Recent advances in biotechnology in areas as diverse as agriculture, the environment, food, and healthcare have led to much debate and media attention. This unique reference resource for advanced high school students and teachers explores the science behind these new technologies and examines the stakeholders and their stakes in the various debates. The author presents views of scientists, doctors, insurance companies, and big businesses, among others, on such issues as genetic testing, patenting of human gene sequences, cloning, and genetically engineered food.

Each chapter addresses a specific issue with the goals of helping readers understand all the different ways biotechnology is being explored and implemented in our lives today, as well as to critically perceive the arguments being made concerning these issues. Students will learn there is more to biotechnology than cloning sheep, that it is also used for such purposes as making cheese and beer. Each topic is presented as a Case Study describing of a range of technologies and a diversity of stakeholders that will allow users to draw their own conclusions. This introduction to the technologies and the debates surrounding them also encourages students to take advantage of the many available sources for further research, particularly on the Internet.

Antibiotics are truly miracle drugs. As a class, they are one of the only ones that actually cure disease as opposed to most drugs that only help relieve symptoms or control disease. Since bacteria that cause serious disease in humans are becoming more and more resistant to the antibiotics we have today, and because they will ultimately become resistant to any antibiotic that we use for treatment or for anything else, we need a steady supply of new antibiotics active against any resistant bacteria that arise. However, the antibiotics marketplace is no longer attractive for large pharmaceutical companies, the costs of development are skyrocketing because of ever more stringent requirements by the regulatory agencies, and finding new antibiotics active against resistant strains is getting harder and harder. These forces are all combining to deny us these miracle drugs when we need them the most. I provide a number of possible paths to shelter from this perfect storm.

This series ofbooks on the biotechnology of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants provides a survey of the literature focusing on recent information and the state of the art in tissue culture and the in vitro production of secondary metabolites. This book, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants VIII, like the previous seven volumes published in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1994, is unique in its approach. It comprises 26 chapters dealing with the distribution, importance, conventional propagation, micropropagation, tissue culture studies and the in vitro production of important medicinal and pharmaceutical compounds in various species of Achillea, Anethum, Aquilaria, Arnica, Aspergillus, Astragalus, Catalpa, Chelidonium, Eremo phila, Eucalyptus, Eucommia, Geranium, Heterocentron, Hypericum, Maclura, Morinda, Mortierella, Nicotiana, Phaseolus, Pinellia, Piqueria, Psorales, Rhodiola, Sanguisorba, Valeriana, and Vancouveria. This book is tailored to the needs of advanced students, teachers, and research scientists in the field of pharmacy, plant tissue culture, phytochemistry, biochemical engineering, and plant biotechnology in general. New Delhi, July 1995 Professor Y. P. S. BAJAJ Series Editor Contents I Achillea millefolium L. ssp. millefolium (Yarrow): In Vitro Culture and Production of Essential Oils A. C. FIGUEIREDO, M. S. S. PAIS, and J. J. c. SCHEFFER (With 9 Figures) 1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 In Vitro Culture Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 Ultrastructural Study of the Glandular Trichomes and Cell Suspension Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4 Composition of the Essential Oils of A. millefolium In Vivo and In Vitro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 5 Summary and Conc1usion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 6 Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 II Anethum graveolens L."

At present, there is growing interest in high pressure bioscience and biotechnology. The activities are nearly equally distributed between fundamental research and applications. With original work on marine and terrestrial microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, deep-sea diving, food science and other industrial applications, this book covers the whole range of current high pressure bioscience. Advances in High Pressure Bioscience and Biotechnology will be welcomed by all industrial and academic researchers who are working in this field.

