In Molecular Embryology: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition, expert investigators provide a comprehensive guide to the cutting-edge methods used across the dramatically growing field of vertebrate molecular embryology. Time-tested techniques take advantage of the most commonly used vertebrate experimental models: murine embryos for their genetics, chick embryos for in vivo manipulation, zebrafish for mutagenesis, amphibian embryos, and nonvertebrate chordates. The second edition collects classic protocols which have become standard techniques in the laboratory and presents them in a complementary fashion with novel and emerging approaches, allowing researcher to become more familiar with commonly studied embryos used in biomedical research. Insightful to the experienced professional, Molecular Embryology: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition, presents cutting-edge findings of perhaps the greatest period in growth and productivity in the field of developmental biology.

Early Life Origins of Health and Disease is a new book which presents and discusses the many factors that may have impact on normal development. In a concise and readable manner, the authors consider both the proven and suggestive evidence that the high prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, obesity and, in some populations, kidney disease, may not be all due to genetics or adult environment alone. There is good evidence that stress and more subtle dietary deficiencies, as well as placental malfunction, may increase the risk that the offspring will develop these problems in later life. Finally, new and emerging evidence for other areas of human health and disease such a motor control and mental health is critically reviewed for the first time. The book is a 'must' for all scientists interested in researching these areas, as there is a critical evaluation of the methodology used and suggestions for the 'optimal' way in which to investigate these phenomena.

A collection of standard and cutting-edge techniques for using Xenopus oocytes and oocytes/egg extracts to reconstitute biological and cellular processes. These readily reproducible methods take advantage of the oocyte's impressive protein abundance, its striking protein translation capacity, and its breathtaking possibilities for the assembly of infectious viral particles by single cell injection of multiple RNAs. The authors focus on the versatility of frog oocytes and egg extracts in cell biology and signal transduction, and cover all the major uses of oocytes/extracts as experimental models.

Extraordinary progress has been made in recent years in understanding the cellular and molecular basis of development. This progress is having a strong influence on our knowledge of the auditory system. From the molecular genetics of ear development to the ontogeny of auditory capability, great inroads have been made. The contributors to this volume on development of the auditory system have provided a detailed and integrated introduction to the behavioral, anatomical, and physiological changes that occur in the auditory system of developing animals. About the editors: 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. Richard R. Fay is Associate Director of the Parmly Hearing Institute and Professor of Psychology at Loyola University of Chicago. About the series: The Springer Handbook of Auditory Research presents a series of synthetic reviews of fundamental topics dealing with auditory systems. Each volume is independent and authoritative; taken as a set, this series will be the definitive resource in the field.

Developmental biology is one of the most exciting and fast-growing fields today. In part, this is so because the subject matter deals with the innately fascinating biological events-changes in form, structure, and function of the organism. The other reason for much of the excitement in developmental biology is that the field has truly become the unifying melting pot of biology, and provides a framework that integrates anatomy, physiology, genetics, biochemistry, and cellular and molecular biology, as well as evolutionary biology. No longer is the study of embryonic development merely "embryology." In fact, development biology has produced important paradigms for both basic and clinical biomedical sciences. Though modern developmental biology has its roots in "experimental embry- ogy" and the even more classical "chemical embryology," the recent explosive and remarkable advances in developmental biology are critically linked to the advent of the "cellular and molecular biology revolution." The impressive arsenal of expe- mental and analytical tools derived from cell and molecular biology, which promise to continue to expand, together with the exponentially developing sophistication in fu- tional imaging and information technologies, guarantee that the study of the devel- ing embryo will contribute one of the most captivating areas of biological research in the next millennium.

