Xenopus, the African clawed frog, is one of the three most widely cited vertebrate animals in the biological literature, until now almost all knowledge has been based on laboratory experience of a single species (Xenopus laevis) from South Africa. This is the first book to describe the biology and natural history of the Xenopus and covers their systematics, ecology, distribution, species interactions, and evolutionary and phylogenetic aspects. Whilst providing a reference work for researchers working in the lab, the book also highlights the potential of Xenopus for future work in evolutionary biology, genetics, behaviour, immunology, parasitology, and ecology.

Advances in molecular genetics have led to the increasing availability of genetic testing for a variety of inherited disorders. While this new knowledge presents many obvious health benefits to prospective individuals and their families it also raises complex ethical and moral dilemmas for families as well as genetic professionals. This book explores the ways in which genetic testing generates not only probabilities of potential futures, but also enjoys new forms of social, individual and professional responsibility. Concerns about confidentiality and informed consent involving children, the assessment of competence and maturity, the ability to engage in shared decision-making through acts of disclosure and choice, are just some of the issues that are examined in detail.

This edited book covers all aspects of omics approaches used for the varietal improvement of millets in changing climatic conditions. Millets are the collection of small-grained cereal grasses, that are grown for human carbohydrate needs. They are among the oldest crops, mainly divided into two groups - Major and small millets based on seed size. Small millets are earlier considered orphan crops, but recently due to their nutritional values, they are getting importance in cultivation. This book explores the genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, bioinformatics, and other omics tools that are being widely used to get a clear understanding of mechanistic approaches taken by plant genes to tolerate stress. Various reports are published based on field breeding on these crops, and recently the genome of some of the small millets is released, and many omics studies are published related to its application in varietal improvements. This book reviewed all those recent studies and is of interest to research students, plant breeding scientists, teachers that are working in agriculture and plant biotech universities. Along with this, the book serves as reference material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, and biotechnology. National and international agricultural scientists, policymakers will also find this to be a useful read.

In this paradigm-shifting book from acclaimed Harvard Medical School doctor and one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people on earth, Dr. David Sinclair reveals that everything we think we know about ageing is wrong, and shares the surprising, scientifically-proven methods that can help readers live younger, longer. For decades, the medical community has looked to a variety of reasons for why we age, and the consensus is that no one dies of old age; they die of age-related diseases. That's because ageing is not a disease - it is inevitable. But what if everything you think you know about ageing is wrong? What if ageing is a disease? And that disease is curable. In LIFESPAN, Dr. David Sinclair, one of the world's foremost authorities on genetics and ageing, argues just that. He has dedicated his life's work to chasing more than a longer lifespan - he wants to enable people to live longer, healthier, and disease-free well into our hundreds. In this book, he reveals a bold new theory of ageing, one that pinpoints a root cause of ageing that lies in an ancient genetic survival circuit. This genetic trick - a circuit designed to halt reproduction in order to repair damage to the genome -has enabled earth's early microcosms to survive and evolve into more advanced organisms. But this same survival circuit is the reason we age: as genetic damage accumulates over our lifespans from UV rays, environmental toxins, and unhealthy diets, our genome is overwhelmed, causing gray hair, wrinkles, achy joints, heart issues, dementia, and, ultimately, death. But genes aren't our destiny; we have more control over them than we've been taught to believe. We can't change our DNA, but we can harness the power of the epigenome to realise the true potential of our genes. Drawing on his cutting-edge findings at the forefront of medical research, Dr. Sinclair will provide a scientifically-proven roadmap to reverse the genetic clock by activating our vitality genes, so we can live younger longer. Readers will discover how a few simple lifestyle changes - like intermittent fasting, avoiding too much animal protein, limiting sugar, avoiding x-rays, exercising with the right intensity, and even trying cold therapy - can activate our vitality genes. Dr. Sinclair ends the book with a look to the near future, exploring what the world might look like - and what will need to change - when we are all living well to 120 or more. Dr. Sinclair takes what we have long accepted as the limits of human potential and mortality and turns them into choices. THE EVOLUTION OF AGEING is destined to be the biggest book on genes, biology, and longevity of this decade.

Genome Science is a textbook and laboratory manual for advanced secondary and post-secondary education. It combines approachable narrative with extensively tested lab exercises that illustrate key concepts of genome biology in humans, invertebrates, and plants. Eighteen labs, organized into four chapters, engage students with both bioinformatics exercises and in vitro experiments. Each chapter also includes an extensive introduction that provides an historical and conceptual framework. This modular structure offers many options for enhancing existing courses, starting new courses, or supporting student research projects. The book is complete with advice for instructors, laboratory planning guidelines, recipes for solutions, and answers to student questions.

