Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Targeting and Delivery of Drugs and Genes provides an overview of the important aspects of nanomedicine in order to illustrate how to design and develop novel and effective drug delivery systems using nanotechnology. The book is organized into three sections, beginning with an introduction to nanomedicine and its associated issues. Section two discusses the latest technologies in nanomedicine, while the third section covers future developments and challenges in the field. By focusing on the design, synthesis, and application of a variety of nanocarriers in drug and gene delivery, this book provides pharmaceutical and materials science students, professors, clinical researchers, and industry scientists with a valuable resource aimed at tackling the challenges of delivering drugs and genes in a more targeted manner.

Inflammation is a biological response triggered by different stimuli that has in the body a potentially damaging effect. In certain conditions, such as injury or infection, inflammation is a normal, healthy response. However, inflammatory disorders that result in the immune system attacking the body's own cells or tissues may cause abnormal inflammation, which results in chronic pain, redness, swelling, stiffness, and damage to normal tissues. Mechanisms involved in promoting a number of different inflammatory disorders and their targeting for therapeutic benefit have been one of the hottest topics in last few decades. The two consecutive volumes (119 and 120) dedicated to this subject cover a wide spectrum of inflammatory disorders, mechanisms that are believed to cause them and different strategies for managing the inflammatory diseases.

Epigenomics in Health and Disease discusses the next generation sequencing technologies shaping our current knowledge with regards to the role of epigenetics in normal development, aging, and disease. It includes the consequences for diagnostics, prognostics, and disease-based therapies made possible by the study of the complete set of epigenetic modifications to the genetic material of human cells. With coverage pertinent to both basic biology and translational research, the book will be of particular interest for medical and bioscience researchers and students seeking current translational knowledge in epigenesis and epigenomics. Coverage includes the latest findings on epigenome-wide research in disease-based profiling, epidemiological implications, epigenome-wide epigenetic studies, the cancer epigenome, and other pervasive disease categories.

Genomics and Society; Ethical, Legal-Cultural, and Socioeconomic Implications is the first book to address the vast and thorny web of ELSI topics identified as core priorities of the NHGRI in 2011. The work addresses fundamental issues of biosociety and bioeconomy as the revolution in biology moves from research lab to healthcare system. Of particular interest to healthcare practitioners, bioethicists, and health economists, and of tangential interest to the gamut of applied social scientists investigating the societal impact of new medical paradigms, the work describes a myriad of issues around consent, confidentiality, rights, patenting, regulation, and legality in the new era of genomic medicine.

Protein Interactions as Targets in Drug Discovery, Volume 121, is dedicated to the design of therapeutics, both experimental and computational, that target protein interactions. Chapters in this new release include Trends in structure based drug design with protein targets, From fragment- to peptide-protein interaction: addressing the structural basis of binding using Supervised Molecular Dynamics (SuMD), Protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions: identification of potential inhibitors through computational analysis, Aromatic-aromatic interactions in protein-drug and protein-protein interactions, Role of protein-protein interaction in allosteric drug design within the human methyltransferome, and much more.

"Genomic Control Process" explores the biological phenomena around genomic regulatory systems that control and shape animal development processes, and which determine the nature of evolutionary processes that affect body plan. Unifying and simplifying the descriptions of development and evolution by focusing on the causality in these processes, it provides a comprehensive method of considering genomic control across diverse biological processes.

This book is essential for graduate researchers in genomics, systems biology and molecular biology seeking to understand deep biological processes which regulate the structure of animals during development. Covers a vast area of current biological research to produce a genome oriented regulatory bioscience of animal life Places gene regulation, embryonic and postembryonic development, and evolution of the body plan in a unified conceptual frameworkProvides the conceptual keys to interpret a broad developmental and evolutionary landscape with precise experimental illustrations drawn from contemporary literatureIncludes a range of material, from developmental phenomenology to quantitative and logic models, from phylogenetics to the molecular biology of gene regulation, from animal models of all kinds to evidence of every relevant typeDemonstrates the causal power of system-level understanding of genomic control process
Conceptually organizes a constellation of complex and diverse biological phenomenaInvestigates fundamental developmental control system logic in diverse circumstances and expresses these in conceptual modelsExplores mechanistic evolutionary processes, illuminating the evolutionary consequences of developmental control systems as they are encoded in the genome"