Advanced biotechnologies enable breeders to produce a whole generation of new crops for specialist needs ("designer crops"), including raw materials for the energy, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. This book provides concerns useful to promote an increase of the productivity of crops by using functional genomics (to understand the regulation of plant metabolism at molecular, cellular and whole plants), and the improvement of photosynthetic efficiency (to design new plants with enhanced raw materials percent and recovery). Fundamental thematics have been addressed: metabolic engineering, plant breeding tools, renewable biomass for energy generation, fibres and composites, biopharmaceuticals. The gained know how is relevant to identify bottlenecks in the major production chains and to propose actions for moving these issues forward: in particular to; i) produce new compounds by expressing foreign heterologous genes; ii) modify pathways to influence quality and/or yield of existing indigenous molecules; iii) bioprocess plant or organic waste stream into value-added products. The chapters of this book have been written by experts from all around the world. Consequently, this book is expected to be of great interest to scientists, researchers, farmers, processors and retailers, but also to students, technocrats and planners interested in the progress made with the development of new industrial crops.

The rapid advances in elucidating the biosynthesis and mode of action of the plant hormone ethylene, as well as its involvement in the regulation of the whole plant physiology, made imperative the organization of a series of dedicated conferences. This volume contains the main lectures and poster contributions presented at the 7th International Symposium on the Plant Hormone Ethylene held in Pisa in 2006.

The process whereby a single cell, the fertilized egg, develops into an adult has fascinated for centuries. Great progress in understanding that process, h- ever, has been made in the last two decades, when the techniques of molecular biology have become available to developmental biologists. By applying these techniques, the exact nature of many of the interactions responsible for forming the body pattern are now being revealed in detail. Such studies are a large, and it seems ever-expanding, part of most life-science groups. It is at newcomers to this field that this book is primarily aimed. A number of different plants and animals serve as common model org- isms for developmental studies. In Molecular Methods in Developmental Bi- ogy: Xenopus and Zebrafish, a range of the molecular methods applicable to two of these organisms are described, these are the South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, and the zebrafish, Brachydanio rerio. The embryos of both of these species develop rapidly and externally, making them particularly suited to investigations of early vertebrate development. However, both Xenopus and zebrafish have their own advantages and disadvantages. Xenopus have large, robust embryos that can be manipulated surgically with ease, but their pseudotetraploidy and long generation time make them unsuitable candidates for genetics. This disadvantage may soon be overcome by using the diploid Xenopus tropicalis, and early experiments are already underway. The transp- ent embryos of zebrafish render them well-suited for in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, and good for observing mutations in genetic screens.

A presentation of all aspects of neural crest cell origins (embryological and evolutionary) development and evolution; neural crest cell behavior (migration) and anomalies (neurocristopathies and birth defects) that arise from defective neural crest development. The treatment of development will include discussions of cellular, molecular and genetic aspects of the differentiation and morphogenesis of neural crest cells and structures derived from neural crest cells. The origins of the neural crest in embryology will be discussed using the recent information on the molecular basis of the specification of the neural crest. Also presented are the advances in our understanding of the evolution of jaws from studies on lampreys and of the neural crest from studies on ascidians and amphioxus.

Carving Nature at its Joints? In order to map the future of biology we need to understand where we are and how we got there. Present day biology is the realization of the famous metaphor of the organism as a bete machine elaborated by Descartes in Part V of the Discours, a realization far beyond what anyone in the seventeenth century could have im- ined. Until the middle of the nineteenth century that machine was an articulated collection of macroscopic parts, a system of gears and levers moving gasses, solids, and liquids, and causing some parts of the machine to move in response to the force produced by others. Then, in the nineteenth century, two divergent changes occurred in the level at which the living machine came to be investigated. First, with the rise of chemistry and the particulate view of the composition of matter, the forces on macroscopic machine came to be understood as the ma- festation of molecular events, and functional biology became a study of molecular interactions. That is, the machine ceased to be a clock or a water pump and became an articulated network of chemical reactions. Until the ?rst third of the twentieth century this chemical view of life, as re?ected in the development of classical b- chemistry treated the chemistry of biological molecules in much the same way as for any organic chemical reaction, with reaction rates and side products that were the consequence of statistical properties of the concentrations of reactants."

The possibility that nutrition in early life could influence propensity to adult disease is of great concern to public health. Extensive research carried out in pregnant women, in breastfeeding women and in infants strongly suggests that nutrition in early life has major effects on long-term health and well-being. Health problems such as hypertension, tendency to diabetes, obesity, blood lipids, vascular disease, bone health, behaviour and learning and longevity may be imprinted during early life. This process is defined as programming whereby a nutritional stimulus operating at a critical, sensitive period of pre and postnatal life imprints permanent effects on the structure, physiology and metabolism.

