The art of genes
I always had the feeling that evolution was the inventor of new things and development was a secondary problem of how to build an organism from information already present in the fertilised egg. Now I know what problems need to be solved in building a multicellular organism from a single cell in the first place. Enrico Coen magnificently explains how the head-tail, ventral-dorsal, left-right and inside-outside axis is build out of nearly nothing. The subtitle of the book is a perfect illustration of the task: How organisms make themselves (without help from outside). The problem looked only harder since the discovery of DNA : the information in DNA is one-dimensional, so how to build a 3-dimensional organism on the basis of that? No wonder that people in previous centuries saw miniature humans in egg or sperm. But since that 'solution' was refuted, the problem confronted us again: how do organisms make themselves? Enrico Coen gives deep insights with the help of metaphors derived from art and with the necessary scientific details and without confusing us with too many complexities. Coen explains the crucial role of genes without being a genetic reductionist. His examples are both from animals and plants, wich I find an advantage. This book is an achievement. The only criticism I have is that the main metaphor Coen uses is about colors and all the illustrations are in black-and-white! At least the hardback edition should have color illustrations!“The development and application of bioinformatics tools to basic and translational cancer research is, in fact, a rapidly expanding field that deserves a timely review. Therefore, a publication of this type is needed. The editors have done an excellent job in recruiting well-established scientists to author the various chapters of the book.” Dieter Naf, Jackson Laboratory, USA Cancer bioinformatics is now emerging as a new interdisciplinary field, which is facilitating an unprecedented synthesis of knowledge arising from the life and clinical sciences. This groundbreaking title provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the enormous range of bioinformatics for cancer therapy development from the laboratory to clinical trials. It functions as a guide to integrated data exploitation and synergistic knowledge discovery, and support the consolidation of the interdisciplinary research community involved.
Molecular Biology Problem Solver
Molecular Biology Problem Solver: A Laboratory Guide asks the reader to consider crucial questions, such as:- Have you selected the most appropriate research strategy?
- Have you identified the issues critical to your successful application of a technique?
- Are you familiar with the limitations of a given technique?
- When should common procedural rules of thumb not be applied?
- What strategies could you apply to resolve a problem?
A unique question-based format reviews common assumptions and laboratory practices, with the aim of offering a firm understanding of how techniques and procedures work, as well as how to avoid problems. Some major issues explored by the book's expert contributors include:
- Working safely with biological samples and radioactive materials
- DNA and RNA purification
- PCR
- Protein and nucleid acid hybridization
- Prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems
- Properly using and maintaining laboratory equipment
Peptides from A to Z:
T This mini-encyclopedia contains more than 1,500 alphabetical entries from the entire field of peptide science in one handy volume, as well as the technical terms, acronyms and concepts used in peptide chemistry. It also features the complete sequence of more than 800 peptides, numerous illustrations and numerous cross-references. Areas covered include: - biological peptides and small proteins - peptide hormones - pharmaceutical peptides - peptide antibiotics - peptide inhibitors - peptide reagents - peptide tags - structural classes - synthesis and purification - analytical methods - proteomics and peptidomics. Condensed yet accessible, only essential information is displayed, extensively linked via references to the recent scientific literature for further study.click here to get the books