What does a mammoth smell like? Do dinosaurs bob their heads as they walk, like today’s birds? Do aurochs moo like cows? You may soon find out.

From the Siberian permafrost to balmy California, scientists across the globe are working to resurrect all kinds of extinct animals, from ones that just left us to those that have been gone for many thousands of years. Their tools in this hunt are both fossils and cutting-edge genetic technologies. Some of these scientists are driven by sheer curiosity; others view the lost species as a powerful weapon in the fight to save rapidly disappearing ecosystems.

Science journalist Torill Kornfeldt travelled the world to meet the men and women working to bring extinct animals back from the dead. Along the way, she saw a mammoth that has been frozen for 20,000 years, and visited the places where these furry giants once walked. It seems certain that they and other lost species will walk the earth again, but what world will that give us? And is any of this a good idea?

What are genes? What do genes do? These seemingly simple questions are in fact challenging to answer accurately. As a result, there are widespread misunderstandings and over-simplistic answers, which lead to common conceptions widely portrayed in the media, such as the existence of a gene 'for' a particular characteristic or disease. In reality, the DNA we inherit interacts continuously with the environment and functions differently as we age. What our parents hand down to us is just the beginning of our life story. This comprehensive book analyses and explains the gene concept, combining philosophical, historical, psychological and educational perspectives with current research in genetics and genomics. It summarises what we currently know and do not know about genes and the potential impact of genetics on all our lives. Making Sense of Genes is an accessible but rigorous introduction to contemporary genetics concepts for non-experts, undergraduate students, teachers and healthcare professionals.

Each plant species has its own unique passage that is affected by its gene pool, dispersal ability, interactions with competitors and pests, and the habitats and climactic conditions to which it is exposed. This book will explore plant species as dynamic entities within this passage, following the four stages of plant species life that normally occur. Those four stages can be identified as birth, expansion, differentiation and loss of cohesion, and decline/extinction. Each chapter focuses on part of the speciation process and examines it closely in the light of exploring the species passage from birth to death.

The latest edition of this highly successful textbook introduces the key techniques and concepts involved in cloning genes and in studying their expression and variation.
The new edition features:
Increased coverage of whole-genome sequencing technologies and enhanced treatment of bioinformatics.Clear, two-colour diagrams throughout.A dedicated website including all figures.

Noted for its outstanding balance between clarity of coverage and level of detail, this book provides an excellent introduction to the fast moving world of molecular genetics.

Transhumanists advocate for the development and distribution of technologies that will enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities, even eliminate aging. What if the dystopian futures and transhumanist utopias found in the pages of science journals, Margaret Atwood novels, films like "Gattaca," and television shows like "Dark Angel" are realized? What kind of world would humans have created?

Maxwell J. Mehlman considers the promises and perils of using genetic engineering in an effort to direct the future course of human evolution. He addresses scientific and ethical issues without choosing sides in the dispute between transhumanists and their challengers. However, "Transhumanist Dreams and Dystopian Nightmares" reveals that radical forms of genetic engineering could become a reality much sooner than many people think, and that we need to encourage risk-management efforts.

Whether scientists are dubious or optimistic about the prospects for directed evolution, they tend to agree on two things. First, however long it takes to perfect the necessary technology, it is inevitable that humans will attempt to control their evolutionary future, and second, in the process of learning how to direct evolution, we are bound to make mistakes. Our responsibility is to learn how to balance innovation with caution.

* Six new chapters on vital topics of interest such as multilocus SNP genotyping (SNP chips), RNAi, ChIP-chip, and genomic tiling arrays* New edition responds to reviewers' and users' desire for greater coverage-now the most useful handbook on the market!* Practical, concise summary of everything about genomics and emerging technologies a busy physician or medical student should know* Covers concepts and techniques that are in use in medicine now, as well as those on the cutting-edge of science relevant to medicine, from bioinformatics to DNA diagnostics and proteomics*NEW: Includes chapter-end exercises, enhancing the utility of the new edition as a textbook*NEW: PowerPoint slides of images available at instructor website

