This new edition of a foundational text presents a contemporary review of cladistics, as applied to biological classification. It provides a comprehensive account of the past fifty years of discussion on the relationship between classification, phylogeny and evolution. It covers cladistics in the era of molecular data, detailing new advances and ideas that have emerged over the last twenty-five years. Written in an accessible style by internationally renowned authors in the field, readers are straightforwardly guided through fundamental principles and terminology. Simple worked examples and easy-to-understand diagrams also help readers navigate complex problems that have perplexed scientists for centuries. This practical guide is an essential addition for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in taxonomy, systematics, comparative biology, evolutionary biology and molecular biology.

As the amount of information in biology expands dramatically, it becomes increasingly important for textbooks to distill the vast amount of scientific knowledge into concise principles and enduring concepts.As with previous editions, Molecular Biology of the Cell, Sixth Edition accomplishes this goal with clear writing and beautiful illustrations. The Sixth Edition has been extensively revised and updated with the latest research in the field of cell biology, and it provides an exceptional framework for teaching and learning. The entire illustration program has been greatly enhanced.Protein structures better illustrate structure-function relationships, icons are simpler and more consistent within and between chapters, and micrographs have been refreshed and updated with newer, clearer, or better images. As a new feature, each chapter now contains intriguing openended questions highlighting "What We Don't Know," introducing students to challenging areas of future research. Updated end-of-chapter problems reflect new research discussed in the text, and these problems have been expanded to all chapters by adding questions on developmental biology, tissues and stem cells, pathogens, and the immune system.

The question of why an individual would actively kill itself has long been an evolutionary mystery. Pierre M. Durand's ambitious book answers this question through close inspection of life and death in the earliest cellular life. As Durand shows us, cell death is a fascinating lens through which to examine the interconnectedness, in evolutionary terms, of life and death. It is a truism to note that one does not exist without the other, but just how does this play out in evolutionary history? These two processes have been studied from philosophical, theoretical, experimental, and genomic angles, but no one has yet integrated the information from these various disciplines. In this work, Durand synthesizes cellular studies of life and death looking at the origin of life and the evolutionary significance of programmed cellular death. The exciting and unexpected outcome of Durand's analysis is the realization that life and death exhibit features of coevolution. The evolution of more complex cellular life depended on the coadaptation between traits that promote life and those that promote death. In an ironic twist, it becomes clear that, in many circumstances, programmed cell death is essential for sustaining life.

This text features lively, clear writing and exceptional illustrations, making it the ideal textbook for a first course in both cell and molecular biology. Thoroughly revised and updated, the Fifth Edition maintains its focus on the latest cell biology research. For the first time ever, Essential Cell Biology will come with access to Smartwork5, Norton's innovative online homework platform, creating a more complete learning experience.

This multidisciplinary book provides up-to-date information on clinical approaches that combine stem or progenitor cells, biomaterials and scaffolds, growth factors, and other bioactive agents in order to offer improved treatment of urologic disorders including lower urinary tract dysfunction, urinary incontinence, neurogenic bladder, and erectile dysfunction. In providing clinicians and researchers with a broad perspective on the development of regenerative medicine technologies, it will assist in the dissemination of both regenerative medicine principles and a variety of exciting therapeutic options. After an opening section addressing current developments and future perspectives in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, fundamentals such as cell technologies, biomaterials, bioreactors, bioprinting, and decellularization are covered in detail. The remainder of the book is devoted to the description and evaluation of a range of cell and tissue applications, with individual chapters focusing on the kidney, bladder, urethra, urethral sphincter, and penis and testis.

Together with Volume 1, this book provides an inclusive overview of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and offers comprehensive insights into related clinical and therapeutic aspects. This second volume complements the first by presenting and concisely explaining the carcinogenesis of various tumor entities such as non-melanoma skin cancers, bone and soft tissue tumors, pancreatic cancers, hepatocellular cancer and neuroendocrine tumors. As in volume one, each chapter illuminates the similarities and dissimilarities of changed signaling pathways in the different organ systems and depicts potential therapeutic strategies. The focus of volume two lies on the presentation of modern molecular biological techniques for diagnosis, as well as strategies for biomarker identification and validation. Furthermore, it discusses potential therapeutic targets and individualized treatment strategies, offering a valuable resource for all basic scientists and medical researchers interested in translational cancer research.

What every neuroscientist should know about the mathematical modeling of excitable cells. Combining empirical physiology and nonlinear dynamics, this text provides an introduction to the simulation and modeling of dynamic phenomena in cell biology and neuroscience. It introduces mathematical modeling techniques alongside cellular electrophysiology. Topics include membrane transport and diffusion, the biophysics of excitable membranes, the gating of voltage and ligand-gated ion channels, intracellular calcium signalling, and electrical bursting in neurons and other excitable cell types. It introduces mathematical modeling techniques such as ordinary differential equations, phase plane, and bifurcation analysis of single-compartment neuron models. With analytical and computational problem sets, this book is suitable for life sciences majors, in biology to neuroscience, with one year of calculus, as well as graduate students looking for a primer on membrane excitability and calcium signalling.