Pharmacoepigenetics provides a comprehensive volume on the role of epigenetics and epigenomics in drug discovery and development, providing a detailed, but accessible, view of the field, from basic principles, to applications in disease therapeutics. Leading international researchers from across academia, clinical settings and the pharmaceutical industry discuss the influence of epigenetics and epigenomics in human pathology, epigenetic biomarkers for disease prediction, diagnosis, and treatment, current epigenetic drugs, and the application of epigenetic procedures in drug development. Throughout the book, chapter authors offer a balanced and objective discussion of the future of pharmacoepigenetics and its crucial contribution to the growth of precision and personalized medicine.

Information is central to the evolution of biological complexity, a physical system relying on a continuous supply of energy. Biology provides superb examples of the consequent Darwinian selection of mechanisms for efficient energy utilisation. Genetic information, underpinned by the Watson-Crick base-pairing rules is largely encoded by DNA, a molecule uniquely adapted to its roles in information storage and utilisation.This volume addresses two fundamental questions. Firstly, what properties of the molecule have enabled it to become the predominant genetic material in the biological world today and secondly, to what extent have the informational properties of the molecule contributed to the expansion of biological diversity and the stability of ecosystems. The author argues that bringing these two seemingly unrelated topics together enables Schroedinger's What is Life?, published before the structure of DNA was known, to be revisited and his ideas examined in the context of our current biological understanding.

"Genome Transcriptome and Proteome Analysis" is a concise introduction to the subject, successfully bringing together these three key areas of research. Starting with a revision of molecular genetics the book offers clear explanations of the tools and techniques widely used in genome, transcriptome and proteome analysis. Subsequent chapters offer a broad overview of linkage maps, physical maps and genome sequencing, with a final discussion on the identification of genes responsible for disease. An invaluable introduction to the basic concepts of the subject, this text offers the student an excellent overview of current research methods and applications and is a good starting point for those new to the area. It gives a clear, concise introduction to the subject of modern genomic analysis. It provides a technology-oriented approach including the latest developments in the field. It is invaluable to those students taking courses in Bioinformatics, Human Genetics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

DNA Repair, Volume 115, the latest release in the Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology series, provides an overview of current developments in mechanisms underlying DNA repair, their involvement in maintaining chromatin repair, the balance between chromosome breaks repair pathways, tumorigenesis, immune signaling and infection-induced inflammation. Specific chapters cover the Structure and function of the multi-subunit TFIIH with insights into nucleotide excision repair, Chromatin repair: how DNA packaging controls double-strand break repair, Controlling the balance between chromosome breaks repair pathways, The targeting of DNA repair pathways in the era of precision oncology, and much more.

This manual is an indispensable tool for introducing advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students to the techniques of recombinant DNA technology, or gene cloning and expression. The techniques used in basic research and biotechnology laboratories are covered in detail. Students gain hands-on experience from start to finish in subcloning a gene into an expression vector, through purification of the recombinant protein.
The second edition has been completely re-written, with new laboratory exercises and all new illustrations and text, designed for a typical 15-week semester, rather than a 4-week intensive course. The project approach to experiments was maintained: students still follow a cloning project through to completion, culminating in the purification of recombinant protein. It takes advantage of the enhanced green fluorescent protein-students can actually visualize positive clones following IPTG induction.
*Cover basic concepts and techniques used in molecular biology research labs
*Student-tested labs proven successful in a real classroom laboratories
*Exercises simulate a cloning project that would be performed in a real research lab
*"Project" approach to experiments gives students an overview of the entire process
*Prep-list appendix contains necessary recipes and catalog numbers, providing staff with detailed instructions"

The DNA of all organisms is constantly being damaged by endogenous and exogenous sources. Oxygen metabolism generates reactive species that can damage DNA, proteins and other organic compounds in living cells. Exogenous sources include ionizing and ultraviolet radiations, carcinogenic compounds and environmental toxins among others. The discovery of multiple DNA lesions and DNA repair mechanisms showed the involvement of DNA damage and DNA repair in the pathogenesis of many human diseases, most notably cancer. These books provide a comprehensive overview of the interdisciplinary area of DNA damage and DNA repair, and their relevance to disease pathology. Edited by recognised leaders in the field, this two-volume set is an appealing resource to a variety of readers including chemists, chemical biologists, geneticists, cancer researchers and drug discovery scientists.