Biochemistry And Genetics of RecQ-Helicases provides a background into the role of helicases in general and RecQ helicases specifically in DNA repair. Helicases- enzymes which break down hydrogen bonds between nucleic acid strands in a nucleoside triphosphate-dependent manner-are ubiquitous in biology, participating in processes as diverse as replication, repair, recombination, transcription, and translation. The RecQ-family helicases are a group of helicases which have important roles in the maintenance of genomic stability in many organisms. In humans, mutations in three RecQ-family helicases lead to disease. This book thoroughly examines these helicases. Mutations in the BLM gene lead to Bloom syndrome, a disorder characterized by a susceptibility to many types of cancer. Mutations in the WRN gene cause Werner syndrome, a disease which in some respects resembles premature aging. Finally, mutations in a newly characterized RecQ-family member, RECQ4, may lead to the very rare recessive disorder Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, a condition characterized by developmental abnormalities and some aging-like manifestations. This book is intended for any researchers invested in these particular disorders, or with a general interest in DNA.

This book provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of the latest advances in nanomaterials for proteomics, both theoretical and practical. Consisting of seven chapters, it first covers the synthesis methods, characterization, principles, and performance of functional nanomaterials in various branches of proteomics in detail. This is followed by the applications of nanomaterials for the separation and analysis of various proteins and peptides. Given its scope, the book appeals to a broad readership, including those active in proteomics and materials science; it can also serve as a reference book for students majoring in proteomics analysis.

This Volume provides protocols for the biochemical analysis of hydrocarbon- and lipid-relevant products, cell components and activities of microbes that interact with hydrophobic compounds. They include methods for the extraction, purification and characterisation of surface tension-reducing bioemulsifiers and biosurfactants that increase the surface area and hence bioavailability of hydrophobic substrates. Protocols for the isolation and biochemical analysis of lipids and polyhydroxyalkanoates, food storage products made during nutrient abundance that represent important biotechnological products, are presented. The extraction of membrane lipid rafts, sub-organelles that fulfil important functional roles for the cell membrane, and the isolation and characterisation of membrane phospholipid biomarkers, are also described. The purification and characterisation of integral membrane hydrocarbon-oxidising enzymes are addressed. Lastly, two generic methods for the genetic analysis of catabolic pathways and analysis of ligand binding are presented. Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology ProtocolsThere are tens of thousands of structurally different hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon derivatives and lipids, and a wide array of these molecules are required for cells to function. The global hydrocarbon cycle, which is largely driven by microorganisms, has a major impact on our environment and climate. Microbes are responsible for cleaning up the environmental pollution caused by the exploitation of hydrocarbon reservoirs and will also be pivotal in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels by providing biofuels, plastics and industrial chemicals. Gaining an understanding of the relevant functions of the wide range of microbes that produce, consume and modify hydrocarbons and related compounds will be key to responding to these challenges. This comprehensive collection of current and emerging protocols will facilitate acquisition of this understanding and exploitation of useful activities of such microbes.

Recombinant Proteins from Plants is one of the most exciting and fastest developing areas in biology. The latest molecular techniques are being applied to the exploitation of plants as novel expression systems for the p- duction and overproduction of heterologous and native proteins. Transgenic plant technology is currently used in three broad areas: the expression of - combinant proteins to improve crop quality by increasing disease/pest res- tance or increasing tolerance to stress, optimizing plant productivity and yield by the genetic manipulation of metabolic pathways, and the large-scale co- effective production of recombinant proteins for use as specialist industrial or therapeutic biomolecules. The intention of Recombinant Proteins from Plants is to provide c- prehensive and detailed protocols covering all the latest molecular approaches. Because the production oftransgenic plants has become routine in many la- ratories, coverage is also given to some of the more "classical" approaches to the separation, analysis, and characterization of recombinant proteins. The book also includes areas of research that we believe will become increasingly important in the near future: efficient transformation of monocots with Agrobacterium optimizing the stability of recombinant proteins, and a section highlighting the immunotherapeutic potential of plant-expressed proteins.

Vast tonnages of solid-liquid mixtures are pumped every year in dredging operations, mining and waste-disposal applications. Most of these systems are centrifugal pumps, and the resolution of problems encountered in slurry pumping requires both detailed scientific knowledge and judgment derived from practical experience.

