Written and edited by leaders in the field, " Eosinophils in Health and Disease" provides immunology researchers and students with a comprehensive overview of current thought and cutting-edge eosinophil research, providing chapters on basic science, disease-specific issues, therapeutics, models for study and areas of emerging importance. Despite an explosion of discovery in this area over the last decade, this is the onlyup-to-date resource on eosinophils and eosinophilia exists. This full-color volumeprovides an essential collection of world class information that is a must-have for any immunologist s workbench or bookshelf.
The only updated, comprehensive source of information on eosinophils on the market
Written by over 80 leaders in the field Holistic view of the subject, including basic science, disease-specific chapters, therapeutic options and emerging areas of research"

This volume of Current Topics in Membranes focuses on metal transmembrane transporters and pumps, a recently discovered family of membrane proteins with many important roles in the physiology of living organisms. The book summarizes the most recent advances in the field of metal ion transport and provides a broad overview of the major classes of transporters involved in homeostasis of heavy metals. Various families of the transporters and metal specificities are discussed with the focus on the structural and mechanistic aspects of their function and regulation. The reader will access information obtained through a variety of approaches ranging from X-ray crystallography to cell biology and bioinformatics, which have been applied to transporters identified in diverse biological systems, such as pathogenic bacteria, plants, humans and others.
Field is cutting-edge and a lot of the information is new to research community

Wide breadth of topic coverage

Contributors of high renown and expertise

This new volume of Current Topics in Developmental Biology covers the area of Planar Cell Polaritywith contributions from an international board of authors. The 12 chapters provide a comprehensive set of reviews covering such topics as PCP in Zebra fish, the role of Dishevelled in PCP regulation, and PCP in axon pathfinding.
Covers the area of planar cell polarityInternational board of authors12 chapters provide a comprehensive set of reviews covering such topics as planar cell polarity in Zebrafish, the role of disheveled in planar cell polarity regulation, and planar cell polarity in axon path finding"

Cell biology spans among the widest diversity of methods in the biological sciences. From physical chemistry to microscopy, cells have given up with secrets only when the questions are asked in the right way This new volume of "Methods in Cell Biology" covers laboratory methods in cell biology, and includes methods that are among the most important and elucidating in the discipline, such as transfection, cell enrichment and magnetic batch separation.

Covers the most important laboratory methods in cell biology Chapters written by experts in their fields
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The discovery and genetic engineering of fluorescent proteins has revolutionized cell biology. What was previously invisible in the cell often can be made visible with the use of fluorescent proteins. In Vivo Cellular Imaging Using Fluorescent Proteins: Methods and Protocols presents state-of-the-art research that has contributed to the fluorescent protein revolution to visualize biological processes in the live animal. This volume covers an array of topics from the employment of the chick CAM model using fluorescent proteins and other fluorescent probes, to intravital fluorescent imaging, as well as 3-dimensional imaging, and design instructions on how to create new and improved far-red and infrared fluorescent proteins, to name a few. Written in the 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 protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, In Vivo Cellular Imaging Using Fluorescent Proteins: Methods and Protocols is the first volume in the new field of in vivo cell biology and it serves both professionals and novices with its well-honed methodologies.

With today's ever growing economic and ecological problems, wood as a raw material takes on increasing significance as the most important renewable source of energy and as industrial feedstock for numerous products. Its chemical and anatomical structure and the excellent properties that result allow wood to be processed into the most diverse products; from logs to furniture and veneers, and from wood chippings to wooden composites and paper. The aim of this book is to review advances in research on the cellular aspects of cambial growth and wood formation in trees over recent decades. The book is divided into two major parts. The first part covers the basic process of wood biosynthesis, focusing on five major steps that are involved in this process: cell division, cell expansion, secondary cell wall formation, programmed cell death and heartwood formation. The second part of the book deals with the regulation of wood formation by endogenous and exogenous factors. On the endogenous level the emphasis is placed on two aspects: control of wood formation by phytohormones and by molecular mechanisms. Apart from endogenous factors, various exogenous effects (such as climate factors) are involved in wood formation. Due to modern microscopic as well as molecular techniques, the understanding of wood formation has progressed significantly over the last decade. Emphasizing the cellular aspects, this book first gives an overview of the basic process of wood formation, before it focuses on factors involved in the regulation of this process.

