Since 1984, we have organized satellite symposia on retinal degenerations that are held in conjunction with the biennial International Congress of Eye Research. The timing and location of our Retinal Degeneration Symposia have allowed scientists and clinicians from around the world to convene and present their exciting new findings. The symposia have been arranged to allow ample time for discussions and one-on-one interactions in a relaxed atmosphere, where international friendships and collaborations could be established. The IXth International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration was held on October 9-14, 2000 in Durango, Colorado and was attended by over 100 scientists from six continents. This book contains many of their presentations. Several events of note occurred at this meeting. First, thanks to the generous support of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, we were able to sponsor the travel of 11 young scientists from six countries. Most of them have contributed chapters to this volume. The response to the travel program was so overwhelming that we will make it regular feature of our meeting. This will allow other bright, young investigators to be introduced to the world experts who study retinal degenerations. Second, about 40% of the scientists who attended this meeting were there for the first time. We believe that this indicates a growing interest in retinal degeneration research and ensures that new talent will be attracted to this important area of investigation. The symposium received support from several organizations.

The present monograph is the fourth of six volumes which review the Hypotricha, a major group of the spirotrichs. The book is about the Gonostomatidae, the Kahliellidae, and some taxa of unknown position in the hypotrichs. Gonostomum was previously misclassified in the Oxytrichidae because its type species Gonostomum affine has basically an 18-cirri pattern, which is dominant in the oxytrichids. A new hypothesis, considering also molecular data, postulates that this 18-cirri pattern evolved in the last common ancestor of the hypotrichs and therefore it appears throughout the Hypotricha tree. The simple dorsal kinety pattern, composed of only three bipolar dorsal kineties, and gene sequence analyses strongly suggest that Gonostomum branches off rather early in the phylogenetic tree. Thus, the Gonostomatidae, previously synonymised with the oxytrichids, are reactivated to include the name-bearing type genus and other genera (e.g., Paragonostomum, Wallackia, Cladotricha) which have the characteristic gonostomatid oral apparatus. The Kahliellidae are a rather vague group mainly defined via the preservation of parts of the parental infraciliature. The kahliellids preliminary comprise, besides the name-bearing type genus Kahliella, genera such as Parakahliella and its African pendant Afrokahliella or the monotypic Engelmanniella. In total 68 species distributed in 21 genera and subgenera are revised. As in the previous volumes almost all morphological, morphogenetic, molecular, faunistic, and ecological data, scattered in almost 700 papers, are compiled so that the four volumes (Oxytrichidae, Urostyloidea, Amphisiellidae and Trachelostylidae, Gonostomatidae and Kahliellida) provide a detailed insight into the biology of almost 500 species of hypotrichs. The series is an up-to-date overview about this highly interesting taxon of spirotrichous ciliates mainly addressed to taxonomists, cell biologists, ecologists, molecular biologists, and practitioners.

Metamorphosis addresses various facets of postembryonic development, particularly signal transduction, morphogenesis, cell-cell interactions, and programmed cell death. A key feature of the book is its exploration of the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes.
Key Features
* Hormonal regulation of development
* The mechanisms of hormone action
* The steroid/thyroid hormone receptor family
* Morphogenesis and programmed cell death

The present work is an extension of my doctoral thesis done at Stanford in the early 1970s. In one clear sense it responds to the call for consilience by Edward O. Wilson. I agree with Wilson that there is a pressing need in the sciences today for the unification of the social with the natural sciences. I consider the present work to proceed from the perspective of behavioral ecology, specifically a subfield which I choose to call interpersonal behavioral ecology th Ecology, as a general field, has emerged in the last quarter of the 20 century as a major theme of concern as we have become increasingly aware that we must preserve the planet whose limited resources we share with all other earthly creatures. Interpersonal behavioral ecology, however, focuses not on the physical environment, but upon our social environment. It concerns our interpersonal behavioral interactions at all levels, from simple dyadic one-to-one personal interactions to our larger, even global, social, economic, and political interactions. Interpersonal behavioral ecology, as I see it, then, is concerned with our behavior toward each other, from the most obvious behaviors of war between nations, to excessive competition, exploitation, crime, abuse, and even to the ways in which we interact with each other as individuals in the family, in our social lives, in the workplace, and in the marketplace.