The field of genetics is rapidly evolving, and new medical breakthroughs are occurring as a result of advances in our knowledge of genetics. This series continually publishes important reviews of the broadest interest to geneticists and their colleagues in affiliated disciplines.
* Includes methods for testing with ethical, legal, and social implications
* Critically analyzes future

Why do the best-known examples of evolutionary change involve the alteration of one kind of animal into another very similar one, like the evolution of a bigger beak in a bird? Wouldn't it be much more interesting to understand how beaks originated? Most people would agree, but until recently we didn't know much about such origins. That is now changing, with the growth of the interdisciplinary field evo-devo, which deals with the relationship between how embryos develop in the short term and how they (and the adults they grow into) evolve in the long term. One of the key questions is: can the origins of structures such as beaks, eyes, and shells be explained within a Darwinian framework? The answer seems to be yes, but only by expanding that framework. This book discusses the required expansion, and the current state of play regarding our understanding of evolutionary and developmental origins.

In this monograph, new combinatorial and computational approaches in the study of RNA structures are presented which enhance both mathematics and computational biology. It begins with an introductory chapter, which motivates and sets the background of this research. In the following chapter, all the concepts are systematically developed. The reader will find * integration of more than forty research papers covering topics like, RSK-algorithm, reflection principle, singularity analysis and random graph theory * systematic presentation of the theory of pseudo-knotted RNA structures including their generating function, uniform generation as well as central and discrete limit theorems * computational biology of pseudo-knotted RNA structures, including dynamic programming paradigms and a new folding algorithm * analysis of neutral networks of pseudo knotted RNA structures and their random graph theory, including neutral paths, giant components and connectivity All algorithms presented are freely available through springer.com and implemented in C. A proofs section at the end contains the necessary technicalities. This book will serve graduate students and researchers in the fields of discrete mathematics, mathematical and computational biology. It is suitable as a textbook for a graduate course in mathematical and computational biology.

A geneticist tells the stories of men, women, and children whose genes have shaped their lives in unexpected ways.

It was while listening to a colleague tell the parents of a newborn girl that their daughter was going to die that a lifelong interest in genetic medicine was sparked in Dr Edwin Kirk. Warmth and gentleness tempered a direct, sure manner - this was the medicine he wanted to practise, where the most advanced science and the most deeply human meet. Twenty-five years later, Dr Kirk works both with patients and in the lab, and he spearheads a campaign that will change the way we think about having babies. His experience is without parallel, but it is his humour and insight that make all the difference.

Find out why Dr Kirk found himself among hundreds of people, each with a glass of poison in front of them - and how you might perform the same experiment yourself (without the poison). Learn how the realisation that a young boy wasn't short ended up saving the life of his mother - and how Angelina Jolie has saved the lives of many more. Sit in the room with Dr Kirk and his patients as they navigate the world of heartbreaking uncertainties, tantalising possibilities, and thorny questions of morality. In genetics, it is the particularities of an individual's history that matter, and here, in clear and considerate writing, those individual stories are given voice.

Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives is an award-winning and groundbreaking exploration of the fundamental elements of the taxonomy, systematics, physiology, and ecology of sharks, skates, rays, and chimera. This edition presents current research as well as traditional models, to provide future researchers with solid historical foundations in shark research as well as presenting current trends from which to develop new frontiers in their own work. Traditional areas of study such as age and growth, reproduction, taxonomy and systematics, sensory biology, and ecology are updated with contemporary research that incorporates emerging techniques including molecular genetics, exploratory techniques in artificial insemination, and the rapidly expanding fields of satellite tracking, remote sensing, accelerometry, and imaging. With two new editors and 90 contributors from the US, UK, South Africa, Portugal, France, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, India, Palau, United Arab Emirates, Micronesia, Sweden, Argentina, Indonesia, Cameroon, and the Netherlands, this third edition is the most global and comprehensive yet. It adds six new chapters representing extensive studies of health, stress, disease and pathology, and social structure, and continues to explore elasmobranch ecological roles and interactions with their habitats. The book concludes with a comprehensive review of conservation policies, management, and strategies, as well as consideration of the potential effects of impending climate change. Presenting cohesive and integrated coverage of key topics and discussing technological advances used in modern shark research, this revised edition offers a well-rounded picture for students and researchers.