Cellular and Molecular Control of Neuronal Migration provides an up-to-date collection of reviews on the molecular and cellular principles of neuronal migration in the mammalian brain. Over the last decades a rich catalogue of signaling molecules controlling neuronal migration has been compiled, and within this book an international panel of experts provides up-to-date discussions of the state of knowledge how these distinct signaling pathways regulate various aspects of neuronal migration. This book introduces the reader to the latest discoveries and concepts of neuronal migration enabled through the application of most sophisticated methods and cutting edge experimental approaches. Cellular and Molecular Control of Neuronal Migration also provides an update on the underlying cellular and molecular basis of neurodevelopmental migration disorders in human patients for all interested neuroscientists and clinicians.

The discovery of vitamins in the early 1900s, their later chemical characterization and the clarification of pivotal metabolic functions are sequential aspects of a brilliant chapter in the history of modern nutritional sciences and medicine. The name, derived from "vital-amines", indicates their elementary metabolic key functions in human metabolism. Vitamins are truly families of compounds, which include precursors and various free and bound forms, all with individual roles in metabolism and function. A more recent approach therefore searches for the components, the understanding of their roles in physiology and pathology as well as looking for novel pharmacological applications. When used properly, vitamins are, indeed, "magical" substances. Due to their efficacy, they should therefore be regarded as drugs with effects and side effects to be weighted against each other. Today, it is not the previously fatal deficiency-associated diseases that are in the focus of interest, but rather the relation of suboptimal vitamin bioavailability to chronic disease. This is complicated by genetic susceptibility, lifestyle, and the presence or absence of health-compromising habits, such as smoking. In turn, the development and application of new and more sensitive and specific assays further enable us to look more closely into the many functions of vitamins. Water soluble vitamins are complex molecular structures and even today, many areas in vitamin biochemistry are not yet fully understood. Novel effects and functions of vitamins remain and continue to be discovered. This book presents most recent research results and fascinating new knowledge on the role and effects of the water soluble vitamins in man. Some of the most distinguished chemists, biochemists, biologists and clinicians have contributed valuable chapters sharing unexpected novel insights into the biochemistry, (epi)genetics, metabolism, and function of water soluble vitamins, with their potential for clinical applications. Thus, physicians, clinicians, scientists, researchers, epidemiologists. nutritional specialists and health professionals alike will find stimulating and fascinating new insight in the many roles that water soluble vitamins play in human health and disease.

This volume is the proceedings of the International Conference on Inhibin, Activin: Recent Advances and Future Views held in Tokushima, Japan from November 9-10, 1996. The Internationally recognized faculty present the latest research in the exploration of inhibin, activin and follistatin mechanisms of action.

Food security and the medicinal needs of billions of people around the world are pressing global issues, and the biodiversity and sustainable utilization of plants is of great significance in this context. Further, ethnobotanical studies are vital in the discovery of new drugs from indigenous medicinal plants, and plants with industrially important metabolites need to be cultivated to meet the growing market demand. In addition, the production of plant metabolites under in vitro conditions also has tremendous possibilities. The totipotency of plant cells plays a valuable role in the sustainable utilization of plant resources through cell, tissue and organ culture. At the same time, production can be enhanced using productive cell lines, treatment with elicitors, changing nutritional parameters and metabolic engineering. This book provides state-of-the-art information on biodiversity, conservation, ethnobotany, various aspects of In vitro secondary metabolite production, bioprospecting from various plant groups and drug discovery. It also discusses methods of extracting and characterizing drug leads from plant sources.

This book reviews the current state of information on reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and their role in cell communication during plant growth, development and adaptation to stress conditions. It addresses current research advances made in the area of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) signaling. These free radical molecules are important in plant-microbe interactions, responses to abiotic stress, stomatal regulation and a range of developmental processes. Due to their short half-life, high diffusion capability and ability to react with different components in the cell, ROS and RNS participate in various processes connected with signaling and communication in plants. The book's respective chapters address the latest advances made in the niche area of ROS and RNS in plants. It offers a valuable guide for researchers and students alike, providing insights into cutting-edge free radical research. The information on specialized topics presented is also highly relevant for applied fields such as food security, agricultural practices and medicinal use of plants.

This volume expands on the previous edition with a more extensive look at molecular motors and their roles in muscle contractions, vesicle transport, flagellar beating, chromosome segregation, and DNA replication and repair. The chapters in this book are divided into three parts: Part One looks at membrane motors, such as the bacterial flagellar rotary motor; Part Two discusses cytoskeletal motors, such as kinesin and myosin; and Part Three talks about nucleic acid motors, such as DNA polymerases, helicases, and nucleosome remodelers. 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. Cutting-edge and comprehensive, Molecular Motors: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition is a valuable resource for (bio)physicists and molecular/cellular biologists whose research delves into the mechanisms at work in cells and the motors which power them.

