Reviews (1)

The first Methods in Mycobacterial molecular biology.
Mycobacteria protocols edited by Parish and Stoker provide the first mycobacterial method booklet since the introduction of molecular biology and bionformatics to the field of mycobacterial research. Although this collection of protocolos is too broad as a source of protocolos to the clinical microbiologist or the bench basic scientist it provides an excelent source of start up points, references and knowladge to poeple working in the field of mycobacteria. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the second volume of a two-volume work on fluorescence microscopy that covers all aspects of the subject including instrumentation, applications, and history.Volume 2 deals with applications of fluorescence microscopy in many fields.It includes chapters on fluorocarbons and autofluorescence.An invaluable appendix contains an alphabetical list of fluorochromes and gives information on chemical structure, fluorescence properties, applications, and suitable filter combinations. ... Read more

Book Description

This volume begins with a historical context of the development of mycobacterial genetics, illuminating how crucial problems have been understood and overcome.The molecular genetics of the mycobacteria are then presented in four major sections.Descriptions of the tools for performing genetic analyses are integrated with discussions on the biology that they have been employed to discover.

Appendixes at the end of the volume provide a short compilation of methods commonly used in mycobacterial genetics, a list of currently available Internet websites ofuse to researchers in the field, and the complete map of the M. tuberculosis genome, which server as a reference to most of the chapters.

This volume provides valuable resource materials and detailed reviews of major topics and suggests special as well as fundamental guestions that need to be answered. ... Read more

Book Description

In response to the emergence of pathogenic bacteria that cannot be treated with current antibiotics, many researchers are revisiting the use of bacteriophages, or phages, to fight multidrug-resistant bacteria. Bacteriophage as Antibiotics: Molecular Biology and Applications provides unparalleled, comprehensive information on bacteriophages and their applications, such as phage therapy. It offers techniques, media, and methodology involved in isolating and working with therapeutic phages. Photographs, line drawings, and electron micrographs of phages are also included. With its broad approach, this book is a useful reference for microbiologists, hematologists, and infectious disease researchers. ... Read more

Book Description

The zebrafish has become one of the most important model organisms to study biologial processes within a living body. As a vertebrate that has many of the strengths of invertebrate model systems, it offers numerous advantages to researchers interested in many aspects of embryonic development, physiology and disease. This book not only provides a complete set of instructions that will allow researchers to establish the zebrafish in their laboratory. It also gives a broad overview of commonly used methods and a comprehensive collection of protocols describing the most powerful techniques. ... Read more

Book Description

Common to all DNA and protein array-based technologies is the necessity to analyze digital images of the scanned DNA array. The focus of Kamberova and Shah book is microarray image analysis-from theoretical and application perspective. The topic of microarray image processing is usually neglected due to the availability of various software tools for image processing. The focus of today microarray bioinformatics is data analysis. However, how can one be certain that the data obtained from a microarray experiment through the image analysis is of high quality? How can one perform data mining on data derived from different microarray technologies, where microarray images were analyzed with different image analysis softwares? This book addresses various questions related to microarray image processing. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Good book, great value.
To my knowledge this is the first book to appear focusing on analysis of microarray images, though the topic is commonly addressed to some extent in general books on microarray technology. Because microarray technology evolves so quickly, books such as this one are almost of necessity put together in a hurry. Unfortunately, the hurry really shows in this case. In addition to the grammatical problems all too common in scientific texts, there are technical inconsistencies. For example, the term "signal to noise ratio" is defined at three places in the book, with three different definitions. First, we are told (chapter two, page 38) that the signal to noise ratio is defined as the ratio of mean signal to mean error. Later (chapter five, page 86), the signal to noise ratio is defined as signal (minus background), divided by the standard deviation of background. Finally (chapter six, page 101) tells us that the signal to noise ratio "can be estimated by computing the peak signal divided by the variation in the signal." Only that part of the discussion starting on page 86 is included in the index.

Chapter one provides an introduction to microarrays. Chapter two introduces image analysis with a focus on issues pertinent to micro array analysis, though it is not perfectly customized as background for the other chapters. For example, though Chapter two's appendixes include Fourier analysis, this is not really used explicitly further in the book. The next three chapters concern microarray scanning. They are each written by groups at different commercial firms, and they provide vendor oriented views. These chapters are redundant in the sense that they all cover the same topic, but taken as a whole, they provide some balance. It might be preferable to have an academic team write a single, more objective chapter, but it's understandable to take this approach in the interest of timeliness. Chapters six and seven are the ones that directly address image processing. Though Chapter seven is entitled "microarray data normalization", it really provides the most detailed information about image processing and analysis. Two short chapters cover a comparison of commercially available software and a brief overview of information workflow. The final chapter on bacterial artificial chromosomes is a general (and worthwhile) overview of that application, but it is not particularly focused on image analysis.