Personalized nutrition involves the formulation of individualized nutritional recommendations to promote and maintain health based on an individual's genetic makeup and other unique intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Implementing personalized nutrition plans for individuals with certain diseases or who are in danger of developing health conditions could help control the onset and severity of symptoms. Personalized Nutrition as Medical Therapy for High-Risk Diseases offers a practical guide for physicians seeking to provide tailored dietary recommendations to their patients with disease treatment, modulation and prevention in mind. The book focuses on the biological mechanisms of specific diseases and provides evidence for how personalized nutrition positively impacts them. It explores conditions including cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, hypercholesteromia, diabetes, obesity, Crohn's disease, as well as multiple pediatric, renal and psychological disorders. Features: * Includes case studies that document how people respond differently towards food depending on their genetic structure and other factors. * Discusses genome wide association studies (GWIMS) to understand the interplay between genetic susceptibility and dietary interactions. * Provides users information to effectively implement personalized nutrition into practice. * Identifies possible challenges to the implementation of personalized nutritional interventions in a clinical setting. This book is for medical practitioners and will also appeal to researchers and students.

This book is the first comprehensive compilation of deliberations on elucidation and augmentation of the genome of Brassica juncea, one of the leading oilseed crops of the world, popularly called as brown mustard, Indian mustard, Chinese mustard, or Oriental mustard. It includes discussions on genepools; genetic diversity and its characterization; classical genetic and traditional breeding; basics and application of heteroploidy; techniques and applications of introgressive hybridization; in vitro culture for micro-propagation, somatic mutation, somatic embryogenesis, and somatic hybridization; genetic engineering including genetic transformation and gene silencing; and molecular genetic mapping and mapping of genes and comprehensive delineations on genome sequencing and comparative genomics; resequencing for elucidation of origin and diversity; large-scale genome analysis; plastid genome sequence; transcriptomics; metabolomics; proteomics; evolutionary genomics; role of regulatory genes in development and adaptation and their utilization in trait improvement; precise breeding for yield, quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses; and prospects of genome editing.

Epigenetics refers to DNA and chromatin modifications that play an important role in the regulation of various genomic functions. This important book reviews human and cellular data that underline paradoxical findings with respect to the contribution of heredity and environment to phenotype. The contributors then reinterpret these experiments that incorporate epigenetic factors. Topics include DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin modifications, the role of epigenetic modifications and environment on gene expression, and integrating genomic medicine into clinical practice.

1) Presents full guide to virus-like particles, by combination of classical virology with modern nanotechnology, for the first time 2) Outlines generation and sources of virus-like particles from different groups of viruses 3) Demonstrates the specific structural and immunological properties of virus-like particles 4) Presents up-to-date account of virus-like particles used for the generation of vaccines, diagnostic and therapeutic tools 5) Presents interconnection of virology, nanotechnology, and healthcare

"Advances in Botanical Research" publishes in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a wide range of topics in plant sciences. The series features a wide range of reviews by recognized experts on all aspects of plant genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, physiology and ecology. This thematic volume features reviews on genome evolution of photosynthetic bacteria.
Publishes in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a wide range of topics in plant sciencesFeatures a wide range of reviews by recognized experts on all aspects of plant genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, physiology and ecologyThis thematic volume features reviews on genome evolution of photosynthetic bacteria

A Two Ribosome Model for Attenuation (G.W. Hatfield). Regulation of Ribosomal Proteins mRNA Translation in Bacteria (C. Portier, M. GrunbergManago). How Elongation Factors Steer the Ribosomal Elongation Cycle (K.H. Nierhaus, F. Triana). Genetics of Translation Initiation Factors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (L. Feng, T.F. Donahue). Regulation of GCN4 Expression in Yeast (A.G. Hinnebusch et al.). Co and PostTranslational Processes and Mitochondrial Import of Yeast Cytochrome c (F. Sherman et al.). EIF4E Phosphorylation and the Regulation of Protein Synthesis (R.M. Frederickson, N. Sonenberg). InterferonInduced and DoubleStranded RNAActivated Proteins (A.G. Hovanessian). Translational Regulation by Vaccinia Virus (R. Bablanian). Translational Control by AdenovirusAssociated RNA I (B. Thimmapaya et al.). Translational Regulation in Adenovirus Infected Cells (R.J. Schneider, Y. Zhang). 12 additional articles. Index.