The Springer Handbook of Auditory Research presents a series of compreh- sive and synthetic reviews of the fundamental topics in modern auditory - search. The volumes are aimed at all individuals with interests in hearing research including advanced graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and clinical investigators. The volumes are intended to introduce new investigators to important aspects of hearing science and to help established investigators to betterunderstandthefundamentaltheoriesanddatain?eldsofhearingthatthey may not normally follow closely. Each volume presents a particular topic comprehensively, and each servesas a synthetic overview and guide to the literature. As such, the chapters present neither exhaustive data reviews nor original research that has not yet appeared in peer-reviewed journals. The volumes focus on topics that have developed a solid data and conceptual foundation rather than on those for which a literature is only beginning to develop. New research areas will be covered on a timely basis in the series as they begin to mature. Eachvolumeintheseriesconsistsofafewsubstantialchaptersonaparticular topic. In some cases, the topics will be ones of traditional interest for which there is a substantial body of data and theory, such as auditory neuroanatomy (Vol. 1) and neurophysiology (Vol. 2). Other volumes in the series deal with topics that have begun to mature more recently, suchasdevelopment, plasticity, and computational models of neural processing. In many cases, the series - itorsarejoinedbyaco-editorhavingspecialexpertiseinthetopicofthevolume

In recent years, there have been major advances in the concepts and methodologies used in the study of retinal development at both cellular and molecular levels. These advanced methodologies have allowed and will continue to allow researchers to gain new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying retinal development. In Retinal Development: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers in the field detail many of the protocols used for a wide range of experiments. These include protocols and techniques for manipulating gene expression in vivo, tracing cell fates with modernized classic blastomere manipulation in Xenopus and with Cre-based technique in mouse and in zebrafish, retinal regeneration and stem cell-based replacement, and ERG (function) recording and non-invasive imaging. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Retinal Development: Methods and Protocols provides methodologies crucial to the success of increasingly more complex and often challenging investigations in the fields of retinal development and other biological and biomedical research.

The study of plant development using molecular and genetic techniques is rapidly becoming one of the most active areas of research on flowering plants. The aim of this book is to present a sense of the accomplishments of the past and of the outstanding problems of the future in the study of plant development. An important feature of this book is the integration of results from molecular and genetic studies on various aspects of plant development in a cellular and physiological context. Of particular interest to readers will be the clear treatment of each landmark stage in the life cycle of plants such as seed germination, seedling growth, flowering, gametogenesis, pollen-pistil interactions, embryogenesis, fruit ripening, and seed and bud dormancy. The book also considers the development of individual plant organs such as the shoot, leaf, root and flowers as well as alternate developmental strategies of plants.

The contributors to this volume have provided a detailed and integrated introduction to the behavioural, anatomical, and physiological changes that occur in the auditory system of developing animals. Edwin W Rubel is Virginia Merrill Bloedel Professor of Hearing Sciences at the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center at the University of Washington, Arthur N. Popper is Professor and Chair of the Department of Zoology at the University of Maryland, while Richard R. Fay is Associate Director of the Parmly Hearing Institute and Professor of Psychology at Loyola University of Chicago. Each volume in this series is independent and authoritative; taken as a set, the series will be the definitive resource in the field.

