Antisense technology is the ability to manipulate gene expression within mammalian cells providing powerful experimental approaches for the study of gene function and gene regulation. For example, methods that inhibit gene expression permit studies which probe the normal function of a specific product within a cell. Such methodology can be used in many disciplines such as pharmacology, oncology, genetics, cell biology, developmental biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and neurosciences. This volume will be a truly important tool in biomedical-oriented research.
The critically acclaimed laboratory standard for more than forty years, Methods in Enzymology is one of the most highly respected publications in the field of biochemistry. Since 1955, each volume has been eagerly awaited, frequently consulted, and praised by researchers and reviewers alike. Now with more than 300 volumes (all of them still in print), the series contains much material still relevant today--truly an essential publication for researchers in all fields of life sciences.

Plasmids are fascinating entities which can replicate autonomously in bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic cells. They profit from the cellular environment of the host but can also carry a rich diversity of genes which can be beneficial for the host. Plasmids confer the ability to degrade organic compounds and to fix nitrogen. In addition, plasmids carry antibiotic resistance genes and their spread in pathogenic bacteria is of great medical importance. Plasmids are used in molecular studies of various organisms with ramifications in synthetic biology, medicine, ecology, and evolution, as well as basic research in molecular and structural biology. Written by acknowledged experts in the field, this volume provides an up-to-date treatment of the structure, function, and application of plasmids, with a particular emphasis on current and future trends. The book is aimed primarily at research scientists, graduate students, and professional scientists, but will also be of great interest to all

Computer access is the only way to retrieve up-to-date sequences and this book shows researchers puzzled by the maze of URLs, sites, and searches how to use internet technology to find and analyze genetic data. The book describes the different types of databases, how to use a specific database to find a sequence that you need, and how to analyze the data to compare it with your own work.
The content also covers sequence phenotype, mutation, and genetic linkage databases; simple repetitive DNA sequences; gene feature identification; and prediction of structure and function of proteins from sequence information. This book will be invaluable to those starting a career in life sciences research as well as to established researchers wishing to make full use of available resources.
Key Features
* Describes a wide range of databases: DNA, RNA, protein, pathways, and gene expression
* Enables readers to access the information they need from databases on the web
* Includes a directory of URLs for easy reference
* Invaluable for those starting a career in life sciences research and also for established researchers wishing to make full use of available resources.

In this book leading researchers in the field discuss the state-of-the-art of many aspects of SAPK signaling in various systems from yeast to mammals. These include various chapters on regulatory mechanisms as well as the contribution of the SAPK signaling pathways to processes such as gene expression, metabolism, cell cycle regulation, immune responses and tumorigenesis. Written by international experts, the book will appeal to cell biologists and biochemists.

As researchers continue to make enormous progress in mapping disease genes, exciting, novel, and complex analyses have emerged. In this book, scientists from around the world, who are leaders in this field, contribute their vast experience and expertise to produce a comprehensive and fascinating text for researchers and clinicians alike. They provide cutting-edge analysis of the most up-to-date and preeminent information available.

This revised edition provides up-to-date protocols developed in the HSC field. A team of leading researchers supply this volume with in-depth, readily reproducible methods for effective characterization of HSC and their developmental potential. The book provides detailed flow cytometry protocols for thorough analysis of enriched HSC populations, and offers a variety of transplantation approaches to measure HSC function in vivo. This is a much needed technical resource in the critically important field of stem cell investigation.

This second edition volume discusses the revolutionary development of faster and less expensive DNA sequencing technologies from the past 10 years and focuses on general technologies that can be utilized by a wide array of plant biologists to address specific questions in their favorite model systems. This book is organized into five parts. Part I examines the tools and methods required for identifying epigenetic and conformational changes at the whole-genome level. Part II presents approaches used to determine key aspects of a gene's function, such as techniques used to identify and characterize gene regulatory networks. This is followed by a discussion of tools used to analyze the levels of mRNA, mRNA translation rates and metabolites. Part III features a compilation of forward and reverse genetic approaches that include recent implementation of high-throughput sequencing in classical methodologies such as QTL mapping. The final two parts explore strategies to facilitate and accelerate the generation and testing of functional DNA elements and basic computational tools used to facilitate the use of systems biology approached by a broad spectrum of plant researchers. Written in the highly successful Methods of 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 key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Practical and timely, Plant Functional Genomics: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition highlights the latest developments in DNA sequencing technologies that are likely to continue shaping the future of functional genomics.

This book discusses the recent developments in the therapeutic implications of cancer stem cells for the effective diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancer. It summarizes the various stem cells of common cancers including colon, pancreas, lungs, prostate, melanoma, and glioblastoma, and reviews the potential role of cancer stem cells in tissue aggressiveness, examining the functional contribution of cancer stem cells in the establishment and recurrence of cancerous tumors. Further, it explores the potential of cancer stem cells as novel therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of tumor progression. The book also discusses the various approaches for detecting, isolating, and characterizing different cancer stem cells and signaling pathways that control their replication, survival, and differentiation. Lastly, it explores the key features and mechanisms of drug resistance, chemo-resistance, and radio-resistance in cancer stem cells to improve therapeutic rationale.