The book is concise (it took me about eight hours to read it cover to cover) and the price is right (under $30 at amazon.com). The editors and author are to be congratulated on producing a timely book, and I'm delighted that the publisher has made it so affordable. Keep up the good work.

CURRENT DRUG DISCOVERY , DECEMBER 2002 - Book Review
DNA microarrays form an indispensable tool in molecular biology, allowing researchers to gain insight into the intricate mechanisms of gene expression. Microarray technology also aids the researcher in transforming and supplementing data available on genes and cells into useful information about gene expression, and ultimately, cellular biology.
cDNA arrays experiments use many gene-specific polynucleotides derived from the ends of RNA transcripts. These are arrayed on a single matrix and simultaneously probed with a fluorescently tagged cDNA representation of total RNA pools from test and reference cells. This allows one to determine the relative amount of transcript present in the pool by the type of fluorescent signal generated. Thus, the relative message abundance is based on a comparison of the test cell state to a reference cell state. Common to all array-based technologies is the need to analyze digital images of the scanned DNA array.
Shishir Shah is an Associate Professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, and is the author of numerous publications on image analysis and data mining, while Gerda Kamberova is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Hofstra University, New York, where she teaches computer vision, computer graphics, and artificial intelligence. With this book, the authors address the fact that the topic of microarray image processing is usually neglected due to the availability of various software tools for image processing. The focus of microarray bioinformatics today is data analysis, but how can one be certain that the data obtained through image analysis of a microarray experiment through is of high quality? How can one perform data mining on data derived from different microarray technologies, where microarray images were analyzed with different image analysis softwares?
In Kamberova's introductory chapter, she describes the basics of image analysis for molecular biology researchers. Although some of the formulas in her chapter may seem intimidating to many biologists, they are necessary to fully understand the subject. However, the mathematical load in this book is concentrated in this chapter, and the text thereafter becomes very friendly, with more advanced discussions saved for an appendix.
Chapters on the design and performance of CCD and laser microarray scanners serve as a forum for three companies representing a good cross-section of the technology in the microarray arena. The book then moves on to spot finding and segmentation issues with tips for practical image analysis. Quality control of image analysis is discussed at the application level.
Elsewhere, Kamberova and Shah have invited a team from Fox Chase Cancer Center to discuss aspects of image background corrections and data normalization. Another interesting aspect of this publication is the inclusion of statistical comparison of data generated by various softwares. Finally, Shah's chapter on BAC arrays and image analysis is of particular interest because it is a new application gaining momentum in the microarray field.
This book emphasizes aspects of both theory and application and therefore, can be used for teaching as well as self-study. It will be a useful reference not only for computer and biology scientists, but also for anyone using or interested in microarray technology.

Nuts, Bults and More for your microarrays
DNA Array Image Analysis is the most comprehensive book that I have read, dealing with Microarray analysis topic. My background is in genomics, which is too far away from statistics. Nevertheless, this book gave me a very nice perspective on statistical approaches for microarrays. Recommend it to all, especially for those who are running microarray facilities.

A great reference for the microarray lab
The topic of microarray image analysis has always been on the backburner. However, it is a very crucial step in the microarray experiment and image analysis is misunderstood by many colleagues. This book covers the basics of microarray image analysis, as well as some advanced topics. It is a really helpful reference. Good to include in class studies. ... Read more

Book Description

A revolution is underway in archaeology. Working at the cutting edge of genetic and molecular technologies, researchers have been probing the building blocks of ancient life-DNA, proteins, fats-to rewrite our understanding of the past. Their discoveries (including a Mitochondrial Eve, the woman from whom all modern humans descend) and analyses have helped revise the human genealogical tree and answer such questions as: How different are we from the Neanderthals? Who first domesticated horses and ancient grasses? What was life like for our ancestors? Here is science at its most engaging. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Excellent but ...
The book is excellent and I'm not going to repeat what other reviewers have said. But, there is no graphic illustrations.