This pioneering book offers an introduction to photodynamic therapy, a promising new approach in the treatment of complex diseases like cancer and microbial infections in animals. Addressing all aspects, ranging from basics to clinical practice, it presents the history and fundamentals of photodynamic therapy for non-experts. It includes a collection of basic and clinical studies in cancer and infectious diseases, as well as illustrations of successful treatment procedures and future perspectives and innovative applications involving nanotechnology and advanced drug delivery. This valuable resource offers readers insights into how the therapy works and how to apply it effectively in daily practice.

This book covers basic research topics such as the structure-function relationships of neuropilins and mechanisms of neuropilin-mediated signal transduction, details the most important roles of the neuropilins in developmental biology, and addresses their roles in various conditions such as cancer and various eye diseases. The two neuropilin genes encode scaffold receptors that can bind several different ligands, and also associate with many other receptors and modify their activity. Further, it has been confirmed that they play important roles in the shaping of major organs and tissues such as the nervous system and the vascular system, and that they can modulate immune responses. The book offers a helpful guide for biomedical researchers and all scientists active in the neurosciences, vascular and molecular biology, as well as developmental biology and immunology.

This book is a compilation of various chapters contributed by a group of leading researchers from different countries and covering up to date information based on published reports and personal experience of authors in the field of cytogenetics. Beginning with the introduction of chromosome, the subsequent chapters on organization of genetic material, karyotype evolution, structural and numerical variations in chromosomes, B-chromosomes and chromosomal aberrations provide an in-depth knowledge and easy understanding of the subject matter. A special feature of the book is the inclusion of a series of chapters on various types of chromosomal aberrations and their impact on breeding behaviour and crop improvement. The possible mechanism, their consequences and role in genetic analysis has been emphasized in these chapters. A few chapters have also been dedicated on various techniques routinely used in the laboratory by students and researchers. Each chapter ends with an extensive bibliography so that the students and researchers may find it relevant to consult more literature on the subject than a book of this size can offer. The book is intended to fulfill the needs of undergraduate and post graduate students of botany, zoology and agriculture besides, teachers and researchers engaged in the field of genetics, cytogenetics, and molecular genetics. In general the readers will find each chapter of the book informative and easy to understand.

Many creatures use adhesive polymers and structures to attach to inert substrates, to each other, or to other organisms. This is the first major review that brings together research on many of the well-known biological adhesives dealing with bacteria, fungi, algae, and marine and terrestrial animals. As we learn more about their molecular and mechanical properties we begin to understand why they adhere so well and with this comes broad applications in areas such as medicine, dentistry, and biotechnology.

Emphasis is placed on the elaborate cuticular matrices in insects and crustaceans, spider and insect silks, sialomes of phytophagous and blood-feeding arthropods as well as on secretions of male and female accessory glands. Focus is placed largely on insects, due to the extensive body of published research that in part is the result of available whole genome sequences of several model species (in particular Drosophila melanogaster) and accessible ESTs for other species. Such advances have facilitated fundamental insights into genomic, proteomic and molecular biology-based physiology. This new volume contains comprehensive contributions on extracellular composite matrices in arthropods. The building blocks of such matrices are formed in and secreted by single layered epithelial cells into exterior domains where their final assembly takes place.Additionally, the unique mechanical properties of natural biocomposites like chitin/chitosan, the crustacean mineralized exoskeleton, the pliant protein resilin or insect and spider silks, have inspired basic and applied research that yield sophistical biomimetics and structural biocomposite hybrids important for future industrial and biomedical use. In summary, this book provides an invaluable vast source of basic and applied information for a plethora of scientists as well as textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate students.

This book is a collection of cutting-edge studies on the functions and mechanisms of glycosylation in cancers. Along with progress in genomics and proteomics, new findings in the significance of these complex carbohydrates, through the regulation of cell signals, have been elucidated in a wide variety of biological events. This volume provides a comprehensive summary of glycosignals and their involvement in cancer, covering numerous topics such as glycosylation machineries, regulation of phenotypes, cell signaling, immune regulation, complex carbohydrate organization, and clinical applications. The contents have been organized to promote ready understanding, covering basic to clinical research and studies on micromolecules, to animal/human cells and tissues. This book is an essential read for students and young researchers interested in cancers and carbohydrates. Specialists in glycobiology will also benefit from the new results and approaches detailed here, which provide insights into future directions of functional studies of sugar chains in both basic and applied research.

Understanding Immunology is a well-established introduction to this complex subject for readers with no previous exposure. It is aimed primarily at undergraduates in biological sciences, biomedical sciences and medicine. The selection and order of topic coverage is designed to instruct effectively, and a variety of boxed examples add depth and historical context for those readers wanting to go beyond the essentials.