The book explores the state of the art in the mechanics of fibrous media, providing an overview of the theoretical, modelling and practical aspects of designing and working with these materials. It also describes the advanced methods needed to handle their specific features, including the mechanics of generalized continua, dedicated homogenization methods and computational techniques, and presents applications of fibrous media to diverse fields and over a broad spectrum of scales, ranging from aeronautics to biomechanics.

Life is a diverse and ubiquitous phenomenon on Earth, characterized by fundamental features distinguishing living bodies from nonliving material. Yet it is also so complex that it has long defied precise definition. This book from a seasoned biologist offers new insights into the nature of life by illuminating a fascinating architecture of dualities inherent in its existence and propagation. Life is connected with individual living beings, yet it is also a collective and inherently global phenomenon of the material world. It embodies a dual existence of cycles of phenotypic life, and their unseen driver - an uninterrupted march of genetic information whose collective immortality is guaranteed by individual mortality. Although evolution propagates and tunes species of organisms, the beings produced can be regarded merely as tools for the survival and cloning of genomes written in an unchanging code. What are the physical versus informational bases and driving forces of life, and how do they unite as an integrated system? What does time mean for individuals, life on the global scale, and the underlying information? This accessible examination of principles and evidence shows that a network of dualities lies at the heart of biological puzzles that have engaged the human mind for millennia.

The imaging of small cellular components requires powerful instruments, and an entire family of equipment and techniques based on the confocal principle has been developed over the past 30 years. Such methods are commonly used by neuroscience researchers, but the majority of these users do not have a microscopy or a cell biology backgrounds and do can encounter difficulties in obtaining and interpreting results. This volume brings experts in high-resolution optical microscopy applications in neuroscience and cell biology together to document the state of the art. Outlining what is currently possible, the volume also discusses promising developments for the future and aids readers in selecting the most scientifically meaningful approach to solve their questions. Each chapter discusses instrumentation and technology in relationship to application in research. All of the common and cutting edge trends are covered - fluorescence / laser electron / nonlinear microscopy, infrared fluorescence, multiphoton imaging, tomography, FRAP, live imaging, STED, PALM/STORM, etc.
* Single and multiphoton confocal microscopy, and 4-pi confocal microscopy
* Obtaining nanoresolution via photoactivation localization microscopy (PALM)
* Several procedures that correlate observations in optical fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy
* Study of morphology and function via high-resolution fluorescence procedures
* Additional high-resolution microscopic techniques

The "omics" era has given a new perspective to the findings on the origin and evolution of the process of translation. This book provides insight into the evolution of the translation process and machinery from a modern perspective. Written by leading experts in molecular biology, this text looks into the origins and evolution of the protein synthetic machinery.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to confocal microscopy - with a particular focus on spectral confocal microscopy. Beginning with an introduction to optical lenses, it provides a guide to compound microscopes and explains related topics like microscopic resolution. It then presents an outline of fluorescence and its corresponding implications for microscopy. The following excursus on the confocal beam paths includes implementation of acousto-optical devices and modern sensor techniques. Complex relationships are explained in a comprehensible manner, supported by many graphical figures. Discussing the principles of magnifying optics and the technical fundamentals and modes of operation of modern laser scanning microscopes, it is a valuable resource for student and lab technicians as well as faculty members.

Considerable advances have taken place since the initial isolation and characterization of human embryonic stem (HES) cells; however, significant challenges remain before their potential for restoration and regeneration processes in patients can be realized. Understanding the diversity amongst HES cell lines and realizing the ability to isolate lines with robust differentiation potential remain difficult. In the Human Embryonic Stem Cells Handbook, experts in the field provide an assortment of protocols that have been used by various laboratories around the world so as to allow both novices and experienced investigators to compare and contrast different approaches to HES cell isolation and characterization with the hope that, from these protocols, researchers might standardize approaches for HES cell biology. Written in the 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 tips for troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and accessible, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Handbook serves as a valuable reference for scientists pursuing this vital field and its enormous potential.

"International Review of Celland Molecular Biology "presents current advances and comprehensive reviews in cell biology--both plant and animal. Articles address structure and control of gene expression, nucleocytoplasmic interactions, control of cell development and differentiation, and cell transformation and growth.