After decades of systematic collection of data describing age-related changes in organisms, organs, tissues, cells and macromolecules, biogerontologists are now in a position to construct general principles of ageing and explore various possibilities of intervention using rational approaches. While not giving serious consideration to the claims made by charlatans, it cannot be ignored that several researchers are making genuine attempts to test and develop various means of intervention for the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases, for regaining the functional abilities and for prolonging the lifespan of experimental organisms. This book provides the most up-to-date information and a critical evaluation of a variety of approaches being tried for modulating aging and longevity, including dietary supplementation with antioxidants, vitamins and hormones, genetic engineering, life-style alterations, and hormesis through mild stress. The goal of research on ageing is not to increase human longevity regardless of the consequences, but to increase active longevity free from disability and functional dependence.

This book evolved through the efforts of several organizations and the dedication of many individuals. In 1987, we received arequest to propose a workshop topic for the Fifth International Theriological Congress (ITC) to be held in August 1989 in Rome, Italy. After looking up the meaning of the word "theriological" in the dictionary and discovering that it pertains to mammalian behavior, we decided a symposium on sensory abilities of whales and dOlphins would be an interesting topic. The ITC convenes only every five years and has the distinction of being very weIl attended by scientists from around the world. We thought that hosting a workshop in conjunction with the ITC would attract a variety of international scientists that rarely have the opportunity to interact. Fortunately for all involved, our prediction was correct. The first two days of the workshop, 23-24 August 1989, were held in conjunction with ITC and the nearly 1,000 attending scientists were able to view our posters and listen to lectures. The third day was limited to only ab out 65 invited scientists who were divided into topical working groups chaired by a rapporteur.

The goal of Biological Aging: Methods and Protocols is to present some of the most promising and important tools that are currently used in biological aging research. These tools include established protocols such as aging cell culture as well as many more contemporary approaches such as nuclear transfer, microarray and proteomics technologies and the use of ribozymes in aging research. Collectively, these powerful tools combined with the many other techniques that are presented are rapidly advancing the exciting and expanding field of biological aging.

The purpose of Applications Therapeutic of Ribozymes is to provide an overview of the utility of ribozymes to selectively inhibit the expression of RNA. The ribozyme applications appearing in this book should benefit not only those experienced in ribozymes, but also those applying this ribozyme technology for the first time. It is hoped that a better understanding of the therapeutic application ofribozymes will have a significant impact on human disease in the near future. The field ofribozyme biochemistry has come a long way since the initial observation that RNA is capable of catalysis, initially in cis during processing of larger molecules and ultimately the use of ribozymes in trans to achieve cleavage of target sequence. The fundamental observation that hammerhead (and subsequently hairpin) ribozymes could be designed to cleave a target messenger RNA, and the clarification of sequence restrictions in both the ribozyme and the target RNA, have paved the ways for the use of ribozymes as a tool to manipulate gene expression at the molecular level. This had pre- ously been a domain of antisense oligonucleotides and triplex DNA. Sub- quent studies have explored the myriad biological systems in which ribozyme-mediated inhibition of genes involved in various cellular processes may be used to uncouple important signaling pathways or to reverse the p- notypic expression of a pathologic process.

The theoretical results in this monograph indicate that life provides alternative strategies to aging. The groundbreaking findings open a completely new field of research. The author gets away from the human centered vision of life showing that aging in any organism does not necessarily correspond to deterioration and senescence. The central insight of this monograph is: to deeply understand why some species age it is necessary to understand why other species do not.

I assume that you already know a good deal of microbiology. In this book, I frequently use the word "we" by which I mean "you and I." Together we are going to consider bacteriology from a broader perspective and we will think our way through the important biological problems that are frequently just skipped over in every microbiology course. My most important reason for writing this book is to make accessible the relevant thinking from fields of science other than microbiology that are important to microbiology. The book is written for people that have already have a fascination with bacteria, but can see that their background for understanding is far complete. This book consists of topics that are largely omitted from microbiology textbooks and includes some mathematics, physics, chemistry, and evolutionary biology. It contains a good deal of my own work, both experimental and theoretical, together with a lot of speculation. If ten times bigger, it would be a full text book on microbial physiology. A third of the microbial physiology is covered by the recent is no longer treated even in textbook by White (2000). Another third current specialized tests and is greatly underrepresented in text books.