For many years the combination of up-to-date analysis and hands-on experimentation has been provided to interested engineers in a short course based at the GIW Hydraulic Laboratory. The lecturers in this course, who represent a broad background of international expertise, have prepared this widely-recognized text, Slurry Transport Using Centrifugal Pumps, Third Edition.

This unique text is logically divided into two sections: the first part of the book concentrates on the behaviors of various sorts of slurry flow, and the second part deals with the behavior of centrifugal pumps handling slurries, and with how pumps and pipelines interact as a system.

Slurry Transport Using Centrifugal Pumps, Third Edition also includes:

• New material on both non-Newtonian flows and slurries of granular particles.
• New information on pump wear, solids effect, and system operation.
• Updated and completely new material on pump selection and environmental aspects
• Worked examples and case studies that stress practical applications

Slurry Transport Using Centrifugal Pumps, Third Edition, will be of interest to all engineers and technologists involved in the large-scale transportation of slurries.

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"Advanced Techniques in Soil Microbiology" presents a wide range of biotechnological methods for application in soil microbiology analysis. These include all essential methods involving molecular biology, immunology, microbiology, and structural biology, such as transcriptome analysis, RNAi technology, molecular matchmaking, RAPD, T-RFLP and FT/MS.

The techniques and procedures have been selected with the aim of offering practical guides for immediate use in the laboratory. The systems investigated range from individual molecules and cells to entire eukaryotic organisms, with a focus on bacteria, fungi, mycorrhiza, and higher plants. This volume of state-of-the-art, practice oriented methods will be of great use both to the first-timer and to the experienced scientist.

The only book of its kind, Crystalline Bacterial Cell Surface Proteins assembles present-day understanding of the occurrence, structure, chemistry, genetics, assembly, function, and application potential of S-layers. The chapters are designed to stand independent of each other and provide a complete survey of the different topics in S-layer research. This book is intended to stimulate further development in basic and applied S-layer research.
Key Features
* Assembles present-day understanding of S-layers
* Provides a detailed survey of the entire field of basic and applied S-layer research
* Potential for broad application in biotechnology, vaccine development, diagnostics, molecular nanotechnology, and biomimetics

The objectives of this Second Edition of Biotechnology: A Laboratory Course remain unchanged: to create a text that consists of a series of laboratory exercises that integrate molecular biology with protein biochemistry techniques while providing a continuum of experiments. The course begins with basic techniques and culminates in the utilization of previously acquired technical experience and experimental material. Two organisms, "Sacchaomyces cerevisiae" and "Escherichia coli," a single plasmid, and a single enzyme are the experimental material, yet the procedures and principles demonstrated are widely applicable to other systems. This text will serve as an excellent aid in the establishment or instruction of introductory courses in the biological sciences.
Key Features of this new edition:
* All exercises and appendixes have been updated
* Includes new exercises on
* Polymerase chain reaction
* Beta-Galactosidase detection in yeast colonies
* Western blotting
* New procedures introduced for
* Large-scale plasmid isolation
* Yeast transformation
* DNA quantitation
* New appendixes added, one of which provides details on accessing biological information sites on the Internet (World Wide Web)
* Use of non-radioactive materials and easy access to microbial cultures
* Laboratory exercises student tested for seven years

Applications of Biotechnology in Oncology collects key writings by Kewal K. Jain on the most important contributions of biotechnology to cancer research, particularly to the molecular diagnosis of cancer and drug delivery in cancer for personalized management of patients. Basics of various "omics" technologies and their application in oncology are described as oncogenomics and oncoproteomics. This detailed volume also explores molecular diagnostics, nanobiotechnology, cell and gene therapies, as well as personalized oncology. With approximately one thousand selected references from recent literature on this topic and numerous tables and figures, Applications of Biotechnology in Oncology serves as an ideal reference for oncologists, scientists involved in research on cancer biology, and physicians in various specialties who deal with cancer.

Cell separation, which was once limited to merely being a basic technique for fractionating different cell populations, has come a long way in the last two decades. New, advanced and more speci?c and selective techniques have emerged as the demand for isolating a speci?c cell type for various biological applications has increased. Ef?cient and cost-effective techniques for fr- tionation and isolation of target cell types are necessary to provide pure cell populations for diagnostics, biotechnological and biomedical applications. One can see a considerable need, both in biomedical research and in di- nostic medicine, for the speci?c separation of a discrete population of cells from a mixture. For example, in the ?eld of tissue engineering, isolation of stemcellsfromtissuesororgansisofparticularlygreatimportance.Moreover, understanding cell developmental pathways becomes increasingly signi?cant as diagnosis and treatment of diseases turns more to the molecular level. The diagnosis of cell-related diseases requires methods of detection, isolation and theanalysisofindividualcells,regardlessoftheirrelativecontentinthetissue. Since cell-based therapies now turn towards more realistic medical options, developing an effective separation system for large-scale cell separation has becomechallengingresearchgoalforcellbiologistsandbiotechnologists.The ideal technique should provide in a short time a good yield of cells with high puritywhile maintaining cellfunction.Despite the growingneed formethods to separate cells into cell subpopulations, the existing cell-separation te- niques stillhave somelimitations when the desired degree ofperformance on apreparativescaleisrequired.Wewillseemoreresearchfocusinthisdirection in the future. The traditional techniques of micro?ltration, ultra?ltration and ultrac- trifugation, which exploit differences in cell size, shape and density, have remainedtheworkhorsesdespitelowspeci?cityandproblemswithscalingup.

This handbook is the only up-to-date, A to Z compilation of commercial and research zeolites. The volume presents complete patent-researched reference information on structural data, synthesis parameters, and characteristic properties. For each known zeolite there is an entry on all organics which crystallize a given structure, physical data, and applications. Data is presented in tabular or graphical form with minimal text, and a cross-referenced literature review is provided.

This volume highlights achievements in cryopreservation, chronicles method development, and describes relevant literature. The provided detailed information helps practitioners develop and improve methods for desired species. The volume is divided into four parts:I. Cryopreservation of Germplasm;II. Herbaceous Plants: Barley, celery, chamomile, chicory, garlic, ginseng, hop, horseradish, mint, taro, wasabi;III. Woody Species: Coffee, Eucalyptus, guazuma, horse-chestnut, neem, olive, poplar, oak, Prunus, Ribes, rose.IV. Australian Species.Initially, cryopreservation was driven by the concern for loss of diversity of crops essential for continued improvement of the many plants used for food, health, and shelter. The interest has been expanded by conservationists and their concerns for retaining the diversity of natural populations.

This book presents new application processes in the context of anaerobic digestion (AD), such as phosphorus recovery, microbial fuel cells (MFCs), and seaweed digestion. In addition, it introduces a new technique for the modeling and optimization of AD processes. Chapters 1 and 2 review AD as a technique for converting a range of organic wastes into biogas, while Chapter 3 discusses the recovery of phosphorus from anaerobically digested liquor. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on new techniques for modeling and optimizing AD. Chapters 6 and 7 then describe the state of the art in AD effluent treatment. The book's final three chapters focus on more recent developments, including microbial fuel cells (MFCs) (Chapter 8), seaweed production (Chapter 9), and enzyme technologies (Chapter 10).

Solvent Extraction in Biotechnology deals with the reco- very and purification of primary and secondary metabolites by solvent extraction. In the first part the reaction engineering principles: definitions, thermodynamic fundamentals, and system models, the kinetics of mass transfer between two phases without and with chemical reaction as well as extraction equipment, which are important for downstream processing in biotechnology, are considered in detail. The special part of the book describes the recovery of low-molecular metabolites: alcohols, acids and antibiotics with organic solvents, carrier-modifier-solvent systems, supercritical gases as well as with liquid membrane techniques. Several practical examples are given for the recovery of different metabolites as well as for the calculation of the extraction processes necessary for equipment design. Besides solvent extraction, novel separation techniques with liquid membrane, microemulsion and reversed micelles are also presented. This book will introduce the biochemical engineer and process engineer to the recovery of products from complex cultivation broths by modern techniques of solvent extraction and help them with process design.