DNA methylation is a cryptic phenomenon that invokes the methylation of the cytosines in nuclear DNA and is responsible for a wide variety of essential processes, starting from cellular differentiation (embryogenesis), transposon silencing, miRNA dependent methylation and gene regulation. This book presents an overview of different aspects of DNA methylation with a focus on its basic principles and mechanisms and gene silencing. Also discussed, is the role of DNA methylation in plants; epigenetic control of circadian clock operation; photoperiodic flowering; and DNA methylation in cancer and its role in multiple sclerosis.

DNA technology is evolving rapidly, with new methods and a fast-growing vocabulary. This unique dictionary offers current, detailed and accessible information on DNA technology to lecturers, researchers and students throughout the biomedical and related sciences.

The third edition is a major update, with over 3000 references from mainstream journals and data from the very latest research - going well beyond the remit of most science dictionaries. It provides clear explanations of terms, techniques, and tests, including commercial systems, with detailed coverage of many important procedures and methods, and includes essay-style entries on many major topics to assist newcomers to the field. It covers topics relevant to medicine (diagnosis, genetic disorders, gene therapy); veterinary science; biotechnology; biochemistry; pharmaceutical science/drug development; molecular biology; microbiology; epidemiology; genomics; environmental science; plant science/agriculture; taxonomy; and forensic science.

Modern DNA microarray technologies have evolved over the past 25 years to the point where it is now possible to take many million measurements from a single experiment. These two volumes, Parts A & B in the Methods in Enzymology series provide methods that will shepard any molecular biologist through the process of planning, performing, and publishing microarray results.
Part A starts with an overview of a number of microarray platforms, both commercial and academically produced and includes wet bench protocols for performing traditional expression analysis and derivative techniques such as detection of transcription factor occupancy and chromatin status. Wet-bench protocols and troubleshooting techniques continue into Part B. These techniques are well rooted in traditional molecular biology and while they require traditional care, a researcher that can reproducibly generate beautiful Northern or Southern blots should have no difficulty generating beautiful array hybridizations.
Data management is a more recent problem for most biologists. The bulk of Part B provides a range of techniques for data handling. This includes critical issues, from normalization within and between arrays, to uploading your results to the public repositories for array data, and how to integrate data from multiple sources. There are chapters in Part B for both the debutant and the expert bioinformatician.
- Provides an overview of platforms
- Includes experimental design and wet bench protocols
- Presents statistical and data analysis methods, array databases, data visualization and meta analysis

This book is dedicated to the multiple aspects, that is, biological, physical and computational of DNA and RNA molecules. These molecules, central to vital processes, have been experimentally studied by molecular biologists for five decades since the discovery of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953. Recent progresses (e.g. use of DNA chips, manipulations at the single molecule level, availability of huge genomic databases...) have revealed an imperious need for theoretical modelling. Further progresses will clearly not be possible without an integrated understanding of all DNA and RNA aspects and studies.

The book is intended to be a desktop reference for advanced graduate students or young researchers willing to acquire a broad interdisciplinary understanding of the multiple aspects of DNA and RNA. It is divided in three main sections:

The first section comprises an introduction to biochemistry and biology of nucleic acids. The structure and function of DNA are reviewed in R. Lavery's chapter. The next contribution, by V. Fritsch and E. Westhof, concentrates on the folding properties of RNA molecules. The cellular processes involving these molecules are reviewed by J. Kadonaga, with special emphasis on the regulation of transcription. These chapters does not require any preliminary knowledge in the field (except that of elementary biology and chemistry).