* Authored by some of the foremost scientists in the field * Provides up-to-date information and directions for future research * Valuable reference material for advanced undergraduates, graduate students and professional scientists"

This book, for the first time, comprehensively assembles and analyzes a large body of information on the role of the fundamental mechanism of the protein biosynthesis pathway, translation, in cancer biology. It systematically explores the function of the translation machinery and its regulation, including cell signaling, in the development, maintenance and progression of human cancer. The work presented here unveils the tremendous potential and applications of this vast and exciting branch of genetic, biochemical and molecular science in cancer medicine and drug development.

Chapters contributed by experts in the field take the reader on a journey that starts with a dissection of the translation machinery and its regulation in norm and cancer. Later chapters characterize etiological and pathogenetic roles that translation plays in specific cancer types. Various aspects of diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic significance of the translation machinery and its control in cancer are discussed. Readers will discover the importance of the process of translation and its regulatory mechanisms in physiology and cancer biology.

The chapters and the numerous illustrations included here were contributed by expert scientists and clinicians from renowned academic and clinical establishments in Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Belgium, Spain, Germany and Australia.

The book conveys information and knowledge that may interest a broad range of students and scholars ranging from basic scientists to clinicians and drug developers seeking to better understand the protein synthesis and its aberrations in cancer biology and cancer medicine.

Computational methods are playing an ever increasing role in cell biology.This volume of Methods in Cell Biology focuses on Computational Methods in Cell Biology and consists of two parts: (1) data extraction and analysis to distill models and mechanisms, and (2) developing and simulating models to make predictions and testable hypotheses.
Focuses on computational methods in cell biologySplit into 2 parts--data extraction and analysis to distill models and mechanisms, and developing and simulating models to make predictions and testable hypothesesEmphasizes the intimate and necessary connection with interpreting experimental data and proposing the next hypothesis and experiment "

"Advances in Immunology, " a long-established and highly respected publication, presents current developments as well as comprehensive reviews in immunology. Articles address the wide range of topics that comprise immunology, including molecular and cellular activation mechanisms, phylogeny and molecular evolution, and clinical modalities. Edited and authored by the foremost scientists in the field, each volume provides up-to-date information and directions for the future.

This volume focuses on synthetic vaccines.

Key features:

* Contributions from leading authorities * Informs and updates on all the latest developments in the field

Regulators of the Cell Cycle: Protein Phosphorylation and the Regulation of Key Events in Oocyte and Egg Cell Cycles; J.L. Maller. Control of Cell Proliferation: Extracellular Signal-Regulated Protein Kinases 1,2, and 3; D.J. Robbins, et al. Cell Cycle Control of Gene Expression and Repair: Histone Gene Transcription During the Cell Cycle; F. LaBella, et al. Mitosis: Induction and Mechanics: The Localization of Human Cyclins and CDKs in the Cell Cycle; J. Pines. Cell Cycle Regulation in Development: Cell Proliferation as a Biomarker of Age and Development; M.H. Lu, et al. Roll of the Cell Cycle in Disease: Molecules of Deregulated Cell Cycle Control in Cancer; A.B. Pardee, et al. Clinical Applications: The Involvement of the Cell Cycle in Apoptosis; A. Eastman, et al. 41 additional articles. Index.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells have seen an unprecedented level of interest in the last decade, primarily due to their relative ease of isolation, the large numbers of cells present in the adult, and the ability to propagate these cells in culture. In Mesenchymal Stem Cell Assays and Applications, expert researchers from across the globe explore the latest techniques to propagate, characterize, and engineer this special cell type. Chapters outline a set of protocols and assays used by leading investigators in the field, providing standards that can be applied by all researchers to the population of cells used in their experiments. Composed in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, each chapter contains a brief introduction, step-by-step methods, a list of necessary materials, and a Notes section which shares tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Ground-breaking and current, Mesenchymal Stem Cell Assays and Applications is a necessary handbook for all researchers working with this ambiguous population of cells.

This new volume of "Methods in Cell Biology" looks at Tetrahymena thermophila, a model organism in experimental biology.Covering sections on Systems perspectives and Operating principles, chapters are written by experts in the field.

With cutting edge material, this comprehensive collection is intended to guideresearchers of Tetrahymena thermophila for years to come.
Covers sections on systems perspectives and operating principlesChapters are written by experts in the fieldCutting-edge material, making this a truly comprehensive collection"