Computational cell biology courses are increasingly obligatory for biology students around the world but of course also a must for mathematics and informatics students specializing in bioinformatics. This book, now in its second edition is geared towards both audiences. The author, Volkhard Helms, has, in addition to extensive teaching experience, a strong background in biology and informatics and knows exactly what the key points are in making the book accessible for students while still conveying in depth knowledge of the subject. Besides a greatly increased focus on RNA biology and epigenetics, new topics such as intracellular trafficking, particle tracking, and more cellular programs e.g. circadian rhythms, apoptosis and cell differentiation, have been included. In addition, the book features supplementary material on the web including slides for presentations.

Genome Duplication provides a comprehensive and readable overview of the underlying principles that govern genome duplication in all forms of life, from the simplest cell to the most complex multicellular organism.
Using examples from the three domains of life - bacteria, archaea, and eukarya - Genome Duplication shows how all living organisms store their genome as DNA and how they all use the same evolutionary-conserved mechanism to duplicate it: semi-conservative DNA replication by the replication fork. The text shows how the replication fork determines where organisms begin genome duplication, how they produce a complete copy of their genome each time a cell divides, and how they link genome duplication to cell division.
Genome Duplication explains how mistakes in genome duplication are associated with genetic disorders and cancer, and how understanding genome duplication, its regulation, and how the mechanisms differ between different forms of life, is critical to the understanding and treatment of human disease.

A cell, whose spatial extent is small compared with a surrounding flow, can develop inside a vortex. Such cells, often referred to as vortex breakdown bubbles, provide stable and clean flame in combustion chambers; they also reduce the lift force of delta wings. This book analyzes cells in slow and fast, one- and two-fluid flows and describes the mechanisms of cell generation: (a) minimal energy dissipation, (b) competing forces, (c) jet entrainment, and (d) swirl decay. The book explains the vortex breakdown appearance, discusses its features, and indicates means of its control. Written in acceptable, non-math-heavy format, it stands to be a useful learning tool for engineers working with combustion chambers, chemical and biological reactors, and delta-wing designs.

Gap junction channels are a group of intercellular channels expressed in tissues and organs to synchronize many physiological processes. A gap junction channel is formed by the docking of two hemichannels, and each hemichannel is a hexamer of connexins. The field of gap junction channel and hemichannel research has recently exploded and became one of the most active areas of cell biology. Numerous novel approaches and techniques have been developed, but there is no single book dedicated to the unique techniques and protocols employed for the research on these large pore channels. This book fills the gap and focuses on protocols, approaches and reviews of gap junction channels and connexin hemichannels. It will be a useful reference for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers. Anyone with an interest in gap junction channels and hemichannels will need this summary of state-of-the-art techniques and protocols.

How are sights and sounds and smells converted into electrical signals in a form that can be interpreted by the nervous system? Although this process, called sensory transduction, began to be understood only relatively recently, so much progress has been made that it is now possible to say at least in outline (but in most cases in remarkable detail) how transduction occurs for all of the major sense organs of the body. Since the first edition was published in 2003, many new experiments have radically changed some of our previously-held views.This new edition fulfils the book's original aims, both as an accessible textbook and a general introduction to the senses, by bringing the contents fully up to date with the new information acquired over the last 15 years. In so doing, it continues to provide a comprehensive survey of one of the greatest achievements of modern biology and neuroscience - the unravelling of the mechanism of sensation. Sensory Transduction is written for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers in neurophysiology and sensory neuroscience. It is also of relevance and use to a broader audience of neuro, evolutionary, integrative, and comparative biologists.

This volume details a comprehensive range of methods for imaging epithelial-to-mesechymal transition (EMT)/MET in in vivo systems, and methods to leverage these systems to dissect the underlying mechanisms. Chapters guide readers through studying different features of epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity, past and future research of the EMT, in vivo systems, and in vivo imaging. 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, The Epithelial-to Mesenchymal Transition: Methods and Protocols aims to provide methods in EMT will help to unite and drive research in this exciting field forwards.

This book provides broad coverage of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy-based methods and applications for the analysis of metabolites in a wide range of biological samples, from biofluids, cells, animal models, human, to plants and foods. The applications range from mechanistic understanding, biomarker discovery, environmental studies, and drug discovery to nutrition, while NMR methods include global, targeted, and isotope tracer-based techniques. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, 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 practical, NMR-Based Metabolomics: Methods and Protocols serves as a wealth of information for beginners as well as advanced practitioners and also as stepping stones for further advances in the field of metabolomics.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. This book contains a selection of chapters aimed to provide a better understanding prion structure and biology. Together these chapters provide an overview of prion biology and underscore some of the challenges we face if we want to understand how this lively pathogen propagates and evolves in mammals. There is also mounting evidence that studying prion biology has a wider relevance due to similarities in the processes of protein misfolding and aggregation between prion disorders and other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases.