Chromosome Identification Medicine And Natural Sciences

Chromosome Identification—Technique and Applications in Biology and Medicine contains the proceedings of the Twenty-Third Nobel Symposium held at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, on September 25-27,1972. The papers review advances in chromosome banding techniques and their applications in biology and medicine. Techniques for the study of pattern constancy and for rapid karyotype analysis are discussed, along with cytological procedures; karyotypes in different organisms; somatic cell hybridization; and chemical composition of chromosomes. This book is comprised of 51 chapters divided into nine sections and begins with a survey of the cytological procedures, including fluorescence banding techniques, constitutive heterochromatin (C-band) technique, and Giemsa banding technique. The following chapters explore computerized statistical analysis of banding pattern; the use of distribution functions to describe integrated profiles of human chromosomes; the uniqueness of the human karyotype; and the application of somatic cell hybridization to the study of gene linkage and complementation. The mechanisms for certain chromosome aberration are also analyzed, together with fluorescent banding agents and differential staining of human chromosomes after oxidation treatment. This monograph will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of biology and medicine.

Critical to the accurate diagnosis of human illness is the need to distinguish clinical features that fall within the normal range from those that do not. That distinction is often challenging and not infrequently requires considerable experience at the bedside. It is not surprising that accurate cytogenetic diagnosis is also often a challenge, especially when chromosome study reveals morphologic findings that raise the question of normality. Given the realization that modern human cytogenetics is just over five decades old, it is noteworthy that thorough documentation of normal chromosome var- tion has not yet been accomplished. One key diagnostic consequence of the inability to distinguish a “normal” variation in chromosome structure from a pathologic change is a missed or inaccurate diagnosis. Clinical cytogeneticists have not, however, been idle. Rather, progressive biotechnological advances coupled with virtual completion of the human genome project have yielded increasingly better microscopic resolution of chromosome structure. Witness the progress from the early short condensed chromosomes to the later visualization of chromosomes through banding techniques, hi- resolution analysis in prophase, and more recently to analysis by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH).

Medicine and Natural Sciences: Chemistry in Botanical Classification contains the proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Nobel Symposium held in Sodergarn, Sweden, on August 20-25, 1973. The papers explore the chemical approach to plant classification and cover topics ranging from chemosystematics and applications of special classes of compounds to insects and plant chemotaxonomy. Biosynthetic pathways in chemical phylogeny and some aspects of organic geochemistry are also discussed. This book is comprised of 32 chapters divided into five sections. The first chapter provides an overview of the chemical approach to botanical classification, with special reference to the higher taxa of Magnoliophyta. The reader is then introduced to chemosystematics and the construction of phylogenetic schemes, as well as the use of a chemical character for the classification of living organisms. The following chapters focus on The chemistry of disjunct taxa; homology of biosynthetic routes; and applications of special classes of compounds such as flavonoids. The systematic distribution of ellagitannins in relation to the phylogeny and classification of the angiosperms is also considered. The final chapter describes phytochemical and biological procedures for screening of plant materials. This monograph will be of value to botanists, plant taxonomists, and chemists.

The ninth volume of Evolutionary Biology represents a turning point in the history of this series. The death of Theodosius Dobzhansky was a blow to the whole field of evolutionary biology in general, and to his friends and colleagues, including the other two Editors. He played a central role in the selection of areas that were "ripe" for review papers, and his circle of friends, colleagues, and students was so wide that he could always find exactly the most appropriate author and then convince him that he should prepare the paper. Evolutionary Biology was founded in 1966 and the first volume published in 1967. Ten years-and several vicissitudes-later, it seems advisable to restate the original concept of this serial publication. The Preface of Volume 1 says, simply, We have conceived this serial as a forum in which critical reviews and com mentaries, as well as original papers and even controversial views, can be brought together to cover a broad range of interest with provocative discussion. Evolutionary Biology will provide research workers and students with an excep tional opportunity to read expert presentations of developments in areas of their field in which they are not specialists, and as specialists they will see how others assess these developments. An important feature is that contributions are not necessarily limited in length, subject, and other restrictions that usually prevail in basic research journals.

This is the first book to be devoted entirely to the application and development of flow techniques in cytogenetics. It provides comprehensive information on the use of flow cytometry and sorting for chromosome classification and purification. Cytogenetics and molecular biologists will find this book an invaluable reference source. Practical details for the preparation and analysis of chromosomes using flow cytometry Flow karyotyping for sensitive rapid analysis of chromosome normality and the detection of aberrant chromosomes Flow sorting as a source of chromosome-specific DNA for gene mapping and recombinant DNA libraries Construction and current status of chromosome-specific recombinant DNA libraries

There is growing enthusiasm in the scientific community about the prospect of mapping and sequencing the human genome, a monumental project that will have far-reaching consequences for medicine, biology, technology, and other fields. But how will such an effort be organized and funded? How will we develop the new technologies that are needed? What new legal, social, and ethical questions will be raised? Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome is a blueprint for this proposed project. The authors offer a highly readable explanation of the technical aspects of genetic mapping and sequencing, and they recommend specific interim and long-range research goals, organizational strategies, and funding levels. They also outline some of the legal and social questions that might arise and urge their early consideration by policymakers.