"Advances in Botanical Research" publishes in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a wide range of topics in plant sciences. The series features a wide range of reviews by recognized experts on all aspects of plant genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, physiology and ecology. Thisthematic volume features reviews on The Genomics of Cyanobacteria.
Chapters by internationally renowned researchers share the most up-to-date knowledge on cyanobacteriaEven if you have no previous background in the subject, the book's clear language and illustrations tell you what you need to know about the biology and genomics of cyanobacteria and it highlights important directions for future researchAn essential book for students and researchers"

Advances in genetics research, largely, though not entirely, spawned by the Human Genome Project, have led to a broad array of new technologies that promise to revolutionize life as we have known it. Medicine and agriculture are already starting to utilize new technologies to greatly improve disease prevention and treatment and food production. Yet, these "improvements" often raise ethical questions that are not easy to untangle. Some have gone as far to as to argue that certain applications, such as embryonic stem cell research, threaten the very fiber of our moral compass. While the application of scientific advances to better mankind has always raised thorny ethical issues, the ethical impact of genetic advances arguably reaches a new height because the applicability of advances is exceptionally broad, deep, and potentially irreversible. To utilize such technologies could mean saving thousands of lives, but where and how do we draw the line? Here, Barash sheds light on the actual ethical concerns surrounding various types of genetic technologies, introducing readers to the competing issues at stake in the arguments about the scientific application of the new technologies available and those on the horizon. She begins by illustrating the history of genetic advances, their societal applications, and the ethical issues that have arisen from those applications. Using case studies and examples throughout, she walks readers through the various considerations involved in a variety of areas related to the application of genetic technologies currently available and possible in the future. Covering topics ranging from stem cell research to genetically modified food, genetic mapping to cloning, this book offers a thoughtful approach to the complex issues at play in the various fields of genetic technologies.

Covering theory, algorithms, and methodologies, as well as data mining technologies, Data Mining for Bioinformatics provides a comprehensive discussion of data-intensive computations used in data mining with applications in bioinformatics. It supplies a broad, yet in-depth, overview of the application domains of data mining for bioinformatics to help readers from both biology and computer science backgrounds gain an enhanced understanding of this cross-disciplinary field. The book offers authoritative coverage of data mining techniques, technologies, and frameworks used for storing, analyzing, and extracting knowledge from large databases in the bioinformatics domains, including genomics and proteomics. It begins by describing the evolution of bioinformatics and highlighting the challenges that can be addressed using data mining techniques. Introducing the various data mining techniques that can be employed in biological databases, the text is organized into four sections: Supplies a complete overview of the evolution of the field and its intersection with computational learning Describes the role of data mining in analyzing large biological databases-explaining the breath of the various feature selection and feature extraction techniques that data mining has to offer Focuses on concepts of unsupervised learning using clustering techniques and its application to large biological data Covers supervised learning using classification techniques most commonly used in bioinformatics-addressing the need for validation and benchmarking of inferences derived using either clustering or classification The book describes the various biological databases prominently referred to in bioinformatics and includes a detailed list of the applications of advanced clustering algorithms used in bioinformatics. Highlighting the challenges encountered during the application of classification on biologica

In Monte Carlo Methods in Chemical Physics: An Introduction to the Monte Carlo Method for Particle Simulations J. Ilja Siepmann Random Number Generators for Parallel Applications Ashok Srinivasan, David M. Ceperley and Michael Mascagni Between Classical and Quantum Monte Carlo Methods: "Variational" QMC Dario Bressanini and Peter J. Reynolds Monte Carlo Eigenvalue Methods in Quantum Mechanics and Statistical Mechanics M. P. Nightingale and C.J. Umrigar Adaptive Path-Integral Monte Carlo Methods for Accurate Computation of Molecular Thermodynamic Properties Robert Q. Topper Monte Carlo Sampling for Classical Trajectory Simulations Gilles H. Peslherbe Haobin Wang and William L. Hase Monte Carlo Approaches to the Protein Folding Problem Jeffrey Skolnick and Andrzej Kolinski Entropy Sampling Monte Carlo for Polypeptides and Proteins Harold A. Scheraga and Minh-Hong Hao Macrostate Dissection of Thermodynamic Monte Carlo Integrals Bruce W. Church, Alex Ulitsky, and David Shalloway Simulated Annealing-Optimal Histogram Methods David M. Ferguson and David G. Garrett Monte Carlo Methods for Polymeric Systems Juan J. de Pablo and Fernando A. Escobedo Thermodynamic-Scaling Methods in Monte Carlo and Their Application to Phase Equilibria John Valleau Semigrand Canonical Monte Carlo Simulation: Integration Along Coexistence Lines David A. Kofke Monte Carlo Methods for Simulating Phase Equilibria of Complex Fluids J. Ilja Siepmann Reactive Canonical Monte Carlo J. Karl Johnson New Monte Carlo Algorithms for Classical Spin Systems G. T. Barkema and M.E.J. Newman