When I received an invitation from Ron Landes (Landes Bioscience) to edit a book on CtBP family proteins, I was gratified to realize that the importance of these proteins has reached the level of deserving a 'separate' book. As the reader can see, there has been significant advancement in our understanding of the fijnctions of these proteins in the past ten years since CtBPl was cloned in our laboratory. Genetic and biochemical studies with Drosophila provided the critical evidence to show that dCtBP is a transcriptional CO repressor. Genetic studies with mutant mice have established that these proteins are essential for animal development. The CtBP family proteins are unique in several aspects. They were the first among proteins containing a metabolic enzyme fold to be implicated in transcriptional regulation. The vertebrate CtBPs exhibit distinct nuclear and cytosolic activities. The crystal struaures of CtBPl and molecular modeling studies have illuminated the mo- lecular basis of its dual activity and the interaction with target peptides. The organization of the vertebrate CtBP2 gene has provided a novel example of genomic consolidation indicating how a single gene could code for two di- verse proteins. I believe that this book will be a valuable reference source for new researchers to understand more about the CtBP family proteins and their role in growth, development and oncogenesis.

Epigenetic Regulation of Cancer in Response to Chemotherapy, Volume 158 of the Advances in Cancer Research series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters. Each chapter is written by an international board of authors.

This book focuses on the conventional breeding approach, and on the latest high-throughput genomics tools and genetic engineering / biotechnological interventions used to improve rice quality. It is the first book to exclusively focus on rice as a major food crop and the application of genomics and genetic engineering approaches to achieve enhanced rice quality in terms of tolerance to various abiotic stresses, resistance to biotic stresses, herbicide resistance, nutritional value, photosynthetic performance, nitrogen use efficiency, and grain yield. The range of topics is quite broad and exhaustive, making the book an essential reference guide for researchers and scientists around the globe who are working in the field of rice genomics and biotechnology. In addition, it provides a road map for rice quality improvement that plant breeders and agriculturists can actively consult to achieve better crop production.

The Second Georgia Genetics Symposium was held color. Soon after, he joined the sta? of The Jackson in September 2000, and the development of this Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. book took place over the nearly 4 years that ensued. Much of Bill's research at the lab was centered During this time, many advances in the Genome around investigating phenotypic variability within Project and mouse mutagenesis were made. In the highly inbred strains, and in that connection he book overview, we discuss the development of the developed the technique of ovarian transplanta- Genome Project (which is the context for the sym- tion (even using embryonic donors) and a genetic posium), the role the mouse was playing at that scheme whereby graft compatibility could be time, how that role has evolved, and how the combined with the ability to distinguish o?spring chapters of the book address issues in mouse func- from donor and regenerated host ovaries. His tional genetics. Many of the chapters in this book work was in?uenced by the second World War, will provide useful resources for years to come. ?rst because The Jackson Laboratory turned into Of greater impact, our keynote speaker, the a production colony for the military, primarily to mutagenesis pioneer William L. (Bill) Russell, produce mice for typhoid testing, and secondly, passed away on July 23, 2003.

The data reference books for practicing scientists present key information for a major subject in one place. This edition has been divided into two parts, recombinant DNA and gene analysis, comprising a compendium of up-to-date methods available in molecular biology. Covering enzymes used for restriction, methylation and modification of nucleic acids, cloning vectors, hosts, genomes and genes as well as techniques such as blotting and hybridization, DNA sequencing, PCR methodology, labelling and separation of nucleic acids.;The edition also provides information on general chemicals and reagents and safety considerations.

In the eight years since the original publication of Molecular Biology Labfax, there has been a vast proliferation of molecular biology techniques. The Second Edition has been divided into two parts: Recombinant DNA, and Gene Analysis. Together they comprise a comprehensive collection of the most up-to-date methods available in molecular biology. This second volume of the two-part Second Edition provides key information on nucleic acid blotting and hybridization, DNA sequencing, PCR, labelingnucleic acids, electrophoresis, centrifugation, chemicals and reagents, and safety. Molecular Biology Labfax will be essential for scientists of all disciplines within the life sciences who use molecular biological techniques.
Key Features
* Provides most up-to-date information on techniques, sources, and equipment for anyone using molecular biological techniques
* Clearly presented information
* Divided into two parts which together comprise a complete collection of molecular biological methods

The field of DNA computation has flourished since the publication of Adleman's seminal article, in which he demonstrated for the first time how a computation may be performed at a molecular level by performing standard operations on a tube of DNA strands. Since Adleman's original experiment, interest in DNA computing has increased dramatically. This book provides a broad overview of the entire field of DNA computation, tracing its history and development. It contains detailed descripions of all major theoretical models and experimental results to date, which are lacking in existing texts. Potential future developments are also discussed. The book is a useful reference source for researchers and students, as well as an accessible introduction for people new to the field.