Scientific roller-coaster ride
To those complaining about life's ups and downs, read this for consolation. Even the Stock Market doesn't achieve the rises and falls exhibited by the field of archaeology. Except the focus here is on ideas, not finance. Jones describes the tumultuous history of understanding human evolution during the past century. From a few bones and broken pottery, archaeology tried to unravel the mysteries of our past. The implementation of molecular analysis techniques, he shows, has revealed information undreamt of only a generation ago. In this excellent summary, Jones explains how new research has established our roots, our progress around the planet, and mundane details of our past life in various locations.

The imaging of the DNA molecule opened new portals for explaining life's progress. Once it was understood DNA can change, sometimes at a calculable rate, tracking the modifications became a new analysis tool. "Markers" on the molecule can be studied and placed in a chronological context. Jones manages to explain both the markers and the analysis techniques in clear, jargon-free prose. It's not an easy task, but he achieves it admirably.

Through much of this book, the "Jurassic Park" image remains a running theme. DNA from insects embedded in amber, however, proved an illusory quest. Although the insect bodies appeared intact, close inspection revealed the DNA was shattered long ago. Still further [and rather later] investigation resulted in some unexpected surprises - the insects didn't contain dinosaur DNA, but that of residents in their own guts. More than gut bacterial DNA survived- the entire organism was still living after millions of years.

The journey from "Jurassic Park" to realistic analysis has not been a smooth, linear path. Jones explains how new finds led to various theories of human evolution and migration with resultant cultural developments. The rise of agriculture was long held to have originated in one place, then spread across the planet. Molecular analysis techniques demonstrated the fallacy of that idea, Jones explains, revealing the evidence demonstrating the emergence of farming in various places. China's history of rice production preceded by centuries the grains produced in the Tigris-Euphrates area. Many other "established" concepts have been refuted by various methods of molecular analysis. Each new "absolute" is described by Jones as if irrefutably established. Then he discards the dogma with a flourish of new data.

The most compelling chapter in the book takes us away from DNA, with its many limitations, to "the other molecules". In "beyond DNA", Jones describes these molecules and the many surprises proteins, lipids and even blood now offer. The unexpected persistence of these compounds in proper circumstances reveals an immense amount of data. Animal blood has been taken from stone weapons providing information on prey species. Certain proteins found in blood prove astonishingly persistent, Jones explains. Having mineral attachment properties, these proteins can be found in bones and provide additional dating tools.

Plant-related molecules such as silicon "phytoliths" which give grasses a sharp edge and seeds barbs for protection and propagation can provide useful information. These and other indicators are being found in ancient grindstones and stone tools such as scythes. Jones laments the loss of such material from the early days of archaeology when such artefacts were scrupulously cleaned prior to analysis. "Dirty" evidence is proving of immense value in dating and environment of locale.

Jones has provided us a compelling account of the annals of molecular analysis in human affairs. Of far greater importance than the history of this discipline are the opportunities for further research. Anyone pondering a career in any one of a number of fields related to the human past would do well to investigate this book. Jones explains that molecular analysis topics range from broad, general themes to individual events. These run from the human diaspora to the murder of the Romanovs. Surely there is something here to interest any budding scholar. Read this for a survey of the options and decide for yourself. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

The Molecule Hunt
The Molecule Hunt: Archaeology and the Search for Ancient DNA written by Martin Jones is a book about modern molecular archaeology and what it entails.

This book is a fascinating and absorbing story of scientific inquiry. Keeping in mind that what is preserved for the scientist is in fosilized form and what DNA samples that they do get need specialized equipment and new field methods for getting the samples, essentially changing the way we think about archaeology.

This book is an easy read, largely helped by the author's prose making for a highly educational read about remarkable new techniques now available for investigation of our, human, past. DNA can be found in all life on the planet, extracting a sample from the past is extremely difficult. From seeds, wood, amber and even pot shards yeild a unique picture of the past as to what our diets consisted of and how we lived.

The author's enthusiasm for this subject is in evidence as the reader goes from chapter to chapter finding how molecular archaeology is in a scientific revolution making our concepts of the past change before our eyes. Stomach contents preserved in humans yields information about ancient diets.

This is an educational book as it shows how scientists, devising a molecular clock, from certain area of the DNA molecule, were able to determine that all humans descend from one common female ancestor... "The Mitochondrial Eve."