The second section covers the biophysics of DNA and RNA, starting with basics in polymer physics in the contribution by R. Khokhlov. A large space is then devoted to the presentation of recent experimental and theoretical progresses in the field of single molecule studies. T. Strick's contribution presents a detailed description of the various micro-manipulation techniques, and reviews recent experiments on the interactions between DNA and proteins (helicases, topoisomerases, ...). The theoretical modeling of single molecules is presented by J. Marko, with a special attention paid to the elastic and topological properties of DNA. Finally, advances in the understanding of electrophoresis, a technique of crucial importance in everyday molecular biology, are exposed in T. Duke's contribution.

The third section presents provides an overview of the main computational approaches to integrate, analyse and simulate molecular and genetic networks. First, J. van Helden introduces a series of statistical and computational methods allowing the identification of short nucleic fragments putatively involved in the regulation of gene expression from sets of promoter sequences controlling co-expressed genes. Next, the chapter by Samsonova et al. connects this issue of transcriptional regulation with that of the control of cell differentiation and pattern formation during embryonic development. Finally, H. de Jong and D. Thieffry review a series of mathematical approaches to model the dynamical behaviour of complex genetic regulatory networks. This contribution includes brief descriptions and references to successful applications of these approaches, including the work of B. Novak, on the dynamical modelling of cell cycle in different model organisms, from yeast to mammals.

. Provides a comprehensive overview of the structure and function of DNA and RNA at the interface between physics, biology and information science.

Intracellular Signalling Proteins, Volume 116, presents an overview of the current developments in mechanisms of intracellular signaling and involvement of these mechanisms in the development of a number of disorders and diseases. Opportunities for targeting the intracellular signaling cascades for benefiting patients are also discussed, along with chapters that focus on Voices from the Dead: The Complex Language of Dead Cells, Nucleobindins and Encoded Peptides: From Cell Signalling to Physiology, Estrogen Receptor Signaling Mechanisms, Intracellular Signaling of the AMP-Activating Protein Kinase, the Relationship between Mitofusin 2 and Cancer, Molecular Signaling in Bone Cells: Regulation Cell Differentiation and Survival, and more.

This book explores the current status of proteomics, an exciting new discipline, which is less than 10 years old. This new field has rapidly grown into a major commercial and research enterprise with great prospects for dramatically advancing our knowledge of basic biological and disease processes. The contributors to this book are an international panel of proteomics experts, who review and discuss the current status of specific technologies and approaches.
Proteomics represents an exciting new way to pursue biological and biomedical science at an unprecedented pace. Proteomics takes a broad, comprehensive, systematic approach to understanding biology that is generally unbiased and not dependent upon existing knowledge. The major components of proteomics from basic discovery using a range of alternative analytical methods to discovery validation and use for clinical applications are discussed. State-of-the-art protein profiling methods include high resolution two-dimensional gels, two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis, LC-MS and LC-MS/MS using accurate mass tags, and protein identifications of proteins from gels using mass spectrometry methods are discussed in depth. Other chapters describe comprehensive characterization of proteomes using electrophoretic prefractionation and analyses of sub-proteomes based on specific posttranslational modifications including the phospho-proteome, the glyco-proteome, and nitrated proteins. These conventional proteome analysis chapters are complemented by discussion of emerging technologies and approaches such as affinity based biosensor proteomics as well as the use of protein microarrays, microfluidics and nanotechnology. Strategies for improving throughput by automation are also discussed. Additional chapters address the application of current proteome techniques to clinical problems and the availability of protein expression library resources for proteome studies.
. Authored by international experts in the field
. Covers a wide range of topics including 2-D gels, global proteomics using accurate mass tags, global proteomics using electrophoretic prefractionation, microfluidics, and nanotechnology
. Includes state-of-the-art protein profiling methods, and emerging technologies"

This series encompasses design, synthesis, application, and analytical methods (including clinical and in vitro) for the study of these critical interactions. As our understanding of the genome and proteome expands, general developments in the field of DNA sequence specific interaction are likely to play an increasingly important role. Accordingly, manuscripts have been solicited from experts covering a diverse range of fields, reflecting the cross-disciplinary and dynamic nature of the series.

Volume 4 describes work on the modification of DNA by AT specific anticancer drugs, DNA alkylation events which involve metabolite generation, DNA sequence recognition by two selective binders, bulged DNA microenvironments as molecular targets, DNA sequence specific binding by short peptides and the analysis of DNA-protein interactions using DNase I footprinting methodology.

