Over the past decade, significant efforts have been made to develop stem cell-based therapies for difficult to treat diseases. Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells, also referred to as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), appear to hold great promise in regards to a regenerative cell-based therapy for the treatment of these diseases. Currently, more than 200 clinical trials are underway worldwide exploring the use of MSCs for the treatment of a wide range of disorders including bone, cartilage and tendon damage, myocardial infarction, graft-versus-host disease, Crohn s disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, critical limb ischemia and many others.

MSCs were first identified by Friendenstein and colleagues as an adherent stromal cell population within the bone marrow with the ability to form clonogenic colonies "in vitro. "In regards to the basic biology associated with MSCs, there has been tremendous progress towards understanding this cell population s phenotype and function from a range of tissue sources. Despite enormous progress and an overall increased understanding of MSCs at the molecular and cellular level, several critical questions remain to be answered in regards to the use of these cells in therapeutic applications. Clinically, both autologous and allogenic approaches for the transplantation of MSCs are being explored. Several of the processing steps needed for the clinical application of MSCs, including isolation from various tissues, scalable "in vitro "expansion, cell banking, dose preparation, quality control parameters, delivery methods and numerous others are being extensively studied. Despite a significant number of ongoing clinical trials, none of the current therapeutic approaches have, at this point, become a standard of care treatment. Although exceptionally promising, the clinical translation of MSC-based therapies is still a work in progress.

The extensive number of ongoing clinical trials is expected to provide a clearer path forward for the realization and implementation of MSCs in regenerative medicine. Towards this end, reviews of current clinical trial results and discussions of relevant topics association with the clinical application of MSCs are compiled in this book from some of the leading researchers in this exciting and rapidly advancing field. Although not absolutely all-inclusive, we hope the chapters within this book can promote and enable a better understanding of the translation of MSCs from bench-to-bedside and inspire researchers to further explore this promising and quickly evolving field.

Forensic DNA Analysis: Technological Development and Innovative Applications provides a fascinating overview of new and innovative technologies and current applications in forensic genetics. Edited by two forensic experts with many years of forensic crime experience with the Italian police and with prestigious academic universities, the volume takes an interdisciplinary perspective, the volume presents an introduction to genome polymorphisms, discusses, forensic genetic markers, presents a variety of new methods and techniques in forensic genetics, and looks at a selection of new technological innovations and inventions now available from commercial vendors. The book is an important resource for scientists, researchers, and other experts in the field who will find it of interest for its exhaustive discussion of the most important technological innovations in forensic genetics. For those newer to the field, the volume will be an invaluable reference guide to the forensic world.

William Bateson (1861 1926) began his academic career working on variation in animals in the light of evolutionary theory. He was inspired by the rediscovery in 1900 of the 1860s work on plant hybridisation by the Austrian monk Gregor Mendel (included here as an appendix) to pursue further experimental work in what he named 'genetics'. He realised that Mendel's results could help to solve difficult biological questions and controversies and to challenge the status quo in evolutionary studies. Annoyed by the 'apathetic' stance of his evolutionist colleagues, and incensed by a scathing critique of Mendel by the Oxford professor Raphael Weldon, Bateson incorporated an English translation of Mendel's work into this 1902 book along with a defence of Mendel's statistical experiments and the principles of heredity derived from them. His book is an impassioned appeal for scientists to adopt this 'brilliant method' which he felt could revolutionise both scholarship and industry.

Stem cells hold great promise for cell therapy, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications. This book highlights the potency of stem cells, their property of self-renewal and their ability to differentiate into different cell lineages. It further describes the different markers to identify stem cells, sources, methods of isolation, culture including 2D, 3D and beyond and their cryopreservation. This is among the first books to discuss glycosylation and sialylation in stem cells. Chapters describe application of stem cells in regenerative medicine and therapy, and highlight their application in cancer therapy and spinal cord injury. The book talks about the important patents on stem cells. The book also highlights the plant stem cells, discussing their pluoripotent nature, role in organ regeneration after injury, specific stem cell niches, that signals to block differentiation studied in plants shoot, root, and vascular meristems, differentiation of plant stem cell, transcriptional regulation and epigenetic modification of plant stem cells. This book is exciting and cutting edge. It will be of great interest to doctors, students and researchers in the field of regenerative medicine, cancer , biotechnology and plant sciences.