This is an all around good read as your eyes read, your brain will say I didn't know that they could do that... amazing as to what can be found out in molecular archaeology.

How science can connect ancient mysteries & modern marvels
The Molecule Hunt: Archaeology And The Search For Ancient DNA by Martin Jones (the first to hold the George Pitt-Rivers Professorship of Archaeological Science, Cambridge University, and Chairman of the Ancient Biomolecules Initiative program) is a serious, authoritative, highly accessible introduction for the non-specialist general reader to the fascinating scientific revelations that ancient proteins and remnants of DNA trapped in fossils and amber can tell us about the prehistoric world from which they derived. From the discovery that all humans come from one female ancestor 150,000 years ago (dubbed "The Mitochondrial Eve"), to comparing Neanderthal DNA to that of modern homo sapiens, to revising when the first humans crossed the Aleutian land bridge, and much more, The Molecule Hunt is an amazing, informed and informative glimpse into how the disciplines and technologies of science can connect ancient mysteries with modern marvels. ... Read more

Book Description

An unprecedented wealth of data is being generated by genome sequencing projects and other experimental efforts to determine the structure and function of biological molecules. The demands and opportunities for interpreting these data are expanding rapidly. Bioinformatics is the development and application of computer methods for management, analysis, interpretation, and prediction, as well as for the design of experiments. Machine learning approaches (e.g., neural networks, hidden Markov models, and belief networks) are ideally suited for areas where there is a lot of data but little theory, which is the situation in molecular biology. The goal in machine learning is to extract useful information from a body of data by building good probabilistic models--and to automate the process as much as possible.

In this book Pierre Baldi and Sren Brunak present the key machine learning approaches and apply them to the computational problems encountered in the analysis of biological data. The book is aimed both at biologists and biochemists who need to understand new data-driven algorithms and at those with a primary background in physics, mathematics, statistics, or computer science who need to know more about applications in molecular biology.

This new second edition contains expanded coverage of probabilistic graphical models and of the applications of neural networks, as well as a new chapter on microarrays and gene expression. The entire text has been extensively revised. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Great book if you have the necessary background
Their bayesian presentation of machine learning algorithms can be hard to follow at times, but the authors cover a large amount of very current practical and theoretical material. One of the the book's unique features is it's broad scope. The authors discuss neural networks, hidden markov models, clustering, gaussian processes and support vector machines. The bibliography contains some of the most useful references for those wishing to implement bioinformatics algorithms. The fast pace may leave some wanting more complete explanations.
You should disregard the claim that this book could be used by those unfamiliar with either molecular biology or computer science. To really make the most of this book, you should be comfortable with the material in Pattern Classification (Duda, Hart and Stork), Biological Sequence Analysis (Durbin, Eddy, Krogh, and Mitchison), and Molecular Biology of the Cell (Alberts et al). That said, this is the best bioinformatics book on the market.

Excellent text both for biologists and computer scientists.
I found the book very readable, and full of information combining the machine learning approach (neural nets and Hidden Markov models) with biological problems. The wealth of specific biological information bridges the background gap for computer scientists and mathematicians, and the organization of topics is excellent.

In the mathematics and computer science community, Baldi is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of neural nets and Hidden Markov models and their applications (for instance, he holds a patent for neural net recognition of fingerprints). Concerning HMM's Baldi and co-workers have found statistical models for protein families, sequence signals for nucleosome centers, etc. Moreover, Baldi, together with Chauvin, has developed a gradient descent parameter update method for HMM's which has no zero probability absorptions, and allows on-line updates, useful features not supported by the standard EM method.

From these and other applications, I found the text very useful.

Could have been a great one.
This book is decidedly a mix: some very good information, combined with some very puzzling omissions and uneven editing.

First, the good. The description of stochastic context free grammars is the best I've seen. I don't know any other reference that even hint at how to use generative grammars to evaluate likelihoods. Once they caught my interest, though, the authors did not carry through with training and evaluation algorithms I could really use. I suspect that parts of the information are there, but I'll have to go back over their opaque notation again to work out just what they've given and just what's been left out.

This same pattern - an interesting introduction with missing or mysterious development - recurs throughout the book. The discussion on clustering and phylogeny goes the same way: a number of techniques are mentioned but not developed. The authors mention a tree drawing problem, not just building the tree's topology, but ordering the branches for the most informative rendering. Again, a critical topic and one that most authors miss - in the end, these authors miss it, too, by mentioning but not filling in the idea.