Summarizing landmark research, Volume 3 of this essential series furnishes information on the availability of germplasm resources that breeders can exploit for producing high-yielding vegetable crop varieties. Written by leading international experts, this volume offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on employing genetic resources to increase the yield of those vegetable crops that provide a main source of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. In eleven succinct chapters, Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement: Vegetable Crops, Volume 3 focuses on potato, tomato, brassicas, okra, capsicum, alliums, cucurbits, lettuce, eggplant, and carrot. An introductory chapter outlines the cytogenetic architecture of vegetable crops, describes the principles and strategies of cytogenetics and breeding, and summarizes landmarks in current research. This sets the stage for the ensuing crop-specific chapters. Each chapter generally provides a comprehensive account of the crop, its origin and taxonomy, wild relatives, exploitation of genetic resources diversity in the primary, secondary, and tertiary gene pools through breeding and cytogenetic manipulation, and genetic enrichment using the tools of molecular genetics and biotechnology. Certain to become the standard reference for improving the yields of these critical vegetable crops, this book is the definitive source of information for plant breeders, gene-bankers, cytogeneticists, taxonomists, molecular biologists, biotechnologists, and graduate students, researchers, agronomists, horticulturists, farmers and consumers in these fields.

The latest edition of this highly successful textbook introduces the key techniques and concepts involved in cloning genes and in studying their expression and variation.
The new edition features:
Increased coverage of whole-genome sequencing technologies and enhanced treatment of bioinformatics.Clear, two-colour diagrams throughout.A dedicated website including all figures.

Noted for its outstanding balance between clarity of coverage and level of detail, this book provides an excellent introduction to the fast moving world of molecular genetics.

Presenting all preclinical and clinical information available on genetically engineered toxins, this unique, single-source reference provides the most up-to-date methods and practical examples for conducting clinical studies in toxin molecular biology.;Reviewing difficult problems and their solutions, Genetically Engineered Toxins discusses techniques for clo;ning, expressing, and purifying recombinant toxins and genetically modified recombinant toxins; documents structure-function relationships in toxins, including comparative information; supplies theory and illustrations of chimeric toxins; delineates the preclinical assessments of new reagents; and summarizes approaches to drug design.;With over 1100 literature citations, Genetically Engineered Toxins is an invaluable resource for biochemists, molecular biologists, biotechnologists, pharmacologists, toxicologists, X-ray crystallographers, enzymologists, oncologists, hematologists, immunologists, rheumatologists, botanists, and graduate-level students in molecular biology, biotechnology, and clinical oncology courses.

Stem Cell Nanoengineering reviews the applications of nanotechnology in the fields of stem cells, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. Topics addressed include various types of stem cells, underlying principles of nanobiotechnology, the making of nano-scaffolds, nano tissue engineering, applications of nanotechnology in stem cell tracking and molecular imaging, nano-devices, as well as stem cell nano-engineering from bench to bedside. Written by renowned experts in their respective fields, chapters describe and explore a wide variety of topics in stem cell nanoengineering, making the book a valuable resource for both researchers and clinicians in biomedical and bioengineering fields.

In China, as elsewhere, the debate over genetically modified organisms has become polarized into anti- and pro-GMO camps. Given the size of China's population and market, much is at stake in conflicts over regulation for domestic as well as international actors. In this book, Cong Cao provides an even-handed analysis that illuminates the tensions that have shaped China's policy toward agricultural biotechnology in a global perspective. Cao presents a comprehensive and systematic analysis of how China's policy toward research and commercialization of genetically modified crops has shifted that explains how China's changing GMO stances reflect its evolving position on the world stage. While China's scientific community has set the agenda, it has encountered resistance rooted in concerns over food safety and consumers' rights as well as issues of intellectual property rights and food sovereignty. Although Chinese leaders at first sought to take advantage of the biotech revolution by promoting GMO crop consumption, Cao demonstrates that policy has since become precautionary, as seen in new laws and regulations grounded in concerns over safety and the deferral of commercialization of GM rice. He presents China's policies in light of changing global attitudes toward GM crops: As shifts in China have closely followed global trends, so has domestic activism. Drawing on government and scientific documents as well as interviews with scientists, officials, policy analysts, activists, and journalists, GMO China is an important book for China studies, science and technology studies, policy analysts, and professionals interested in the Chinese biotechnology market.