This volume explores and challenges the assumption that behavioral proclivities and pathologies are directly traceable to experience-an assumption that still widely dominates folk psychology as well as the perspective of many mental health practitioners. This tendency continues despite powerful evidence from the field of behavioral genetics that genetic endowment dwarfs other discrete influences on development and psychopathology when extrinsic conditions are not extreme. An interdisciplinary collection, the book uses historical, cultural and clinical perspectives to challenge the longstanding notion of identity as the product of a life-narrative. Although the nativist-empiricist debate has been revivified by recent advances in molecular biology, such ideas date back to the Socratic dialogue on the innate mathematical sense possessed by an illiterate slave. The author takes a philosophical and historical approach in revisiting the writings of select figures from science, medicine, and literature whose insights into the potency of inherited factors in behavior were particularly prescient, and ran contrary to the modern declivity toward the self as narrative. The final part of the volume uses historical and clinical perspectives to help illuminate the elusive concept of innateness, and highlights important ramifications of the revolution in behavioral genetics. Seeking to challenge the clinical utility of the therapeutic narrative rather than the importance of experience per se, the book will ultimately appeal to psychiatrists, psychologists, and academics from various disciplines working across the fields of behavioral genetics, evolutionary biology, philosophy of science, and the history of science.

This collection vigorously addresses the religious implications of extreme human enhancement technology. Topics covered include cutting edge themes, such as moral enhancement, common ground to both transhumanism and religion, the meaning of death, desire and transcendence, and virtue ethics. Radical enhancement programs, advocated by transhumanists, could arguably have a more profound impact than any other development in human history. Reflecting a range of opinion about the desirability of extreme enhancement, leading scholars in the field join with emerging scholars to foster enhanced conversation on these topics.

Darwinian theory, with genes at its center, still frames our discussion of evolution. Yet now the picture within the frame-a portrait rendered in detail at the cellular and molecular level-contains the real stuff of today's big questions about living organisms. Genetics and molecular biology have revealed a new realm of complexity in life, with major implications for how we understand evolution.

Genetics and the Logic of Evolution provides a much-needed overview and analysis of general principles and patterns of evolution in light of contemporary biology. Taking a functional approach to explain how genes are used across the diverse range of species, the authors consider:

• Basic concepts and principles of biological complexity
• Alternative and supplemental principles to Darwinian theory
• Building blocks of life: how DNA, RNA, and genes work in single-cell and multi-cellular organisms
• Communication within an organism
• Detection and perception of the environment
• Evolutionary order and disorder and the sometimes fluid relationships between phenotypes and genotypes

Working outwards from the molecular level, Genetics and the Logic of Evolution moves its discourse towards a broader sense of life and how organisms live it. Written to be both scientifically rigorous and accessible to the layman, this treatment offers students and practitioners a refreshingly grand tour of the most important generalizations to emerge from recent biological research.

This 2004 collection of essays deals with the foundation and historical development of population biology and its relationship to population genetics and population ecology on the one hand and to the rapidly growing fields of molecular quantitative genetics, genomics and bioinformatics on the other. Such an interdisciplinary treatment of population biology has never been attempted before. The volume is set in a historical context, but it has an up-to-date coverage of material in various related fields. The areas covered are the foundation of population biology, life history evolution and demography, density and frequency dependent selection, recent advances in quantitative genetics and bioinformatics, evolutionary case history of model organisms focusing on polymorphisms and selection, mating system evolution and evolution in the hybrid zones, and applied population biology including conservation, infectious diseases and human diversity. This is the third of three volumes published in honour of Richard Lewontin.

Revealing essential roles of the tumor microenvironment in cancer progression, this volume focuses on the extracellular matrix components of the tumor during cancer development. Further, it teaches readers about the roles of distinct constituents of the tumor microenvironment and how they affect cancer development. Topics include heparan sulphate, hyaluronan, fibronectin, perlecan, glypican, matrix metalloproteinases, and much more. Taken alongside its companion volumes, Tumor Microenvironment: Extracellular Matrix Components - Part A updates us on what we know about the different aspects of the tumor microenvironment, as well as apprises us on the future advances in the field. For the newest generation of researchers, this volume serves as a useful introduction to the history of scientists' focus on the tumor microenvironment, and explores how this knowledge is currently applied in cancer treatments. The book is an essential text for advanced cell biology and cancer biology students, as well as for scientists seeking an update on the developments in tumor microenvironment research. All of the chapter authors are renowned international experts in the field of cancer biology, and in the specific subfields that are the focus of their chapters.

