructural studies of the gastrointestinal tract are also presented, as are physiological, ecological and biochemical aspects of the digestion of different food types. The book ends with an integrative chapter, bringing together the themes running through the earlier sections.

In most animals, from bees to bulls, mice to men, it is possible to see at a glance whether an individual is male or female. How and why these differences in appearance and behavior developed and the nature and extent of the differences between males and females is a complex subject. This book reviews the latest molecular, genetic, hormonal, anatomical, and behavioral data in a wide range of species in a series of lively and highly readable articles from the world's leading experts in this field. Unashamedly Darwinian, this book brings sexual selection up to date and discusses not only a dazzling array of differences between the sexes, but probes the mechanisms by which they are produced and the adaptive significance of the differences themselves. It should have a wide appeal, especially to undergraduates and graduates in the biological and medical sciences, and should help to bridge the gap between those who study genes and molecules in the laboratory and those who study the behavior of animals in the wild.

As a student in Cambridge, Alan Hodgkin first became interested in the basis of nerve conduction, using single nerve fibers from a shore crab in his experiments. In 1963, he won the Nobel prize for his work on nerve conduction, and in 1970 became President of the Royal Society. Chance and Design is a fascinating chronicle of Hodgkin's life, providing a glimpse into the world of Cambridge undergraduates in the thirties, the motivation behind his research into nerve conduction, his work on centimeter radar during World War II, and his life as a Cambridge academic after the war. The book concludes with an account of the Nobel prize ceremony in 1963. This highly readable autobiography gives an insight into the working patterns and private life of an eminent scientist, and will appeal not only to scientists, but also to those interested in gaining an understanding of what inspires scientific research.

Rodents are the predominant experimental animals found in life-sciences research laboratories. The body temperature of a rodent is markedly affected by surgical, chemical or environmental manipulation. Because temperature regulation is controlled essentially by a 'holistic' regulatory system, meaning that its responses affect the activities of all other psychological and behavioural processes, it is clear that researchers working with rodents must be familiar with thermoregulatory physiology. With the help of extensive data tables and figures, this book explains the key facets of rodent thermal physiology, including neurological control and gender and intraspecies variations. There is a novel chapter on the effects of trauma, toxic chemicals and other factors. The book should therefore find use in government, academic or industrial laboratories whose researchers are working with rodents.

This is an extensive collection of essays on all aspects of vision, approached from the perspective of coding and efficiency. It examines the broad spectrum of vision research from one particular, unifying viewpoint, namely the way that visual systems efficiently encode and represent the outside world. This approach, both rigorous and general, was championed by H.B. Barlow in the fifties and has been followed in many areas of vision research. The approach has recently acquired new significance due to the growing interest of computer science and artificial intelligence in the processes of vision, which attempts to describe visual processes in algorithmic terms, equally relevant to a robotic visual system, the eye of a fly or the complex visual pathways in the human brain.

This text is a graduate-level introduction to neural networks, focusing on current theoretical models, examining what these models can reveal about how the brain functions, and discussing the ramifications for psychology, artificial intelligence, and the construction of a new generation of intelligent computers. The book is divided into four parts. The first part gives an account of the anatomy of the central nervous system, followed by a brief introduction to neurophysiology. The second part is devoted to the dynamics of neuronal states, and demonstrates how very simple models may stimulate associative memory. The third part of the book discusses models of learning, including detailed discussions on the limits of memory storage, methods of learning and their associated models, associativity, and error correction. The final section of the book reviews possible applications of neural networks in artificial intelligence, expert systems, optimization problems, and the construction of actual neuronal supercomputers, with the potential for one-hundred fold increase in speed over contemporary serial machines.

This text is a graduate-level introduction to neural networks, focusing on current theoretical models, examining what these models can reveal about how the brain functions, and discussing the ramifications for psychology, artificial intelligence, and the construction of a new generation of intelligent computers. The book is divided into four parts. The first part gives an account of the anatomy of the central nervous system, followed by a brief introduction to neurophysiology. The second part is devoted to the dynamics of neuronal states, and demonstrates how very simple models may stimulate associative memory. The third part of the book discusses models of learning, including detailed discussions on the limits of memory storage, methods of learning and their associated models, associativity, and error correction. The final section of the book reviews possible applications of neural networks in artificial intelligence, expert systems, optimization problems, and the construction of actual neuronal supercomputers, with the potential for one-hundred fold increase in speed over contemporary serial machines.