This book is the first comprehensive assemblage of contemporary knowledge relevant to genomics and other omics in date palm. Volume 2 consists of 11 chapters. Part I, Nutritional and Pharmaceuticals Properties, covers the utilization of date palm as an ingredient of various food products, a source of bioactive compounds and the production of nanomaterials. Part II, Omics Technologies, addresses omics resources, proteomics and metabolomics. Part III, Molecular Breeding and Genome Modification, focuses on genetic improvement technologies based on mutagenesis, quantitative traits loci and genome editing. Part IV, Genomics of Abiotic and Biotic Stress, covers metagenomics of beneficial microbes to enhance tolerance to abiotic stress and the various genomics advances as they apply to insect control. This volume represents the efforts of 34 international scientists from 12 countries and contains 65 figures and 19 tables to illustrate presented concepts. Volume 1 is published under the title: Phylogeny, Biodiversity and Mapping.

A comprehensive guide to a powerful new analytical tool by two of its foremost innovators

The past decade has witnessed many exciting advances in the use of genetic algorithms (GAs) to solve optimization problems in everything from product design to scheduling and client/server networking. Aided by GAs, analysts and designers now routinely evolve solutions to complex combinatorial and multiobjective optimization problems with an ease and rapidity unthinkable withconventional methods. Despite the continued growth and refinement of this powerful analytical tool, there continues to be a lack of up-to-date guides to contemporary GA optimization principles and practices. Written by two of the world's leading experts in the field, this book fills that gap in the literature.

Taking an intuitive approach, Mitsuo Gen and Runwei Cheng employ numerous illustrations and real-world examples to help readers gain a thorough understanding of basic GA concepts-including encoding, adaptation, and genetic optimizations-and to show how GAs can be used to solve an array of constrained, combinatorial, multiobjective, and fuzzy optimization problems. Focusing on problems commonly encountered in industry-especially in manufacturing-Professors Gen and Cheng provide in-depth coverage of advanced GA techniques for:
* Reliability design
* Manufacturing cell design
* Scheduling
* Advanced transportation problems
* Network design and routing

Genetic Algorithms and Engineering Optimization is an indispensable working resource for industrial engineers and designers, as well as systems analysts, operations researchers, and management scientists working in manufacturing and related industries. It also makes an excellent primary or supplementary text for advanced courses in industrial engineering, management science, operations research, computer science, and artificial intelligence.

Genetic Engineering of Horticultural Crops provides key insights into commercialized crops, their improved productivity, disease and pest resistance, and enhanced nutritional or medicinal benefits. It includes insights into key technologies, such as marker traits identification and genetic traits transfer for increased productivity, examining the latest transgenic advances in a variety of crops and providing foundational information that can be applied to new areas of study. As modern biotechnology has helped to increase crop productivity by introducing novel gene(s) with high quality disease resistance and increased drought tolerance, this is an ideal resource for researchers and industry professionals.

Sugarcane is the most important plant source for sugar and alcohol production and is cultivated in more than 80 countries in tropical and subtropical areas. However, environmental factors negatively influence its yield and jeopardize the prospect to meet the increasing demand for sugar, other sugarcane derived by products and bioethanol. The development of stress tolerant plants is fundamental for the maintenance and increase of crop yields. Biotechnology to Enhance Sugarcane Productivity and Stress Tolerance provides a comprehensive account of both theoretical and practical aspects of sugarcane production. It contains extensive coverage of genome mapping and molecular breeding in sugarcane and presents the status of the elucidation and improvement of plant genomes of economic interest. Through 14 chapters written by eminent scientists with global influence, this book examines various methods for sugarcane improvement through biotechnology. The book focuses on genetic and physical mapping, positioning, cloning, and monitoring of desirable genes using biotechnological approaches for high sugarcane productivity and the development of stress tolerance. Additional information includes the bioengineering of sugarcane, procedures to boost productivity, genetics and assessments for resistance to drought and salinity, genetics for high yields, and various topics of research on sugarcane genetics. It serves as a detailed reference source for cane growers, sugar and sugarcane technologists, students, and professors.