Their discussion of neural nets suffers badly from the authors' partial presentation. Evaluation of network output for a given input is relatively straightforward, and they present it in some detail. Training the net is the real problem, though, and is given less than a page.

Baldi and Brunak give more of the fundamentals than most authors. For example, they explain the maximum entropy principle well enough that I'll use it in lots of other areas. They give some coverage to topics of intermediate complexity, such as the forward and backward algorithms for HMM training. Finally, they fizzle out at the higher levels of complexity - the Baum-Welch algorithm could have followed from the forward and backward methods, but is left as a reference to another book.

There is some good here, especially in the fundamentals behind important techniques. The discussions I wanted - the more avanced topics, in forms I can use - are often weak, missing, or impenetrable. Just a bit more work, clearly within the authors' capability, would have made this a landmark reference.

An excellent book.
Very well written, clear, and self-contained. The authors provide a masterly treatment of machine learning methods (neural networks, hidden markov models, etc.) and their applications to fundamental problems in sequence analyis and biology. The book goes all the way from first principles to advanced research topics and should be valuable for both students and researchers. Second edition has many new topics, including DNA microarrays. Requires some concentration but mathematical details are summarized in the appendices. I strongly recommend it for anyone with an interest in bioinformatics and/or machine learning.

A very bad book. A colection of references w/o explanations
I just bought this book and am COMPLETEly disappointed with it.
Here is why. The book is badly written, hard to read and follow. Although it is said that this is a book is for " many readers", it is really for those who have already known all the algorithms. It is simply impossible to learn the algorithms from this book. The chapter on neural network is a few pages. It provieds a few equations for backpropagation. That is it! It is pretty much true for every thing else. Equations, hard to understand sentences, abbreviations with no explnantions, tons of citations everywhere. A book should strive to explain, and not to cite what other papers and go look there all the time. I suspect the few good reviews here are from the authors themselves.

I have a good programming background. I also read some papers on neural network and hidden markov models, This book is a lot worse than anything I have read in explaining the stuff. Very disappointed. Save your money and get something else. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is unique in that it takes a molecular first approach. It starts with DNA and moves through the genetic expression at the molecular level before turning to the more traditional Mendelian and Neomendelian transmission genetics. This book emphasizes what the reader should come to understand, not simply memorize.In addition to topics traditionally covered in genetics, this book provides cutting edge information on Bioinformatics and Proteomics, as well as a chapter on advanced topics in Molecular Genetics. ... Read more

Book Description

Molecular Genetics of Bacteria fulfills the need for a comprehensive, primary textbook on bacterial and microbial genetics.Ideally suited for advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses, this book presents an interesting, modern perspective of the subject and offers descriptive background information, detailed experimental methods and data interpretation, examples of genetic analysis, and advanced material relevant to current applications of molecular genetics in biotechnology.The theme of genetic analysis is used to integrate all of the concepts presented in the text, with the pathogenesis and recombinant DNA techniques covered in their own chapters.Although the much-studied genetics of

E. coli are discussed throughout the book, many other microbial systems are introduced in order to show the breadth and diversity of the discipline of bacterial genetics.Chapters are pedagogically constructed and end with a review of key concepts, a set of discussion questions, a set of problems for exercise and testing assignments, and answers to the questions.An end of book glossary reviews all of the key terms found in the text.This book, extensively reviewed and class tested by instructors over the past four years, serves as an important text for all courses in bacterial and microbial genetics.TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction The Biological Universe What Is Genetics? Bacterial Genetics Phage Genetics A Brief History of Bacterial Molecular Genetics What's Ahead? Genes: Replication and Expression Introduction to Macromolecular Synthesis: Chromosome Structure and Replication Introduction to Macromolecular Synthesis: Gene Expression Genes and Genetic Elements Mutations in Bacteria Plasmids Conjugation Transformation BacteriophagesTransposition and Nonhomologous Recombination Genes in Action Molecular Basis of Recombination DNA Repair and Mutagenesis Regulation of Gene Expression Global Regulatory Mechanisms Genes in Practice Genetic Analysis in Phage Genetic Analysis in Bacteria Recombinant DNA Techniques and Cloning Bacterial Genes Molecular Genetic Analysis and Biotechnology ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent Book
This is an excellent and in-depth presentation of the molecular genetics of prokaryotes. Explanations are crystal clear throughout, and the diagrams are very well done. (Typographical errors are everywhere, but fortunately they are easy to spot and none of them are misleading.) The text can seem long at times, but the extra effort spent reading is repaid in terms of clarity. The authors are careful to insure everything is explained well. The book also covers several areas of prokaryotic biology besides molecular genetics, such as cell division, antibiotics, transport of molecules across the cell membrane, two-component signaling pathways, bacteriophages, and many others.