This book is composed of a set of chapters contributed by past and present collaborators of the Nobel laureate Sir Andrew Huxley, covering the areas of muscle research to which he has made major contributions. The purpose of the book is to discuss the way that muscle works, asking questions at a fundamental level about the molecular basis of muscle tone production and muscle contraction. The majority of the chapters are concerned with muscle physiology and the relation between structure and function. The process of activation of muscle is dealt with, together with the mechanism of contraction itself. Although most of the book concerns itself with vertebrate skeletal muscle, several of the chapters deal with cardiac muscle. The book also features two introductory chapters discussing Sir Andrew's achievements in both nerve and muscle physiology. All those interested in the structure and function of muscle, or cell motility in general, will wish to read this book.

There is often confusion over the meaning and usage of terms such as efficiency, economy, effectiveness, optimization, and perfection in biology. This book defines and discusses these concepts within a broad evolutionary perspective and considers how evolutionary pressures can affect the economy and efficiency of animals. Chapters consider biomaterials, skeletal systems, muscular function, aquatic and terrestrial locomotion, and cardiovascular systems. The result is a book of interest to all biologists, particularly those working in the field of comparative physiology and evolutionary biology.

Originally published in 1991, this book reviews the various metabolic and functional mechanisms that animals possess in order to live successfully in their own particular, often unique, environments. The book's purpose is to demonstrate both the diversity of responses that are shown (be they biochemical, physiological or behavioural) and to demonstrate the underlying principles of gas exchange and transport for a wide range of diverse organisms. What results is a useful review and analysis of our modern understanding of the respiratory physiology of helminths, crustacea, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The approach taken by the editors is essentially comparative and the individual authors were chosen so as to provide a useful, complementary view of the subject.

This book gives a concise account of the physiology and form of the fish circulatory system. The emphasis is primarily on function, but details of structure have been included. Following a revision of ideas on hemodynamics, attention is focused on the heart as the primary pump in the fish circulatory system. The fine structure and the electrical and ionic events of cardiac myocytes are described and the major events of the cardiac cycle are outlined. The structure of the peripheral vessels then follow and attention is devoted to the circulation in certain special areas such as the gills, the renal portal system, and the secondary blood system. There are also chapters devoted to the blood and the hemopoetic tissues and an account is given of the different types of retial systems that concentrate oxygen or heat in various parts of the body. Following a description of the autonomic nervous system, the circulatory responses to exercise and hypoxia are described. The book concludes with a discussion on the circulation of hagfish and how it illuminates our understanding of the functional and structural evolution of the circulatory system.

Covering the psychological aspects of ergonomics, this volume places considerable emphasis on the radical changes in work practices over the past twenty years stimulated by high technology systems and computerization. Ergonomics is a multidisciplinary activity concerned mainly with people at work, but also with other human purposeful activities such as war, sports, games and leisure. The objective of ergonomics is to make these activities more effective and safer by applying established principles of anatomy, physiology and psychology. Together with Singleton's earlier volume, The Body at Work, this book forms a comprehensive textbook of ergonomics. This is a useful text for undergraduate and graduate students of psychology, physiology, management, social sciences, engineering, industrial design, computer science and information technology.

This book is concerned with the biosynthesis, biological activity, and ecological significance of secondary metabolites (natural products).These include alcaloids such as morphine, steroids like cholesterol, and antibiotics like the penicillins. The author considers each of the major classes of secondary metabolites according to the basic 'building blocks' from which they are derived and highlights the pharmacological and toxicological properties of compounds found in insects, plants, and microorganisms. The final chapter explores the possible ecological significance of these products. The second edition incorporates new material on the isolation and characterization of the enzymes of secondary metabolism and on the new NMR techniques which have revolutionized the elucidation of biosynthetic pathways. The book is important reading for advanced undergraduates and graduates in chemistry, biochemistry, and botany, as well as researchers in the pharmaceutical industry.