Dr. Jean Huxsoll and a team of distinguished biotechnology industry experts from the U.S. and Europe offer a wealth of practical guidelines to designing, implementing, and managing QA systems to assure that biopharmaceutical products meet standards for safety purity, and potency. Quality Assurance for Biopharmaceuticals covers all important theoretical and practical concerns, including detailed guidelines to meeting GMP compliance; quality assurance of production; quality assurance of analytical methods; advanced documentation, sampling, and validation techniques; comprehensive coverage of regulatory issues in the U.S., Europe, and Japan; and much more.

Epigenetics and Systems Biology highlights the need for collaboration between experiments and theoretical modeling that is required for successful application of systems biology in epigenetics studies. This book breaks down the obstacles which exist between systems biology and epigenetics researchers due to information barriers and segmented research, giving real-life examples of successful combinations of systems biology and epigenetics experiments. Each section covers one type of modeling and one set of epigenetic questions on which said models have been successfully applied. In addition, the book highlights how modeling and systems biology relate to studies of RNA, DNA, and genome instability, mechanisms of DNA damage signaling and repair, and the effect of the environment on genome stability.

Das erste Laborhandbuch der Humangenetik. Jedes Kapitel behandelt eine Praxiseinheit. Die Themen reichen von den Grundlagen des menschlichen Erbgutes uber die Genetik von Krankheiten, webbasierte Ressourcen, Bioinformatik und Individualmedizin bis hin zur genetischen Beratung.

Genetic and Genomic Resources For Cereals Improvement is the first book to bring together the latest available genetic resources and genomics to facilitate the identification of specific germplasm, trait mapping, and allele mining that are needed to more effectively develop biotic and abiotic-stress-resistant grains. As grain cereals, including rice, wheat, maize, barley, sorghum, and millets constitute the bulk of global diets, both of vegetarian and non-vegetarian, there is a greater need for further genetic improvement, breeding, and plant genetic resources to secure the future food supply. This book is an invaluable resource for researchers, crop biologists, and students working with crop development and the changes in environmental climate that have had significant impact on crop production. It includes the latest information on tactics that ensure that environmentally robust genes and crops resilient to climate change are identified and preserved.

This is the first time that human organs, such as the heart, liver, kidney, stomach, uterus, skin, lung, pancreas and breast can be manufactured automatically and precisely for clinical transplantation, drug screening and metabolism model establishment. Headed by Professor Xiaohong Wang (also the founder and director) in the Center of Organ Manufacturing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, this group has focused on organ manufacturing for over ten years. A series of technical bottleneck problems, such as vascular and nerve system establishment in a construct, multiple cell types and material system incorporation, and stem cell sequential engagement, have been overcome one by one. Two technical approaches have been exploited extensively. One is multiple nozzle rapid prototyping (RP), additive manufacturing (AM), or three-dimension (3D) printing. The other is combined mold systems. More than 110 articles and 40 patents with a series of theories and practices have been published consequently. In the future, all the failed organs (including the brain) in the human body can be substituted easily like a small accessory part in a car. Everyone can get benefit from these techniques, which ultimately means that the lifespan of humans, therefore, can be greatly prolonged from this time point. This book examines the progress made in the field and the developments made by these researchers (and authors) in the field.

With the completion of a finished rice genome sequence, increasing efforts have focused on functional characterization of rice genes, elucidation of the underlying mechanisms involved in major agronomic traits (e.g., high yield, grain quality, abiotic stress tolerance, and disease resistance), and the subsequent translation of genomic knowledge into agricultural productivity via molecular breeding and improved cultural practice. To meet increasing interest in this field, "Rice Protocols" has been compiled to provide a series of core techniques and approaches commonly used in studying rice molecular biology and functional genomics. These approaches include genetic and molecular techniques such as artificial hybridization, fluorescence "in situ" hybridization, generation and characterization of chemical and T-DNA insertional mutants, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analysis and map-based cloning, site-specific transgene integration, and artificial microRNA-mediated gene silencing, along with a variety of omics techniques. Written in the highly successful "Methods in Molecular Biology " series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Authoritative and easy to use, "Rice Protocols" will prove useful for both beginners and experienced researchers whether they are molecular biologists who want to study rice plants or rice researchers who are interested in learning molecular techniques."

"Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering in Dental Sciences" bridges the gap left by many tissue engineering and stem cell biology titles to highlight the importance of research in this field in the dental sciences.It compiles basic embryology and developmental biology with keen focus on stem cells, basic cell and matrix biology with relevance to tissue regeneration and repair, biomaterials (including nanotechnology) and current applications in various disciplines of dental science.Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field of biomedical research which combines life, engineering, and materials sciences to further the maintenance, repair, and replacement of diseased and damaged tissues. This emerging area of research applies an understanding of normal tissue physiology to develop novel biomaterial, acellular, and cell-based therapies for clinical application. These strategies are being developed and evaluated as potential treatments of dental conditions, particularly periodontology, endodontics, dental implantology, and oral-maxillofacial surgery.
Covers all aspects related to stem cell biology and tissue engineering in dental sciences: basic science, research, clinical application and commercializationDescribes stem cell biology with details focused on dental stem cells and their potential research application throughout medicine Describes new technologies and fabrication techniques in the fields of stem cells and biomaterial and tissue engineering research, including the latest advances in nanotechnology"

Protein transport into and across membranes is a fundamental process in bacteria that touches upon and unites many areas of microbiology, including bacterial cell physiology, adhesion and motility, nutrient scavenging, intrabacterial signaling and social behavior, toxin deployment, interbacterial antagonism and collaboration, host invasion and disruption, and immune evasion. A broad repertoire of mechanisms and macromolecular machines are required to deliver protein substrates across bacterial cell membranes for intended effects. Some machines are common to most, if not all bacteria, whereas others are specific to Gram-negative or Gram-positive species or species with unique cell envelope properties such as members of Actinobacteria and Spirochetes. Protein Secretion in Bacteria, authored and edited by an international team of experts, draws together the many distinct functions and mechanisms involved in protein translocation in one concise tome. This comprehensive book presents updated information on all aspects of bacterial protein secretion encompassing: Individual secretory systems-Sec, Tat, and T1SS through the newly discovered T9SS Mechanisms, structures, and functions of bacterial secretion systems Lipoprotein sorting pathways, outer membrane vesicles, and the sortase system Structures and roles of surface organelles, including flagella, pili, and curli Emerging technologies and translational implications Protein Secretion in Bacteria serves as both an introductory guide for students and postdocs and a ready reference for seasoned researchers whose work touches on protein export and secretion. This volume synthesizes the diversity of mechanisms of bacterial secretion across the microbial world into a digestible resource to stimulate new research, inspire continued identification and characterization of novel systems, and bring about new ways to manipulate these systems for biotechnological, preventative, and therapeutic applications.

Early characterization of toxicity and efficacy would significantly impact the overall productivity of pharmaceutical R&D and reduce drug candidate attrition and failure. By describing the available platforms and weighing their relative advantages and disadvantages, including microarray data analysis, Genomics in Drug Discovery and Development introduces readers to the biomarker, pharmacogenomic, and toxicogenomics toolbox. The authors provide a valuable resource for pharmaceutical discovery scientists, preclinical drug safety department personnel, regulatory personnel, discovery toxicologists, and safety scientists, drug development professionals, and pharmaceutical scientists.

While there has been great progress in the development of plant breeding over the last decade, the selection of suitable plants for human consumption began over 13,000 years ago. Since the Neolithic era, the cultivation of plants has progressed in Asia Minor, Asia, Europe, and ancient America, each specific to the locally wild plants as well as the ecological and social conditions. A handy reference for knowing our past, understanding the present, and creating the future, this book provides a comprehensive treatment of the development of crop improvement methods over the centuries. It features an extensive historical treatment of development, including influential individuals in the field, plant cultivation in various regions, techniques used in the Old World, and cropping in ancient America. The advances of scientific plant breeding in the twentieth century is extensively explored, including efficient selection methods, hybrid breeding, induced polyploidy, mutation research, biotechnology, and genetic manipulation. Finally, this book presents information on approaches to the sustainability of breeding and to cope with climatic changes as well as the growing world population.