Most organisms and populations have to cope with hostile environments, threatening their existence. Their ability to respond phenotypically and genetically to these challenges and to evolve adaptive mechanisms is, therefore, crucial. The contributions to this book aim at understanding, from a evolutionary perspective, the impact of stress on biological systems. Scientists, applying different approaches spanning from the molecular and the protein level to individuals, populations and ecosystems, explore how organisms adapt to extreme environments, how stress changes genetic structure and affects life histories, how organisms cope with thermal stress through acclimation, and how environmental and genetic stress induce fluctuating asymmetry, shape selection pressure and cause extinction of populations. Finally, it discusses the role of stress in evolutionary change, from stress induced mutations and selection to speciation and evolution at the geological time scale. The book contains reviews and novel scientific results on the subject. It will be of interest to both researchers and graduate students and may serve as a text for graduate courses.

The laws of inheritance were considered quite superficial until 1903, when the chromosome theory of heredity was established by Sutton and Boveri. The discovery of the double helix and the genetic code led to our understanding of gene structure and function. For the past quarter of a century, remarkable progress has been made in the characterization of the human genome in order to search for coherent views of genes. The unit of inheritance termed factor or gene, once upon a time thought to be a trivial an imaginary entity, is now perceived clearly as the precise unit of inheritance that has continually deluged us with amazement by its complex identity and behaviour, sometimes bypassing the university of Mendel's law.
The aim of the fifth volume, entitled Genes and Genomes, is to cover the topics ranging from the structure of DNA itself to the structure of the complete genome, along with everything in between, encompassing 12 chapters. These chapters relate much of the information accumulated on the role of DNA in the organization of genes and genomes per se. Several distinguished scientists, all pre-eminent authorities in each field to share their expertise. Obviously, since the historical report on the double helix configuration in 1953, voluminous reports on the meteoric advances in genetics have been accumulated, and to cover every account in a single volume format would be a Herculean task. Therefore, only a few topics are chosen, which are of great interest to molecular geneticists. This volume is intended for advanced graduate students who would wish to keep abreast with the most recent trends in genome biology.

This invaluable resource discusses the current revolution in stem cell-based drugs and their potential use in clinical applications. Each chapter is contributed by a pre-eminent scientist in the field. An introductory section presents current stem cell drugs and stem cell-based products and a discussion of production, quality control, mechanisms, and efficacy. Following sections include discussions on stem cell-derived microvesicles based products, and derived exosomes based products. Stem Cell Drugs - A New Generation of Biopharmaceuticals and the other books in the Stem Cells in Clinical Applications series are invaluable to scientists, researchers, advanced students and clinicians working in stem cells, regenerative medicine or tissue engineering. This groundbreaking volume is also essential reading for those researching or studying drug development or pharmaceutical science.

Bringing together nanoscience with stem cell and bacterial cell biology, this thesis is truly interdisciplinary in scope. It shows that the creation of superparamagnetic nanoparticles inside a protein coat, followed by chemical functionalisation of the protein surface, provides a novel methodology for cell magnetisation using incubation times as short as one minute. Crucially, stem cell proliferation and multi-lineage differentiation capacity is not impaired after labelling. Due to the unspecific labelling mechanism, this thesis also shows that the same magnetic protein nanoparticles can be used for rapid bacterial magnetisation. Thus, it is possible to magnetically capture and concentrate pathogens from clinical samples quickly and highly efficiently.

Volume 2 has focused on aspects of the pituitary gland both anterior (growth hormone and prolactin receptors, and GH action) and posterior (vasopressin) pituitary. In addition, thyroid cancer and steroidogenic enzymes and precocious puberty are covered. Finally, the "hot topics" include leptin and growth factor signaling.

mRNA Formation and Function presents a compendium of techniques geared exclusively toward the understanding of RNA metabolism. It will be particularly useful because a number of different organisms and systems are employed.
Key Features
* Isolation and characterization of specific RNA binding proteins
* RNA metabolism and associated regulatory proteins
* RNA detection and localization
* A genetic approach to RNA function

As studies using microarray technology have evolved, so have the data analysis methods used to analyze these experiments. The CAMDA conference plays a role in this evolving field by providing a forum in which investors can analyze the same data sets using different methods. Methods of Microarray Data Analysis IV is the fourth book in this series, and focuses on the important issue of associating array data with a survival endpoint. Previous books in this series focused on classification (Volume I), pattern recognition (Volume II), and quality control issues (Volume III).

In this volume, four lung cancer data sets are the focus of analysis. We highlight three tutorial papers, including one to assist with a basic understanding of lung cancer, a review of survival analysis in the gene expression literature, and a paper on replication. In addition, 14 papers presented at the conference are included. This book is an excellent reference for academic and industrial researchers who want to keep abreast of the state of the art of microarray data analysis.

Jennifer Shoemaker is a faculty member in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics and the Director of the Bioinformatics Unit for the Cancer and Leukemia Group B Statistical Center, Duke University Medical Center. Simon Lin is a faculty member in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics and the Manager of the Duke Bioinformatics Shared Resource, Duke University Medical Center.