This Volume presents a comprehensive series of generic protocols for the genetic and genomic analysis of prokaryotic isolates. Genetic methods for functional analyses employ the latest cloning vectors, gene fusion methods and transposon mutagenesis systems, as well as systems for introducing protease-cleavage sequences into permissive sites in proteins under investigation. Genomic methods described include protocols for transcriptomics, shotgun proteomics, interactomics, metabolic profiling, and lipidomics. Bioinformatic tools for genome annotation, transcriptome display and the integration of transcriptomic data into genome-scale metabolic reconstructions are described. Protocols for 13C-based metabolic flux determinations and analysis of the hierarchical and metabolic regulation of fluxes through pathways are included. The Volume thus enables investigators to functionally analyse an isolate over the entire cellular range spanning the gene, the genome, the transcript repertoire, the proteome, the interactome, the metabolic network with its nodes and their regulatory hierarchies, and the metabolic fluxes and their physiological controls. Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols There are tens of thousands of structurally different hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon derivatives and lipids, and a wide array of these molecules are required for cells to function. The global hydrocarbon cycle, which is largely driven by microorganisms, has a major impact on our environment and climate. Microbes are responsible for cleaning up the environmental pollution caused by the exploitation of hydrocarbon reservoirs and will also be pivotal in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels by providing biofuels, plastics and industrial chemicals. Gaining an understanding of the relevant functions of the wide range of microbes that produce, consume and modify hydrocarbons and related compounds will be key to responding to these challenges. This comprehensive collection of current and emerging protocols will facilitate acquisition of this understanding and exploitation of useful activities of such microbes.

Animal cell technology is a newly growing discipline of cell biology which aims not only to understand structure, function and behavior of differentiated animal cells but also to uncover their ability useful for industrial and medical purpose. The goal of animal cell technology includes clonal expansion of differentiated cells with useful ability, optimization of their culturing in industrial scale, modulation of their ability for production of pharmaceutical proteins and monoclonal antibodies, and newly application to gene therapy and organ culture. The last seven Annual Meetings of the Japanese Association for Animal Cell Technology (JAACT) had attracted increasing number of participants. At the Eighth Meeting (JAACT'95) held in Iizuka from November 6 through 10, 1995. Before this Meeting, we were all shocked by the sudden death of a founder of JAACT, the late Prof. Hiroki Murakami in February of this year. But we had more than 90 participants from outside of Japan and 170 from Japan in this Meeting. The editors express their sincere gratitude to all researchers who joined the meeting, to the organizers of the Symposium Sessions, to members of the organizing committee who dedicated themselves in assuring the Meeting's success in the absence of Prof. H. Murakami, and the graduates and undergraduates students of Kyushu University and Kyushu Institute of Technology who supported management of the Meeting. We also thank the Japanese Bioindustry Association and Fukuoka Science & Technology Foundation for the financial support.

Forty chapters deal with various aspects of tissue culture, in vitro manipulation, and other biotechnological approaches to the improvement of maize.
They are arranged in eight sections: - In Vitro Technology, Callus Cultures and Regeneration of Plants, Somatic Embryogenesis. - Wide Hybridization, Embryo, Ovule, and Inflorescence Culture, in Vitro Fertilization. - Production of Haploids and Double Haploids, Anther and Pollen Culture. - Protoplast Culture, Genetic Transformation. - Somaclonal Variation and Mutations. - Molecular Biology and Physiological Studies. - Proteins and Nutritional Improvement. Pollen Storage, Cryopreservation of Germplasm.