This book presents a diverse collection of chapters on basic research at the molecular level using the Lepidoptera as model systems. This volume, however, is more than just a compendium of information about insect systems in general or the Lepidoptera in particular. Each chapter is a self-contained treatment of a broad subject area, providing sufficient background to give readers a sense of the guiding principles and central questions associated with each topic, in addition to major methodologies and findings. Comparisons with other major model systems are emphasized, with special attention given to the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Topics include a historical overview of research using lepidopteran models, silkworm genetics, mobile elements of lepidopteran genomes, lepidopteran phylogeny, experimental embryogenesis and homeotic genes, chorion gene regulation and evolution, regulation of silk protein and homeobox genes in the silk gland, control of transcription by RNA polymerase III, hormonal regulation of gene expression during development, hormone action in the central nervous system, the molecular genetics of moth olfaction, the immune response, and use of engineered baculoviruses for basic biological studies and insect pest control. Molecular and developmental biologists at graduate student and researcher levels will find this book of great interest.

This book presents a diverse collection of chapters on basic research at the molecular level using Lepidoptera as model systems. This volume, however, is more than just a compendium of information about insect systems in general, or the Lepidoptera in particular. Each chapter is a self-contained treatment of a broad subject area, providing sufficient background information to give readers a sense of the guiding principles and central questions associated with each topic, in addition to major methodologies and findings. Comparisons with other major model systems are emphasized, with special attention given to the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Topics include: genetics, mobile elements, embryogenesis, silk gland and chorion gene regulation, hormone action, neurobiology, the immune response and engineered baculoviruses. Molecular and developmental biologists at graduate and researcher levels will find this book of great interest.

Humans possess the most expressive faces in the animal kingdom. Adam Wilkins presents evidence ranging from the fossil record to recent findings of genetics, molecular biology, and developmental biology to reconstruct the fascinating story of how the human face evolved. Beginning with the first vertebrate faces half a billion years ago and continuing to dramatic changes among our recent human ancestors, Making Faces illuminates how the unusual characteristics of the human face came about-both the physical shape of facial features and the critical role facial expression plays in human society. Offering more than an account of morphological changes over time and space, which rely on findings from paleontology and anthropology, Wilkins also draws on comparative studies of living nonhuman species. He examines the genetic foundations of the remarkable diversity in human faces, and also shows how the evolution of the face was intimately connected to the evolution of the brain. Brain structures capable of recognizing different individuals as well as "reading" and reacting to their facial expressions led to complex social exchanges. Furthermore, the neural and muscular mechanisms that created facial expressions also allowed the development of speech, which is unique to humans. In demonstrating how the physical evolution of the human face has been inextricably intertwined with our species' growing social complexity, Wilkins argues that it was both the product and enabler of human sociality.