This is undoubtedly the best introduction to prokaryotic biology out there. Highly recommended.

A good book for microbial genetics
While many books in molecular biology explore about the eukaryotic cells, this book is designed for prokaryotic aspects. Most of the topics are about the E.coli the bacteria that we now know much about. However, some of the topics are somewhat complicated and misleading for an undergradaute student who still needs some backgrounds in bacterial genetics (A good example is where the authors draw the picture of the interaction between lac O1, O2 and O3 in the lac operon and that's wrong!)...The questions at the end of each chapters are nice and well prepared but a few of the answers given at the end of the book do not explain the point well enough. Overall, this is a good book for anyone who wants to know specifically in the field. ... Read more

Book Description

This unique book integrates knowledge from a wide range of expertise, specifically applied to the mouse and addressed at a wide audience from those new to the field to experts who want an update on the state of the art. Mouse Genetics and Transgenics: A Practical Approach covers all aspects of using the mouse as a genetic model organism: care and husbandry; archiving stocks as frozen embryos or sperm; making new mutations by chemical mutagenesis; transgenesis; gene targeting; mapping mutations and polygenic traits by cytogenetic, genetic, and physical means; and disseminating and researching information via the Internet. ... Read more

Book Description

This volume includes a core of methodologies to attack the unique experimental problems presented by protein misassembly. Emphasis is on human biology applications, the area in which there is the most interest, in which most of the work has already been done, and in which there is the best evidence for the structural sophisitication of the protein aggregates.
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. ... Read more

Book Description

Proteins: Analysis and Design focuses solely on individual experimental approaches, rather than on specific classes of proteins. The book provides insight into the important issues in protein science and how one can cope with them. These include all issues which explore the detailed relationship of protein structure to function.

Key Features:
* Provides problems and technical solutions
* Includes posttranslational modifications
* Uses synthetic peptides as biological models
* Details mutagenesis and protein engineering
* Covers design of protein structure and function ... Read more

Book Description

Microbial Functional Genomics offers a timely summary of the principles, approaches, and applications. It presents a comprehensive review of microbial functional genomics, covering microbial diversity, microbial genome sequencing, genomic technologies, genome-wide functional analysis, applied functional genomics, and future directions. An introduction will offer a definition of the field and an overview of the historical and comparative genomics aspects. ... Read more

Book Description

Nematode worms are amongst the commonest and most widely distributed animals on Earth. Many species cause serious diseases of humans and livestock and as such are responsible for much economic loss in agriculture. However, almost all animals and plants are susceptible to attack by parasitic nematodes. Although they are probably best known as parasites, most nematodes are free-living and occur in enormous numbers in almost every habitat suitable for life. Although many parasitic species have been extensively studied because of their medical, veterinary or agricultural importance, the most thoroughly studied nematode is the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the complete genome of which has now been elucidated.
This multi-authored reference text has an international list of contributors and aims to synthesize our knowledge of most aspects of the biology of free-living, plant parasitic and animal-parasitic nematodes. The use of molecular techniques, many of which have arisen from work on Caenorhabditis elegans, is increasingly opening up new approaches to the study of nematodes and this is reflected in several chapters in this book. Topics covered include:
* Systematics and phylogeny
* Neuromuscular physiology
* Locomotion
* Sense Organs
* Behaviour
* Ageing
* The nematode genome
The Biology of Nematodes is a suitable text for graduate students and for research scientists working on parasitic and free-living nematodes from the point of view of agriculture, control, helminthology, immunology, medical and veterinary parasitology, molecular biology, nematology, plant pathology and zoology. ... Read more