For this reason, academics and industry set-up the EC supported Scientific Workshop -Early Nutrition and its Later Consequences: New Opportunities. The prime objective of the Workshop was to generate a sound exchange of the latest scientific developments within the field of early nutrition to look for opportunities for new preventive health concepts. Further, a closer look was taken at the development of food applications which could provide (future) mothers and infants with improved nutrition that will ultimately lead to better future health. The Workshop was organised by the Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Munich, Germany in collaboration with the Danone Institutes and the Infant Nutrition Cluster, a collaboration of three large research projects funded by the EU.

Many of the contributors have important roles to play in a new EC supported integrated project: Early nutrition programming of adult health (EARNEST) which will take place between 2005 and 2010 and will involve more than 40 research centres. Further Workshops on the same theme are planned as part of this project."

Aging is the progressive decline in biological functions over time. This decline targets macromolecules, cells, tissues and, as a consequence, whole organisms. Despite considerable progress in the development of testable hypothesis concerning aging in an evolutionary context, a unifying theory of the molecular/physiological mechanistic causes of aging has not been reached. In fact, is it not clear to what extent aging is a programmed or stochastic process.

This book takes the reader from unicellular bacterial deterioration via senescence in yeast and worms to aging in rodents and humans, allowing a comparative view on similarities and differences in different genetic model systems. The different model systems are scrutinized in the light of contemporary aging hypothesis, such as the free radical and genomic instability theories.

Much of our knowledge of stem cells has been inferred from studies of remarkable few species. The ability to manipulate stem cells in "model" organisms such as the mouse and a few other vertebrate species has driven our understanding of basic biology of stem cells. The power and efficiency of studying model organisms, however, comes at a cost since a few species, obviously, do not reflect natures true diversity. Unfortunately, although all multicellular organisms seem to rely on stem cells, and although this seems to be a question of key importance for understanding the evolution of animal life, little is known about stem cells in early-branching taxa.

The book "Stem Cells: From Hydra to Man" illustrates that here is more than human and mouse stem cells to learn from. Reflecting an enormous growth in the knowledge of stem cells in various organisms, the book presents the conceptual language and the nature of questions, as well as a summary of the advances in our understanding of stem cells from a comparative point of view that has resulted from the development of new technology and the development of novel model organisms over the past few decades. As such this book is largely a horizon analysis of a frontier rather than a retrospective. It presents an integrative approach to animal stem cells and covers the major contributions, tools and trends in a newly emerging field: comparative stem cell biology.

This timely work is a collection of papers presented at the XIth international congress of the International Association of Plant Tissue Culture & Biotechnology. It continues the tradition of the IAPTC&B in publishing the proceedings of its congresses. The work is an up-to-date report on the most significant advances in plant tissue culture and biotechnology as presented by leading international scientists. It will be crucial reading for agricultural scientists, among others.

Every biological system is the outcome of its evolution; therefore, the deciphering of its evolutionary history is of tremendous importance to understand the biology of a system.

Since 1997 scientists of different disciplines have held an annual "Evolutionary Biology Meeting" at Marseille (France) in order to discuss their research developments, exchange ideas and start collaborations. Consisting of the most representative talks of the 11th meeting, this book provides an up-to-date overview of evolutionary concepts and how these concepts can be applied to a better understanding of various biological aspects. It is divided into the following four parts: Modelization of Evolution - Concepts in Evolutionary Biology - Knowledge - Applied Evolutionary Biology.

This book is an invaluable source of information not only for evolutionary biologists, but also for biologists in general.

The ability of striated muscle tissue to adapt to changes in activity or in working conditions is extremely high. In some ways it is comparable to the ability of the brain to learn. The interest in muscle adaptation is increasing in relation to the idea that physical fitness helps in the prevention of disease, may counteract the loss of physical performance and generally improves wellbeing. Plasticity is the word used since the late 1970 s to indicate collectively all the processes and mechanisms which form the background of muscle adaptation. This book aims to provide a systematic updating of the available knowledge on molecular and cellular mechanisms, as well as on changes at whole muscle level. The book means to be a guide and a help for people who enter the field as PhD or medical students, but is also a tool for refreshing and updating knowledge for people already active in the field in basic sciences as well as in applied disciplines such as neurology, sports science and rehabilitation."