The frozen-hydrated specimen is the principal element that unifies the subject of low temperature microscopy, and frozen-hydrated specimens are what this book is all about. Freezing the sample as quickly as possible and then further preparing the specimen for microscopy or microanalysis, whether still embedded in ice or not: there seem to be as many variations on this theme as there are creative scientists with problems of structure and composition to investigate. Yet all share a body of com mon fact and theory upon which their work must be based. Low-Temperature Micros copy and Analysis provides, for the first time, a comprehensive treatment of all the elements to which one needs access. What is the appeal behind the use of frozen-hydrated specimens for biological electron microscopy, and why is it so important that such a book should now have been written? If one cannot observe dynamic events as they are in progress, rapid specimen freezing at least offers the possibility to trap structures, organelles, macro molecules, or ions and other solutes in a form that is identical to what the native structure was like at the moment of trapping. The pursuit of this ideal becomes all the more necessary in electron microscopy because of the enormous increase in resolution that is available with electron-optical instruments, compared to light optical microscopes."

This volume details the essential role of the spiral ganglion neurons. The volume elucidates and characterizes their development, their environment, their electrophysiological characteristics, their connectivity to their targets in the inner ear and the brain, and discusses the potential for their regeneration. A comprehensive review about the spiral ganglion neurons is important for researchers not only in the inner ear field but also in development, neuroscience, biophysics as well as neural networks researchers. The chapters are authored by leading researchers in the field.

The Selected Works of C. H. Waddington reissues seven titles from Waddington's impressive oeuvre. The titles in question cover a range of topics, from genetics and embryology to ethics in science and contemporary biological thought.

The different aspects of muscle development are considered from cellular, molecular and genetic viewpoints, and the text is supported by black/white and color illustrations. The book will appeal to those studying muscle development and muscle biology in any organism.

The past decade has seen a steady increase in studies oflemur behavior and ecology. As a result, there is much novel information on newly studied populations, and even newly discovered species, that has not yet been published or summarized. In fact, lemurs have not been the focus of an international symposium since the Prosimian Biology Conference in London in 1972. Moreover, research on lemurs has reached a new quality by addressing general issues in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology. Although lemurs provide important comparative information on these topics, this aspect of research on lemurs has not been reviewed and compared with similar studies in other primate radiations. Thus, as did many in the field, we felt that the time was ripe to review and synthesize our knowledge of lemur behavioral ecology. Following an initiative by Gerry Doyle, we organized a symposium at the XIVth Congress of the International Primatological Society in Strasbourg, France, where 15 contributions summarized much new information on lemur social systems and their ecological basis. This volume provides a collection of the papers presented at the Strasbourg symposium (plus two reports from recently completed field projects). Each chapter was peer-reviewed, typically by one "lemurologist" and one other biologist. The first three chapters present novel information from the first long-term field studies of three enigmatic species. Sterling describes the social organization of Daubentonia madagascariensis, showing that aye-aye ranging patterns deviate from those of all other nocturnal primates.

Cells in the developing embryo depend on signals from the extracellular environment to help guide their differentiation. An important mediator in this process is the extracellular matrix -- secreted macromolecules that interact to form large protein networks outside the cell. During development, the extracellular matrix serves to separate adjacent cell groups, participates in establishing morphogenic gradients, and, through its ability to interact directly will cell-surface receptors, provides developmental clocks and positional information. This volume discusses how the extracellular matrix influences fundamental developmental processes and how model systems can be used to elucidate ECM function. The topics addressed range from how ECM influences early development as well as repair processes in the adult that recapitulate developmental pathways. The series Biology of Extracellular Matrix is published in collaboration with the American Society for Matrix Biology.