A large variety of organisms - from bacteria to man - form minerals. Skeletons, teeth, spicules, spines, shells, darts, and granules are all mineral-containing tissues. Why, where, and how these minerals form are the central questions addressed in this book. These questions have become important in many fields. Preserved fossils are used to interpret ancient climates, changes in chemical composition of the oceans, or to date geological and archaeological deposits and artefacts. Materials scientists investigate mineralized tissues to try to determine the design principles used by organisms to form strong materials, and many medical problems are associated with normal and pathological mineralization. Heinz Lowenstam, the pioneering researcher in biomineralization, and his former student Stephen Weiner discuss the basic principles of mineral formation by organisms, and compare the various mineralization processes. Reference tables list all known cases in which organisms form minerals.

Plant improvement has shifted its focus from yield, quality and disease resistance to factors that will enhance commercial export, such as early maturity, shelf life and better processing quality. Conventional plant breeding methods aiming at the improvement of a self-pollinating crop usually take 10-12 years to develop and release of the new variety. During the past 10 years, significant advances have been made and accelerated methods have been developed for precision breeding and early release of crop varieties. This book focuses on the accelerated breeding technologies that have been adopted for major oil crops. It summarizes concepts dealing with germplasm enhancement and development of improved varieties based on innovative methodologies that include doubled haploidy, marker assisted selection, marker assisted background selection, genetic mapping, genomic selection, high-throughput genotyping, high-throughput phenotyping, mutation breeding, reverse breeding, transgenic breeding, shuttle breeding, speed breeding, low cost high-throughput field phenotyping, etc. This edited volume is therefore an excellent reference on accelerated development of improved crop varieties.

Although numerous studies have been made of the Western educated political elite of colonial Nigeria in particular, and of Africa in general, very few have approached the study from a perspective that analyzes the impacts of indigenous institutions on the lives, values, and ideas of these individuals. This book is about the diachronic impact of indigenous and Western agencies in the upbringing, socialization, and careers of the colonial Igbo political elite of southeastern Nigeria. The thesis argues that the new elite manifests the continuity of traditions and culture and therefore their leadership values and the impact they brought on African society cannot be fully understood without looking closely at their lived experiences in those indigenous institutions where African life coheres. The key has been to explore this question at the level of biography, set in the context of a carefully reconstructed social history of the particular local communities surrounding the elite figures. It starts from an understanding of their family and village life, and moves forward striving to balance the familiar account of these individuals in public life, with an account of the ongoing influences from family, kinship, age grades, marriage and gender roles, secret societies, the church, local leaders and others. The result is not only a model of a new approach to African elite history, but also an argument about how to understand these emergent leaders and their peers as individuals who shared with their fellow Africans a dynamic and complex set of values that evolved over the six decades of colonialism.

The success of individualized medicine, advanced crops, and new and sustainable energy sources requires thoroughly annotated genomic information and the integration of this information into a coherent model. A thorough overview of this field, Genome Annotation explores automated genome analysis and annotation from its origins to the challenges of next-generation sequencing data analysis. The book initially takes you through the last 16 years since the sequencing of the first complete microbial genome. It explains how current analysis strategies were developed, including sequencing strategies, statistical models, and early annotation systems. The authors then present visualization techniques for displaying integrated results as well as state-of-the-art annotation tools, including MAGPIE, Ensembl, Bluejay, and Galaxy. They also discuss the pipelines for the analysis and annotation of complex, next-generation DNA sequencing data. Each chapter includes references and pointers to relevant tools. As very few existing genome annotation pipelines are capable of dealing with the staggering amount of DNA sequence information, new strategies must be developed to accommodate the needs of today's genome researchers. Covering this topic in detail, Genome Annotation provides you with the foundation and tools to tackle this challenging and evolving area. Suitable for both students new to the field and professionals who deal with genomic information in their work, the book offers two genome annotation systems on an accompanying downloadable resources.

The detailed volume aims to provide a comprehensive hands-on manual covering all the techniques involved in the cellular and molecular identification and characterization of both normal hematopoietic and leukemic stem cells, both from human patients and from mouse models of human leukemia. The book also covers the most frequently used experimental approaches for the generation of such stem cell-based models of human leukemia. 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 comprehensive, Leukemia Stem Cells: Methods and Protocols serves as an ideal guide for researchers, both expert and novice, seeking to further our knowledge of this vital avenue of cancer research.