New data on animal cell technology are brought together in this volume, with emphasis given to the basic characterization of cell lines. The merits of different cell culture systems are examined and investigations into the factors influencing cell growth and productivity are presented. A special section deals with the biological properties of proteins produced by engineered animal cells. All those involved in the culture of animal cells will find this volume invaluable.

This book is the lasting product, a resource of up-to-date information in the scientific literature for the field of animal cell technology, as it was presented during a pleasant and stimulating meeting in TylAsand, Sweden, in June 2001. The title of the meeting, From Target to Market, indicates the usefulness of Animal Cell Technology during all steps in the pharmaceutical development process. Following the biotech products reaching the market, it shows an upward trend in the contribution of biotech products to total New Molecular Entity output in the nineties, which continued until 1996 when biotech represented 25% of the annual output. Since then the proportion has been decreasing. A perceived hurdle from a market perspective is that a protein per definition is biodegradable and thus requires intravenous, or for some drugs subcutaneous administration. New promising administration technologies such as pulmonary delivery were highlighted at this meeting. The emphasis on project selection prior to entry in the development phase has triggered a portfolio management using more extensive preclinical data before a development decision is taken. Animal cells have become a very important tool in the drug discovery process. The next generation of products will evolve from applications such as gene therapy, novel vaccines, cell therapy, and gene regulation. Animal cell technology has a major role to play in the post-sequence era.

Contributions to this volume detail paleontologic research in Manonga Valley, and shed important light on the evolutionary development of eastern Africa. Chapters provide novel insights into the taxonomy, paleobiology, ecology, and zoogeographic relationships of African faunas, as well as lay the foundation for future geological, paleontological, and paleoecological studies in this important area. The book concludes with a discussion of the importance of investigations on broader geographical sites, including the Manonga Valley, for human evolution research. The text is supported by 143 illustrations.

Humans represent just one of many species that constitute the planet's biodiversity. Nevertheless, as the dominant species, humans have been the primary agent of the transformation of natural spaces. Therefore, the study of human interactions, biodiversity, and the environment that surrounds them is a basic tool for understanding the factors that bind human societies to natural resources. Within this context, ethnobiology is a promising discipline that can play a key role as a mediator of dialogue between different academic disciplines and traditional knowledge, a union essential in enabling contextualized and sustainable alternatives to exploitative practices and biodiversity management. Methods and Techniques in Ethnobiology and Ethnoecology introduces the basic techniques and methods traditionally used in ethnobiology and ethnoecology. Comprised of 28 chapters, the book covers the different qualitative and quantitative aspects of ethnobiology research methods, as well as methods from natural and social sciences that will be useful to both beginners and senior researchers. Written by internationally renowned experts in the fields, Methods and Techniques in Ethnobiology and Ethnoecology is a valuable resource for researchers and students interested in ethnobiology.

Presents a discrete in time-space universal map of relative dynamics that is used to unfold an extensive catalogue of dynamic events not previously discussed in mathematical or social science literature. With emphasis on the chaotic dynamics that may ensue, the book describes the evolution on the basis of temporal and locational advantages. It explains nonlinear discrete time dynamic maps primarily through numerical simulations. These very rich qualitative dynamics are linked to evolution processes in socio-spatial systems. Important features include: The analytical properties of the one-stock, two- and three-location map; the numerical results from the one- and two-stock, two- and three-location dynamics; and the demonstration of the map's potential applicability in the social sciences through simulating population dynamics of the U.S. Regions over a two-century period. In addition, this book includes new findings: the Hopf equivalent discrete time dynamics bifurcation; the Feigenbaum slope-sequences; the presence of strange local attractors and containers; switching of extreme states; the presence of different types of turbulence; local and global turbulence. Intended for researchers and advanced graduate students in applied mathematics and an interest in dynamics and chaos. Mathematical social scientists in many other fields will also find this book useful.

The Sunday Times Bestseller A new, fully updated narrative edition of David Attenborough's seminal biography of our world, The Living Planet. Nowhere on our planet is devoid of life. Plants and animals thrive or survive within every extreme of climate and habitat that it offers. Single species, and often whole communities adapt to make the most of ice cap and tundra, forest and plain, desert, ocean and volcano. These adaptations can be truly extraordinary: fish that walk or lay eggs on leaves in mid-air; snakes that fly; flightless birds that graze like deer; and bears that grow hair on the soles of their feet. In The Living Planet, David Attenborough's searching eye, unfailing curiosity and infectious enthusiasm explain and illuminate the intricate lives of the these colonies, from the lonely heights of the Himalayas to the wild creatures that have established themselves in the most recent of environments, the city. By the end of this book it is difficult to say which is the more astonishing - the ingenuity with which individual species contrive a living, or the complexity of their interdependence on each other and on the habitations provided by our planet. In this new edition, the author, with the help of zoologist Matthew Cobb, has added all the most up-to-date discoveries of ecology and biology, as well as a full-colour 64-page photography section. He also addresses the urgent issues facing our living planet: climate change, pollution and mass extinction of species.

This two-volume work is a testament to the abiding interest and human fascination with ammonites. We offer a new model to explain the morphogenesis of septa and the shell, we explore their habitats by the content of stable isotopes in their shells, we discuss the origin and later evolution of this important clade, and we deliver hypotheses on its demise. The Ammonoidea produced a great number of species that can be used in biostratigraphy and possibly, this is the macrofossil group, which has been used the most for that purpose. Nevertheless, many aspects of their anatomy, mode of life, development or paleobiogeographic distribution are still poorly known. Themes treated are biostratigraphy, paleoecology, paleoenvironment, paleobiogeography, evolution, phylogeny, and ontogeny. Advances such as an explosion of new information about ammonites, new technologies such as isotopic analysis, tomography and virtual paleontology in general, as well as continuous discovery of new fossil finds have given us the opportunity to present a comprehensive and timely "state of the art" compilation. Moreover, it also points the way for future studies to further enhance our understanding of this endlessly fascinating group of organisms.

