Molecular Basis Of Epithelial Appendage Morphogenesis

Reviews recent experimental findings and current thinking on epithelial appendage morphogenesis. Contains sections on overview, morphogenesis of epithelial appendages on the body surface and within the body, molecular mechanisms, models, and approaches. Specific subjects include early molecular events in feather morphogenesis, evolutionarily conserved gene interactions, and molecular biology of anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. Many chapters contain summary diagrams of the formative process of organs, with cellular and molecular explanations. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Normative Biology, Husbandry, and Models, the third volume in the four volume set, The Mouse in Biomedical Research, encompasses 23 chapters whose contents provide a broad overview on the laboratory mouse’s normative biology, husbandry, and its use as a model in biomedical research. This consists of chapters on behavior, physiology, reproductive physiology, anatomy, endocrinology, hematology, and clinical chemistry. Other chapters cover management, as well as nutrition, gnotobiotics and disease surveillance. There are also individual chapters describing the mouse as a model for the study of aging, eye research, neurodegenerative diseases, convulsive disorders, diabetes, and cardiovascular and skin diseases. Chapters on imaging techniques and the use of the mouse in assays of biological products are also included.

Developmental biology is one of the most exciting and fast-growing fields today. In part, this is so because the subject matter deals with the innately fascinating biological events—changes in form, structure, and function of the org- ism. The other reason for much of the excitement in developmental biology is that the field has truly become the unifying melting pot of biology, and provides a framework that integrates anatomy, physiology, genetics, biochemistry, and cellular and mole- lar biology, as well as evolutionary biology. No longer is the study of embryonic development merely “embryology.” In fact, development biology has produced - portant paradigms for both basic and clinical biomedical sciences alike. Although modern developmental biology has its roots in “experimental emb- ology” and the even more classical “chemical embryology,” the recent explosive and remarkable advances in developmental biology are critically linked to the advent of the “cellular and molecular biology revolution.” The impressive arsenal of expe- mental and analytical tools derived from cell and molecular biology, which promise to continue to expand, together with the exponentially developing sophistication in fu- tional imaging and information technologies, guarantee that the study of the devel- ing embryo will contribute one of the most captivating areas of biological research in the next millennium.

A more comprehensive version of evolutionary theory that focuses as much on the origin of biological form as on its diversification. The field of evolutionary biology arose from the desire to understand the origin and diversity of biological forms. In recent years, however, evolutionary genetics, with its focus on the modification and inheritance of presumed genetic programs, has all but overwhelmed other aspects of evolutionary biology. This has led to the neglect of the study of the generative origins of biological form. Drawing on work from developmental biology, paleontology, developmental and population genetics, cancer research, physics, and theoretical biology, this book explores the multiple factors responsible for the origination of biological form. It examines the essential problems of morphological evolution—why, for example, the basic body plans of nearly all metazoans arose within a relatively short time span, why similar morphological design motifs appear in phylogenetically independent lineages, and how new structural elements are added to the body plan of a given phylogenetic lineage. It also examines discordances between genetic and phenotypic change, the physical determinants of morphogenesis, and the role of epigenetic processes in evolution. The book discusses these and other topics within the framework of evolutionary developmental biology, a new research agenda that concerns the interaction of development and evolution in the generation of biological form. By placing epigenetic processes, rather than gene sequence and gene expression changes, at the center of morphological origination, this book points the way to a more comprehensive theory of evolution.

This widely acclaimed reference work gives a comprehensive survey of all significant human malformations and related anomalies from the perspective of the clinician. The anomalies are organized by anatomical system and presented in a consistent manner, including details of the clinical presentation, epidemiology, embryology, treatment and prevention for each anomaly. When known, the molecular or other pathogenetic basis for the malformation is given. Most anomalies are illustrated by photographs or drawings. Specific malformations are linked to syndromes through the extensive use of differential diagnosis tables. Over a decade has passed since the first edition of this book was published, and the revised edition fully incorporates the advances made in the field during the intervening years.. It reflects new understanding of human developmental biology that has emerged from molecular, cytogenetic, and biochemical studies; new observations by clinicians as well as enhanced diagnostic and prevention capacities; and more accurate and comprehensive epidemiology. By condensing much of the information presented in the first volume of the previous edition, and exercising rigorous editorial control, Drs. Stevenson and Hall and their contributors have managed to update the book while reducing its size to that of a single volume. All clinicians and scientists interested in birth defects, including pediatricians, geneticists, genetic counselors, obstetricians, and pediatric pathologists, will find this book to be an invaluable source of information.

This illustrated book is devoted to the growing area of science dealing with structure and properties of biological surfaces in their relation to particular function(s). Written by specialists from different disciplines, it covers various surface functions.