Chromatin Remodelling and Immunity, Volume 106, the latest release in the Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology series is an essential resource for protein chemists. Each volume brings forth new information about protocols and analysis of proteins, with each thematically organized volume guest edited by leading experts in a broad range of protein-related topics.

This collection reviews developments in DNA profiling across jurisdictions with a focus on scientific and technological developments as well as their political, ethical, and socio-legal aspects. Written by leading scholars in the fields of social studies of forensic science, science and technology studies and socio-legal studies, the book provides state-of-the-art analyses of forensic DNA practices in a diverse range of jurisdictions, new and emerging forensic genetics technologies and issues of legitimacy. The work articulates the various forms of technolegal politics involved in the everyday, standardised and emerging practices of forensic genetics and engages with the most recent scholarly and policy literature. In analyses of empirical cases, and by taking into account the most recent technolegal developments, the book explores what it means to live in a world that is increasingly governed through anticipatory crime control and its related risk management and bio-surveillance mechanisms, which intervene with and produce political and legal subjectivities through human bodies in their DNA. This volume is an invaluable resource for those working in the areas of social studies of forensic science, science and technology studies, socio-legal studies, sociology, anthropology, ethics, law, politics and international relations.

The earliest land-plants evolved around 450 million years ago from aquatic plants devoid of vascular systems. The diversification of flowering plants (angiosperms) during the Cretaceous period is associated with speciation in insects. Early insect herbivores were mandibulate, but the evolution of vascular plants led to the co-evolution of other forms of herbivory, such as leaf feeding, sap-sucking, leaf mining, tissue borer, gall forming and nectar-feeding. Plant defense against biotic stress is an adaptive evolution by plants to increase their fitness. Plants use a variety of strategies to defend against damage caused by herbivores. Plant defense mechanisms are either inbuilt or induced. Inbuilt mechanisms are always present within the plant, while induced defenses are produced or mobilized to the site where a plant is injured. Induced defense mechanisms include morphological, physiological changes and production of secondary metabolites. Host plant resistance (HPR) is one of the eco-friendly methods of pest management. It protects the crop by making it less suitable or tolerant to the pest. While books on theoretical aspects of HPR are available, an exclusive book on the practical aspects is lacking. There is a wide gap between the theory and the experimental procedures required for conducting studies on plant resistance for the post graduate students and young researchers. A dire need for a book on practical aspects was strongly felt. Initially a practical manual was prepared which eventually evolved into the present book. We hope this book provides information on major aspects of screening crop germplasm, sampling techniques, genetic and biochemical basis of HPR, behavioural studies on pheromone and plant volatiles, and some of the recent approaches in HPR. Further, the references provide the scientific articles and books as additional information to readers and workers alike.

This collection reviews developments in DNA profiling across jurisdictions with a focus on scientific and technological developments as well as their political, ethical, and socio-legal aspects. Written by leading scholars in the fields of social studies of forensic science, science and technology studies and socio-legal studies, the book provides state-of-the-art analyses of forensic DNA practices in a diverse range of jurisdictions, new and emerging forensic genetics technologies and issues of legitimacy. The work articulates the various forms of technolegal politics involved in the everyday, standardised and emerging practices of forensic genetics and engages with the most recent scholarly and policy literature. In analyses of empirical cases, and by taking into account the most recent technolegal developments, the book explores what it means to live in a world that is increasingly governed through anticipatory crime control and its related risk management and bio-surveillance mechanisms, which intervene with and produce political and legal subjectivities through human bodies in their DNA. This volume is an invaluable resource for those working in the areas of social studies of forensic science, science and technology studies, socio-legal studies, sociology, anthropology, ethics, law, politics and international relations.

Advances in Genetics provides the latest information on the rapidly evolving field of genetics, presenting new medical breakthroughs that are occurring as a result of advances in our knowledge of the topic. The book continually publishes important reviews of the broadest interest to geneticists and their colleagues in affiliated disciplines, critically analyzing future directions.

Life is often a matter of gambles, pay-offs, and trade-offs, just like a game. This book takes readers on a tour through the games and computer simulations that are actually helping to advance knowledge in such fields as ecology, evolution, and animal behavior. Although the book deals with questions of vital importance, like sex and survival, it does so in the lively, entertaining spirit of game-playing. It starts with artificial life and self-replicating automata, a topic ideally suited for a computer-games approach. The book goes on to study pursuit games between predators and prey, and chaotic motion and its role in ecology. Games of chance and statistical paradoxes illuminate the randomness in molecular evolution, while some bizarre double games played by chromosomes help explain the laws of population genetics. Other topics include courtship, ownership, partnership, and brinksmanship--illustrated through the game of poker and computer tournaments. No other book explains so well why scientific observations and insights can be structured as the rules of a survival game, and what happens when they are assembled on a computer or in the mind and allowed to run their course. General readers as well as professionals and students in ecological, evolutionary, and behavioral studies will find this a fascinating and informative work.

Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a leading reference and first-rate source for the latest research in agronomy. Each volume contains an eclectic group of reviews by leading scientists throughout the world. Six volumes are published yearly, ensuring that the esteemed work of its contributors is disseminated in a timely manner. As always, the subjects covered are varied and exemplary of the myriad of subject matter dealt with by this long-running serial.

Advances in Agronomy continues its reputation as a leading reference and first-rate source for the latest research in agronomy. Each volume contains an eclectic group of reviews by leading scientists throughout the world. Five volumes are published yearly, ensuring that the authors' contributions are disseminated to the readership in a timely manner. As always, the subjects covered are varied and exemplary of the myriad of subject matter dealt with by this long-running serial.

Genomics in Aquaculture is a concise, must-have reference that describes current advances within the field of genomics and their applications to aquaculture. Written in an accessible manner for anyone-non-specialists to experts alike-this book provides in-depth coverage of genomics spanning from genome sequencing, to transcriptomics and proteomics. It provides, for ease of learning, examples from key species most relevant to current intensive aquaculture practice. Its coverage of minority species that have a specific biological interest (e.g., Pleuronectiformes) makes this book useful for countries that are developing such species. It is a robust, practical resource that covers foundational, functional, and applied aspects of genomics in aquaculture, presenting the most current information in a field of research that is rapidly growing.

Genetics, Genomics and Fish Phenomics provides the latest information on the rapidly evolving field of genetics, presenting new medical breakthroughs that are occurring as a result of advances in our knowledge of genetics. The book continually publishes important reviews of the broadest interest to geneticists and their colleagues in affiliated disciplines, critically analyzing future directions, with hhis volume focusing on genetics, genomics, and phenomics of fish.

Much research has focused on the basic cellular and molecular biological aspects of stem cells. Much of this research has been fueled by their potential for use in regenerative medicine applications, which has in turn spurred growing numbers of translational and clinical studies. However, more work is needed if the potential is to be realized for improvement of the lives and well-being of patients with numerous diseases and conditions. This book series 'Cell Biology and Translational Medicine (CBTMED)' as part of SpringerNature's longstanding and very successful Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology book series, has the goal to accelerate advances by timely information exchange. Emerging areas of regenerative medicine and translational aspects of stem cells are covered in each volume. Outstanding researchers are recruited to highlight developments and remaining challenges in both the basic research and clinical arenas. This current book is the seventh volume of a continuing series. Chapter "Application of iPSC to Modelling of Respiratory Diseases" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book aims to comprehensively review the current cell-based strategies under investigation to achieve the regeneration of human hair follicles. The unique capacity of the human hair follicle to self-renew explains why this complex "mini-organ" has always attracted so much interest as a model for researchers to study stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. The hair follicle is considered a main reservoir of cutaneous stem cells, containing several pools of epithelial, melanocyte, and mesenchymal stem cells involved in hair follicle self-regeneration and pigmentation. In addition, while some of the different follicular cell types contribute to hair shaft growth, others participate in very important interfollicular functions such as dermal remodeling, re-epithelialization after wounding, and cutaneous stem cell homeostasis. The idea of human hair follicle regeneration either "de novo" or by activating dormant miniaturized follicles is not new, yet still continues to arouse enormous interest in the pursuit of a definitive cure for baldness. In contrast to hair follicle regeneration in mice, the attempts made with human follicles have been disappointing in terms of efficiency. However, recent advances in stem cell biology-as well as the appearance of new technologies like 3D printing-have revived expectations in this field of research. This book is divided into four sections. The first part includes an overview of the strategies used in hair follicle regeneration and a historical summary of the most important achievements to date. Parts two and three comprise the main body of the book, with detailed descriptions of the cells and tissue structures involved in hair follicle regeneration, followed by an elaboration of the different therapeutic strategies, engineering techniques, and a clinician's perspective of stem cell-based therapies in hair loss treatments. Finally, the fourth part reviews the important contribution of the hair follicle in healing cutaneous wounds through the regeneration and remodeling of the dermis and epidermis after injury, as well as wound induced hair follicle neogenesis that occurs when the skin is injured.