The human body contains many specialized tissues that are capable of fulfilling an incredible variety of functions necessary for our survival. This volume in the Human Cell Culture Series focuses on mesenchymal tissues and cells. The in vitro study of mesenchymal cells is perhaps the oldest form of human cell culture, beginning with the culturing of fibroblasts. Fibroblasts have long been generically described in the literature, arising from many tissue types upon in vitro cell culture. However, recent studies, many enabled by new molecular biology techniques, have shown considerable diversity in fibroblast type and function, as described within this volume. Mesenchymal tissue types that are described within include bone, cartilage, tendons and ligaments, muscle, adipose tissue, and skin (dermis). The proper function of these tissues is predominantly dependent upon the proper proliferation, differentiation, and function of the mesenchymal cells which make up the tissue. Recent advancements in primary human mesenchymal cell culture have led to remarkable progress in the study of these tissues. Landmark experiments have now demonstrated a stem cell basis for many of these tissues, and, furthermore, significant plasticity and inter-conversion of stem cells between these tissues, resulting in a great deal of contemporary excitement and controversy. Newly-developed mesenchymal cell culture techniques have even lead to novel clinical practices for the treatment of disease.

In the last decade nucleo-cytoplasmic transport has developed into one of the most active areas of research in cell biology and its significance for cell biology as a whole has been recognized. It has led to elucidation of the mechanisms of major cellular functions such as protein synthesis and cellular differentiation. It is also helping to bring about a synthesis of ultrastructural, biochemical, molecular biological and biophysical approaches to the study of cellular organization and function. These theoretical advances have been made possible chiefly by advances in technology - improved methods of gene manipulation and sequencing, of monoclonal antibody production and the use of protein chemistry, of microscopy and of cell manipulation, including microinjection methods. Developments in molecular biology, such as the search for sequence - specific DNA binding proteins and the identification of their binding domains, have also furthered advances in cell biology and these areas have become increasingly integrated with some well-established areas of biochemistry. This book aims to be an introduction, for senior undergraduates and postgraduate biologists, to the field of nucleo-cytoplasmic transport and its relevance to cell biology and seeks to use recent advances in the field to illustrate the process by which modern scientific progress occurs - the importance of developing techniques for formulating problems as well as answering them and the integration of different approaches leading to the evolution of novel concepts. The author assumes a basic general knowledge of molecular and cell biology and of biochemistry, but provides all the necessary background for discussion of recent advances and in the final chapters discusses the actual and potential contributions of the field of nucleo-cytoplasmic transport to cell biology.

Based on the author's more than 40 years experience, Bacterial Growth and Form examines such important questions as what bacteria were, what they are, and what they do. Particular emphasis is placed on the ability of bacteria to establish their shapes as they grow and divide. By developing an understanding of the properties of these simple and early life forms, especially at the levels of physics and mathematics, the book provides insight into the mechanism used by bacteria to subvert physical forces to their own ends. A major consideration of this work is that prokaryotes do many of the same things that eukaryotes do, but with simpler equipment employed in an extremely sophisticated way. The book illustrates this point by closely examining the basic mechanismof hydrostatic or turgor pressure: how it functions for many of the mechanical purposes in the prokaryote, how it leads to mechanisms for resisting turgor pressure, and how it ultimately led to the development of exoskeletons and endoskeletons, and to the refinement of bacteria. Bacterial Growth and Form brings together biochemical, biophysical, and physiological principles in an authoritative, single-source volume. It provides researchers, and students in biophysics and microbiology with an indispensible reference and a new perspective into the biology of life.

Nitrogen fixation is currently of great practical importance because the use of nitrogenous fertilizers has resulted in unacceptable levels of water pollution and the fact that these fertilizers are becoming steadily less economic both in cash terms and in utilization of fossil fuels for their manufacture. This book aims to present new findings in the field of nitrogen fixation and to reflect the influence on the subject of recent developments in biochemistry, molecular biology, genetic engineering and other biotechnologies. The book includes quantitative aspects of the subject, but the many practical difficulties for accurate field assessment of nitrogen fixation and its contribution to nitrogen cycles means that many assessments are either in conflict with each other or must be accepted as tentative. Although this book is concerned essentially with how nitrogen-fixing organisms function and why they are of practical importance, rather than with details of laboratory or field techniques, an appendix deals with the main methods of measurement of nitrogen fixation and some of the problems that must be faced.

This text is an overall view of nematology because I believe the science should be treated as a unified discipline. The differences in the biological habits of nematodes do not justify the separation of plant nematologists and animal nematologists, since the separation is not a reflection of any difIerences inherent to nematodes. Therefore, the book is arranged with a format that in the beginning chapters illustrates the similarities and se- quence of development of morphological characters among nematodes regardless of their biological habits. The later chapters illustrate the in- tegration of the evolutionary development of the parasitie habit from related free-living forms. Nematology is probably the last major discipline to establish its inde- pendence from the parent science of zoology. This natural evolvement of nematology has occurred because of the overwhelming accumulation of sophisticated information and research that reflects the unique relation- ships of nematodes to other forms of plant and animal life as weH as their relationships in other facets of the environment. N ematodes are inverte- brate animals that, like insects, are unusual in their great numbers and varieties, their smaH size (generally microscopic), their high degree of internal organization, and their virtually ubiquitous distribution. They oc- cupy almost every ecological niehe, often causing disease of humans, other animals, and plants. These activities often result in debility, death, or in the impairment and loss of food supply with consequent loss to producers and consumers.