Book Description

This beautifully illustrated book describes the methods used to record images viewed through a microscope. The text describes the principles and practices of photomicrography, and is written for all who take photomicrographs, beginners and/or experienced practitioners. The authors describe techniques that may be applied to many disciplines for teaching, research, archives, or pleasure. The book includes chapters on standard photography, modern digital techniques, methods for improving contrast, and a short chapter on drawing. In addition to its value as a work of reference, the authors' clear, didactic style makes this book suitable as a textbook for courses in photomicrography and/or elementary light microscopy. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

review
"Photography with a Microscope" - This book by Fred Rost and Ron Oldfield describes how to record images through a microscope. The book has several weaknesses. First, although Cambridge University Press claims that this book is beautifully illustrated, it does not compare in image quality with the book from Prof. Werner Nachtigall (entitled "Exploring with the Microscope", Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York 1995), which cost significantly less. Second, this book is not current with photomicrography as it is done since the end of the last century. On just a few pages, digital, confocal, and video techniques are summarized. The excuse that "...no more than general principles have been outlined; anything more would be outmoded shortly after publication of the work." is unacceptable. Digital photography has its basic principles that only change slowly over time (just like classical photography). This book, written in 1999, does not discuss digital photography adequately. I therefore recommend the authors to change the title of their book into "Recent History of Photography with a Microscope". Last but not least, if this book is written for people interested in photomicrography (including beginners), the authors missed to add two important books to their list of references starting on page 265 (Georg Stehli, "The microscope and how to use it", Dover Publications Inc., New York, 1970, and the book from Werner Nachtigall mentioned above). ... Read more

Book Description

This book discusses the principles, methods, and applications of immunogold-silver staining (IGSS) to biomedical areas. It focuses on the latest advances in the dynamic and progressive field of IGSS. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Electron Microscopist Review
Hayat once again gathers leaders in the field of electron microscopy to compile an edition devoted to immunogold silver staining.If you want a compendium of resources for nano-gold labeling of cells for electronmicroscopy, this is the one reference you want to have.The chaptersprovide all the information required to succesfully label cells, bothpre-embedding and post-embedding. ... Read more

Book Description

Biomembrane Transport covers the fundamental principles of biomembrane transport proteins, including thermodynamics and kinetics, structure and catalytic mechanism, and regulation and integration classification. The book considers recent advances in transport protein structure and function, along with established concepts. The importance of biomembrane transport to regulation and interorgan nutrient flows and metabolism is covered, as well as classical and modern techniques for characterizing transport. The book also contains a classification scheme for all known transport proteins according to their functions and amino acid residue sequence similarities.

Key Features
* Considers recent advances in transport protein structure and function, along with established concepts
* Distinguishes the similarities and differences in the mechanisms of action of transport proteins
* Provides an up-to-date discussion of the thermodynamics and kinetics of biomembrane transport
* Discusses regulation of biomembrane transport
* Details the importance of biomembrane transport to regulation and interorgan nutrient flows and metabolism
* Contains a classification scheme for all known transport proteins according to their functions and amino acid residue sequence similarities
* Presents classical and modern techniques for characterizing transport ... Read more

Book Description

This Second Edition, is the new, thoroughly revised edition of the established and well-respected authoritative text in the field. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology is hypothesis driven and firmly based on numerous experiments performed by experts in the field. Seven new chapters (five new and two totally rewritten) complement and expand on the first edition and are written in a way that encourages students to ask questions. Additionally, new, groundbreaking research data on dendritic processing is presented in a very easy-to-understand format.

* A presentation that is hypothesis driven and firmly based on experiment
* A concise but in depth explanation of molecular properties and functions of excitable cells
* Over 400 two-colour illustrations
* Appendices describingneurobiological techniques ... Read more

Reviews (2)

at last a non dogmatic book
In contrast to other textbooks, the book of Hammond is based on the assumption that the most appropriate way to teach is to follow the path that enabled to develop a concept and prove it. The book thus includes over 400 figures of now classical experiments with a concise explanation of the hypothesis, the experimental design used to test the hypothesis and the conclusions derived. The student gets rapidly familiar with channels, basic networks and functions thanks to brief addenda in which complicated experiments with patch clamp techniques become quite straightforward. The molecular and cellular elements required to understand how ionic channels operate during maturation and in relation to sensory perception or learning are presented in an excellent English and includes several chapters by leading experts in their respective fields. The quality of the figures facilitates direct use for teaching neurobiology.

Concise but hard to understand
This book is very different from the myriads of verbose biology textbooks out there.The language is very concise, and so this relatively thin textbook may cover as much material as one that's twice as thick.However, the English is often hard to understand, perhaps because it's orginally written in French and then translated into English. ... Read more