In this, our second edition of Reproduction in Mammals, we are responding to numerous requests for a more up-to-date and rather more detailed treatment of the subject. The first edition was accorded an excellent reception, but Books 1 to 5 were written some 14 years ago and inevitably there have been many advances on many fronts since then. As before, the manner of presentation is intended to make the subject matter interesting to read and readily comprehensible to undergraduates in the biological sciences, and yet with sufficient depth to provide a valued source of information to graduates engaged in both teaching and research. Our authors have been selected from among the best known in their respective fields. Book 5 is concerned with the many ways in which we can now manipulate reproductive processes in animals and humans, thanks to our new understanding of hormone action and improved control over early developmental events. We have at our disposal a whole array of synthetic hormone agonists, antagonists and antibodies that can be used at will to stimulate or inhibit fertility in animals and humans alike, so that productivity in livestock can be promoted according to plan and child-bearing becomes more a matter of choice than chance. We can compensate for infertility by in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, and overcome inherent deficiencies by techniques involving embryo manipulation. Existing barriers to the dissemination and application of this new-found knowledge are discussed in some detail, since it is becoming increasingly clear that improvements in the quality of life for people in many developing countries will be long delayed unless they can meet essential needs and call a halt to runaway population growth.

It is generally recognized that larger animals eat more, live longer, have larger offspring, and so on; but it is unusual to see these commonplace observations as a basis for scientific biology. A large number of empirically based relationships describe biological rates as simple functions of body size; and other such relations predict the intrinsic rate of population growth, animal speed, animal density, territory size, prey size, physiology, and morphology. Such equations almost always exist for mammals and birds, often for other vertebrates and invertebrates, sometimes for protozoa, algae, and bacteria, and occasionally even for plants. There are too many organisms to measure all aspects of the biology of every species of population, so scientists must depend on generalizations. Body size relations represent our most extensive and powerful assemblage of generalizations, but they have never been organized for use in ecology. This book represents the largest single compilation of interspecific size relations, and instructs the reader on the use of these relationships; their comparison, combination, and criticism. Both strengths and weaknesses of our current knowledge are discussed in order to indicate the many possible directions for further research. This important volume will therefore provide a point of departure toward a new applied ecology, giving quantitative solutions to real questions. It will interest advanced students of ecology and comparative physiology as well as professional biologists.

In this, our second edition of Reproduction in Mammals, we are responding to numerous requests for a more up-to-date and rather more detailed treatment of the subject. The first edition was accorded an excellent reception, but the Books 1 to 5 were written twelve years ago and inevitably there have been advances on many fronts since then. As before, the manner of presentation is intended to make the subject matter interesting to read and readily comprehensible to undergraduates in the biological sciences, and yet have sufficient depth to provide a valued source of information to graduates engaged in both teaching and research. Our authors have been selected from among the best known in their respective fields. Book 4 pays particular attention to genetic, environmental, behavioural and immunological mechanisms that can contribute to an animal's overall reproductive fitness, through which natural selection must ultimately operate.

Reveals how the physical laws of nature control the physiological functions of all animals and influence their size. Shows why the size of living things is of such fundamental importance.

In this, our Second Edition of Reproduction in Mammals, we are responding to numerous requests for a more up-to-date and rather more detailed treatment of the subject. The First Edition was accorded an excellent reception, but the first five books were written ten years ago and inevitably there have been advances on many fronts since then. As before, the manner of presentation is intended to make the subject matter interesting to read and readily comprehensible to undergraduates in the biological sciences, and yet with sufficient depth to provide a valued source of information to graduates engaged in both teaching and research. Our authors have been selected from among the best known in their respective fields. This volume discusses the manifold ways in which hormones control the reproductive processes in male and female mammals. The hypothalamus regulates both the anterior and posterior pituitary glands, whilst the pineal can exert a modulating influence on the hypothalamus. The pituitary gonadotrophins regulate the endocrine and gametogenic activities of the gonads, and there are important local feedback effects of hormones within the gonads themselves. Non-pregnant females display many different types of oestrous or menstrual cycles, and there are likewise great species differences in the endocrinology of pregnancy. But the hallmark of mammals is lactation, and this also exerts a major control on subsequent reproductive activity.