Features include:
Expert contributors from the Biomedical world
Emerging areas of drug design and therapeutic applications
Nucleic acid-protein interactions
Color graphics of molecular modeling analyses
New and emerging methodologies
"

This book provides a practical guide to current methods for profiling and interpreting genomic alterations in tumors. Chapters detail methods to interrogate DNA variation, RNA expression, and epigenetic changes using both next-generation sequencing and microarray techniques, common bioinformatics and annotation tools to glean relevant driver genomic events, and different performance characteristics as well as quality metrics necessary for the robust validation of tumor profiling as a diagnostic test for medical laboratories. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Tumor Profiling: Methods and Protocols aims to be a useful resource for learning about technical details, applications, and strengths and limitations of the latest technologies as applied to this increasingly important field.

The second edition of Horizontal Gene Transfer has been organized to provide a concise and up-to-date coverage of the most important discoveries in this fascinating field. Written by the most prominent gene transfer and genome analytical scientists, this book details experimental evidence for the phenomenon of horizontal gene transfer and discusses further evidence provided by the recent completion of genomic sequences from Archea, Bacteria, and Eucarya members. The relevance of horizontal gene transfer to plant and metazoan taxonomy, GM foods, antibiotic resistance, paleontology, and phylogenetic reconstruction is also explored. Horizontal Gene Transfer is essential for microbiologists, geneticists, biochemists, evolutionary biologists, infectious disease specialists, paleontologists, ecologists, and researchers working in plant/animal systematics and agriculture with an interest in gene transfer. This includes scientific researchers from government and industry concerned with the release of genetically modified organisms.
Up-to-the-minute reviews, maps, conclusions, urls to relevant websites and colour figures.
Unique chapters, for example one written by paleontologists presents data for horizontal gene transfer from fingerprints form the fossil record.

The use of DNA arrays and proteomics will transform the scale of our ability to describe the patterns of gene expression as bacteria respond to their environments. However, the ability to control bacteria in a clinical context or exploit them in industrial or environmental contexts also depends on understanding the regulatory mechanisms which connect input experience to output response at the genetic level. This book deals with our current knowledge of the circuits and networks that govern bacterial gene expression--from the single gene to the whole genome--and which provide the framework for explaining the data from the post genomics revolution.

Sociogenomics has rapidly become one of the trendiest sciences of the new millennium. Practitioners view human nature and life outcomes as the result of genetic and social factors. In Social by Nature, Catherine Bliss recognizes the promise of this interdisciplinary young science, but also questions its implications for the future. As she points out, the claim that genetic similarities cause groups of people to behave in similar ways is not new-and a dark history of eugenics warns us of its dangers. Over the last decade, sociogenomics has enjoyed a largely uncritical rise to prominence and acceptance in popular culture. Researchers have published studies showing that things like educational attainment, gang membership, and life satisfaction are encoded in our DNA long before we say our first word. Strangely, unlike the racial debates over IQ scores in the '70s and '90s, sociogenomics has not received any major backlash. By exposing the shocking parallels between sociogenomics and older, long-discredited, sciences, Bliss persuasively argues for a more thoughtful public reception of any study that reduces human nature to a mere sequence of genes. This book is a powerful call for researchers to approach their work in more socially responsible ways, and a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand the scholarship that impacts how we see ourselves and our society.

Womb transplant babies 'within three years.''If implantable wombs become a reality in humans, they need not be confined to women. Some men might also be keen.' Guardian, July 2003Having exhausted the possibilities for geographic colonial expansion, as well as reaching the fiscal limitations of virtual space, capital is now concentrated on exploiting a new frontier -- organic molecular space. Critical Art Ensemble began mapping this development in Flesh Machine (Autonomedia, 1998) by examining the use of reproductive technologies and their promise for achieving an intensified degree of control over worker and citizen. The Molecular Invasion acts as a companion to this first book by mapping the politics of transgenics, and offering a model for the creation of a contestational biology, as well as providing direct interventionist tactics for the disruption of this new assault on the organic realm. The Molecular Invasion is an indispensable user's guide for anyone interested in the critical thinking and practice of biotech as a social, scientific, and political phenomenon.