Among all great ape species, the bonobo is still the least studied in both captivity and the wild. Nevertheless we have observed a considerable increase in knowledge across various fields of bonobo research in recent years. In part due to the ongoing peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo, research and conservation activities on the bonobo have resumed and multiplied since 2001.

Part One of The Bonobos: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation focuses on scientific research. Behavioral studies in captivity propose to answer why bonobos have some unique characteristics such as high social status of females and flexible social relationships. The outcomes present important aspects to be investigated in running field studies. In the wild, analysis of population genetics across the bonobo's distribution range illuminates the species' evolutionary path and contributes to a global management plan. Site specific analysis reveals how genetics are used to re-identify individuals after an extended interruption of long-term research. Ecological studies at three independent sites, two in Salonga National Park, as well as one in the Luo Scientific Reserve, provide valuable information for the comprehension of ecological adaptation of bonobos. With the application of recent methods of mammalian feeding ecology as well as comparative approaches in other great ape species, these studies allow us to draw conclusions on ape ecological adaptation and evolution.

Part Two of The Bonobos: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation focuses on conservation. In overview, local and global aspects of the factors threatening the wild bonobo population are reviewed. Here the outcomes of large-scale efforts within the functioning ecosystem conservation paradigm focus on three landscapes within the range of the bonobo: the Salonga-Lukenie-Sankuru Landscape, the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape, and the Lac Tele-Lac Tumba Swamp Forest Landscape, are presented. Papers in this part include the different aspects of various stakeholders and discuss the unique threats and actions taken to ensure bonobo survival. Pioneering the way, details from the first comprehensive assessment of bonobos in the Salonga National Park reveal a baseline from which to monitor future trends. Concerned about the indigenous' peoples aspects of conservation, an ethnographic study documents cultural, social, and economic practices for the purpose of reviving the local traditional knowledge to exemplify possible applications at the national level. To be inclusive of all aspects of range country concerns, the contributions of Kinshasa's bonobo sanctuary to national conservation efforts are presented. The outcome of these contributions taken together not only illuminate the current status of the bonobo but allow for critically designing the next steps for the continuation of its future.

The editors are Jo Myers Thompson and Takeshi Furuichi. Dr. Thompson currently works with the Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation and is involved in the Lukuru Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Dr. Furuichi is part of the Faculty of International Studies at Meiji-Gakuin University in Yokohama, Japan.

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In September 2005 an International Meeting on "Targeted Therapies in Cancer: Myth or Reality" was held in Milan. This successful Meeting was intended to represent a forum for scientists and clinicians working in cancer drug discovery and therapy to share their reflections and experiences on how the paradigm shift from empiricism to molecular targeted therapies is contributing to the translation of basic knowledge into new therapies for cancer patients. This book collects the contributions given by scientists and clinicians, from Academia and Industry, who participated to this Meeting.

We hope that this book contributes to improve our approach to cancer drug discovery and, ultimately, to find new, more efficacious and better tolerated drugs for cancer patients. It provides an overview of diverse approaches ranging from drug discovery to cellular therapy. Although this change in paradigm has been useful, its entry into the clinical arena was associates with unforeseen problems including the emergence of resistance, unexpected side effects and failures. Time is therefore ripe for a critical cultural reflection on the state of the art, prospects and limitations. Ultimately, is targeted therapy in cancer a myth or a reality?

This book surveys a wide variety of mathematical models of diffusion in the ecological context. It is written with the primary intent of providing scientists, particularly physicists but also biologists, with some background in the mathematics and physics of diffusion, and shows how they can be applied to ecological problems. The secondary intent is to provide a specialized textbook for graduate students who are interested in mathematical ecology. The reader is assumed to have a basic knowledge of probability and differential equations. Each chapter in this new edition has been substantially updated by appropriate leading researchers in the field, and contains much new material covering developments in the field in the last 20 years.