Described as the earliest, simplest life forms, with unlimited metabolic versatility, bacteria are ideally suited to answer some very fundamental questions on life and its processes. They have been employed in almost all fields of biological studies, including Genetics. The whole edifice of science of Genetics centers around three processes: the generation, expression, and transmission of biological variation, and bacteria offer immediate advantages in studying all the three aspects of heredity. Being haploid and structurally simple, it becomes easy to isolate mutations of various kinds and relate them to a function. The availability of such mutants and their detailed genetic and biochemical analyses lead to a gamut of information on gene expression and its regulation. While studying the transmission of biological variation, it is clear that unlike their eukaryotic counterpart, a more genetic approach needs to be employed. Transmission of genetic information in most eukaryotic organisms rests on sexual reproduction that allows the generation of genetically variable offspring through the process of gene recombination. Even though bacteria show an apparent preference for asexual reproduction, they too have evolved mechanisms to trade their genetic material. In fact, bacteria not only could acquire many genes from close relatives, but also from entirely distant members through the process of horizontal gene transfer. Their success story of long evolutionary existence will stand testimony to these mechanisms. While teaching a course on Microbial Genetics to the post-graduate students at Delhi University, it was realized that a book devoted to bacterial genetics may be very handy to the students, researchers, and teachers alike. A strong foundation in genetics also helps in comprehending more modern concepts of molecular biology and recombinant DNA technology, always a favorite with the students and researchers. Planning the format of the book, emphasis has been laid on the generation and transmission of biological variability. The omission of expression part is indeed intentional because lots of information is available on this aspect in any modern biology book. The contents are spread over seven chapters and the text is supported with figures/tables wherever possible. The endeavor has been to induce the readers to appreciate the strength of bacterial genetics and realize the contribution of these tiny organisms to the growth of biological sciences as a whole and genetics in particular.

For millennia humanity has simultaneously deplored and waged war. With each conflict the stakes have risen, and we now face global annihilation for the sake of a practice all the world claims to condemn. Is there some seemingly irresistible force that impels us toward our own destruction? To explain this central paradox of human behaviour, Genetic Seeds of Warfare, originally published in 1989, advances a startling new theory. It traces the origins of warfare back to early groups of Homo sapiens in competition for scarce resources, showing that warfare evolved as these groups evolved: kin-group against kin-group; tribe against tribe; nation against nation. Rather than being tied to a specific gene, warfare emerged as one of many behavioural strategies for maximising genetic survival. As social groups became more complex, motivations for warfare developed from simple protection of blood relations to political appeals to shared ethnicity, religion, and national identity. But the ultimate cause of warfare is rooted in the most basic of human drives: the need to ensure that one's genes will survive and reproduce. The authors challenge many assumptions about human behaviour in general, and warfare in particular. They convincingly present the case for an evolutionary understanding of the propensity for warfare, supporting their argument with data from a vast array of social and natural science research. In doing so, they reveal why previous attempts at ending war have failed, and make proactive suggestions toward the development of a new agenda for world peace.

This second edition provides updated and comprehensive methods on miRNA biogenesis and their role in the development and progression of various human diseases. Chapters detail miRNA biogenesis, isolating RNA, extracellular vesicles (EVs), circulating miRNAs, analyzing miRNA and miRDeep-P2, protocols for total RNA isolation from cells, cell-derived products, isolation and characterization of exosomes, serum, plasma specimens, and software tools. Written in the 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 protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, MicroRNA Profiling: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition aims to provide comprehensive and accessible methods to undergraduate, graduate, and established scientist.

A TIMES ENVIRONMENT AND SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 'Brilliant .. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough' - Henry Marsh, New Statesman (about The Idea of the Brain) A new gene editing technology, invented just seven years ago, has turned humanity into gods. Enabling us to manipulate the genes in virtually any organism with exquisite precision, CRISPR has given scientists a degree of control that was undreamt of even in science fiction. But CRISPR is just the latest, giant leap in a long journey to master genetics. The Genetic Age shows the astonishing, world-changing potential of the new genetics and the possible threats it poses, sifting between fantasy and the reality when it comes to both benefits and dangers. By placing each phase of discovery, anticipation and fear in the context of over fifty years of attempts to master the natural world, Matthew Cobb, the Baillie-Gifford-shortlisted author of The Idea of the Brain, weaves the stories of science, history and culture to shed new light on our future. With the powers now at our disposal, it is a future that is almost impossible to imagine - but it is one we will create ourselves.