The annual Evolutionary Biology Meetings in Marseille aim to bring together leading scientists, promoting an exchange of state-of-the-art knowledge and the formation of inter-group collaborations. This book presents the most representative contributions to the 13th meeting, which was held in September 2009. It comprises 21 chapters, which are organized into the following three categories: * Evolutionary Biology Concepts * Genome/Molecular Evolution * Morphological Evolution/Speciation This book offers an up-to-date overview of evolutionary biology concepts and their use in the biology of the 21st century.

This book presents selected contributions to the 19th Evolutionary Biology Meeting, which took place in September 2015 in Marseille. It consists of 22 chapters, which are grouped in four sections: * Convergent Evolution * Evolution of Complex Traits * Concepts * Methods The annual Evolutionary Biology Meetings in Marseille serve to gather leading evolutionary biologists and other scientists using evolutionary biology concepts, e.g for medical research, to promote the exchange of ideas and to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. Offering an up-to-date overview of recent findings in the field of evolutionary biology, this book is an invaluable source of information for scientists, teachers and advanced students.

A light-hearted look at the nature of academic science, intended for anyone interested in biology but particularly for biology students who want to find out what the future holds in store. The "Egg" of the title refers to the science of developmental biology, which is the speciality of the author, and which provides the material for many of the anecdotes. The "Ego" relates to the vanity of the scientists themselves. Academic scientists have to struggle to maintain their research funding. To do this they must persuade other scientists that they are very good, and that means working at a good institution, publishing papers in the most fashionable journals and giving lectures at the most prestigious meetings. Success often goes to those with the largest egos and it is their style of operation that is described in this book. The author is a well-known scientist who has worked at both universities and research institutes. He has published over 100 scientific papers and an influential book about embryonic development: "From Egg to Embryo".

Drawing on state-of-the-art cellular and molecular techniques as well as new and sophisticated imaging and information technologies, this comprehensive, three-volume collection of cutting-edge protocols provides readily reproducible methods for studying and analyzing the events of embryonic development. Volume 1 (ISBN: 089603-574-3) contains techniques for establishing and characterizing several widely used experimental model systems, for the study of developmental patterns and morphogenesis, and for the examination of embryo structure and function. There are also step-by-step methods for the analaysis of cell lineage, the production and use of chimeras, and the experimental and molecular manipulation of embryos, including the application of viral vectors. Volume 2 (ISBN: 0-89603-575-1) describes state-of-the-art methods for the study of organogenesis, the analysis of abnormal development and teratology, the screening and mapping of novel genes and mutations, and the application of transgenesis, including the production of transgenic animals and gene knockouts. No less innovative, Volume 3 (ISBN: 0-89603-576-X) introduces powerful techniques for the manipulation of developmental gene expression and function, the analysis of gene expression, the characterization of tissue morphogenesis and development, the in vitro study of differentiation and development, and the genetic analysis of developmental models of diseases. Highly practical and richly annotated, the three volumes of Developmental Biology Protocols describe multiple experimental systems and details techniques adopted from the broadest array of biomedical disciplines.

Defining and understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms that are relevant to women's health has become a critical area of scientific pursuit. Until recently, very little effort has been place on defining or understanding critical differences between women and men that may be critical to the overall health of the woman. In 1990, the National Institutes of Health recognized this gap in knowledge resulting in the creation of the Office of Research on Women's Health. One of the purposes of this office was to advance the understanding of health issues from the women's perspective from both a basic and clinical scientific perspective. From a scientific evolution of understanding, the existence of this office is new and thus there has not been enough time for new information to integrate itself in our current scientific thought process. This book will seek to capture and disseminate our current understanding of scientific advancements relevant to women's health and provide the information to a broad audience. The purpose of this work is to discuss recent advancements in basic science across three areas of concern for women's health. In addition, the book will provide "translational" chapters that attempt to place the basic science work in context within our current understanding of the human. Although it is well acknowledge that gender differences exist across organ function which translates into differences in whole body function, until recently little effort has been made to define basic mechanisms within various tissues within the woman. This work will focus on recent scientific findings that are relevant to women's health and to provide novel and relevant information to interested scientists and clinicians.