Cell biologists have recently come to understand that asymmetry of division is an important regulatory phenomenon in the fate of a cell. In adult organisms asymmetric divisions regulate the stem cell reservoir and are a source of the drift that contributes to aging. This book describes the phenomenon in different organisms and addresses its implications for the development of the organism, cell differentiation, human aging and the biology of cancers.

This is the first comprehensive book on Smad signal transduction. Forward looking reviews of Smads are provided in a series of 22 cutting-edge chapters.

The book is written for an audience with basic understanding of molecular and cell biology. This volume provides an in-depth review of a rapidly developing field and extensive cross-references between chapters are provided.

Skeletal muscle is the most abundant tissue of our body. Apart from its essential role in locomotion, it is also the body s main store of carbohydrate and protein as well as being one of the principal generators of heat. Its proper maintenance and function are, therefore, essential. A severe acute loss of muscle function is potentially lethal and the debilitating effects of chronic decline in mobility are commonplace experience, so repair and maintenance of the tissue must by both rapid and effective. Since the middle of the last century we have progressively built up a comprehensive descriptive model of the allied mechanisms that maintain our muscles at a size and strength appropriate to the functional demands upon them and that rapidly repair damaged muscles. This volume is an assemblage of the collective experience from the pick of major research groups investigating these aspects of muscle cell biology. The topics range from correlation of changes in pattern of gene expression with the histological sequence during a regenerative episode to the distinctive insult-specific patterns of structural and functional outcome at the other end of the spectrum. The middle ground who is doing what in this complex process constitutes the meat of this sandwich."

It has been established that TNF receptor associated factors (TRAFs) are critical signaling mediators for not only the TNF receptor superfamily, but also the interleukin-1 receptor/Toll-like receptor superfamily and the T-cell receptors. They play important roles in mammalian biology including embryonic development, innate and adaptive immune regulation and maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Agents that manipulate the signaling of these receptors are being used or showing promise towards the treatment and prevention of many human diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, coronary heart disease, transplantation rejection, insulin resistance, multiple organ failure and cancer.

TNF Receptor Associated Factors is the only literature that is entirely devoted to TRAFs. Almost every aspect of TRAF signaling is covered, including the different TRAF family members, their distinct biological functions, the TRAF structures, their modes of receptor recognition, the signaling mechanisms, and the roles of TRAFs in normal cellular functions and in viral infection. TNF Receptor Associated Factors is intended for a wide audience, including researchers in the field of TRAF signaling and students and postdoctoral fellows learning cell biology and cell signal transduction. This exciting new volume is up to date on the most recent advances in TRAF signal transduction.

Apoptosis, Cell Signaling, and Human Diseases: Molecular Mechanisms, Volumes 1 and 2, present a concise synthesis of recent developments in the understanding of both cell survival and apoptotic pathways. Particular attention is given to apoptosis in human diseases, such as different forms of cancer. These comprehensive volumes integrate the most innovative and current findings. The contributors are at the forefront of scientific discovery.

Michael P. Richards and Jean-Jacques Hublin The study of hominin diets, and especially how they have (primates, modern humans), (2) faunal and plant studies, (3) evolved throughout time, has long been a core research archaeology and paleoanthropology, and (4) isotopic studies. area in archaeology and paleoanthropology, but it is also This volume therefore presents research articles by most of becoming an important research area in other fields such as these participants that are mainly based on their presentations primatology, nutrition science, and evolutionary medicine. at the symposium. As can hopefully be seen in the volume, Although this is a fundamental research topic, much of the these papers provide important reviews of the current research research continues to be undertaken by specialists and there in these areas, as well as often present new research on dietary is, with some notable exceptions (e. g. , Stanford and Bunn, evolution. 2001; Ungar and Teaford, 2002; Ungar, 2007) relatively lit- In the section on modern studies Hohmann provides a tle interaction with other researchers in other fields. This is review of the diets of non-human primates, including an unfortunate, as recently it has appeared that different lines interesting discussion of the role of food-sharing amongst of evidence are causing similar conclusions about the major these primates. Snodgrass, Leonard, and Roberston provide issues of hominid dietary evolution (i. e.