Transducing The Genome

This text provides a behind-the-scenes look at the sequencing of the human genome project and the birth of the science of genomics. It explains genomics as an information science and traces its history back further than standard histories and news accounts to the early visionaries.

Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment reviews advances made during the last 10-15 years in fields such as developmental biology, molecular biology, and genetics. It describes a novel approach for how these advances might be used in combination with existing methodologies to further the understanding of mechanisms of developmental toxicity, to improve the assessment of chemicals for their ability to cause developmental toxicity, and to improve risk assessment for developmental defects. For example, based on the recent advances, even the smallest, simplest laboratory animals such as the fruit fly, roundworm, and zebrafish might be able to serve as developmental toxicological models for human biological systems. Use of such organisms might allow for rapid and inexpensive testing of large numbers of chemicals for their potential to cause developmental toxicity; presently, there are little or no developmental toxicity data available for the majority of natural and manufactured chemicals in use. This new approach to developmental toxicology and risk assessment will require simultaneous research on several fronts by experts from multiple scientific disciplines, including developmental toxicologists, developmental biologists, geneticists, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians.

Translational Cardiometabolic Genomic Medicine, edited by Dr. Annabelle Rodriguez-Oquendo, is an important resource to postgraduate (medical, dental and graduate) students, postdoctoral fellows, basic scientists, and physician scientists seeking to understand and expand their knowledge base in the field of genomic medicine as it is applied to cardiometabolic diseases. This handbook integrates cutting-edge experimental approaches such as chromatin immunoprecipitation paired end tagging (CHIA-PET), to population studies such as the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. It encompasses a range of book chapters that highlight bioinformatic approaches to better understanding functionality of the noncoding regions of the human genome to the use of molecular diagnostic testing in predicting increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Where applicable, this reference also includes chapters related to therapeutic options specifically aligned to molecular targets. Provides comprehensive research on translational genomic medicine Explains state-of-the-art genome editing for stem cells and mouse models with significant relevance to human cardiometabolic disease Includes discussions on the functional effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms and cardiometabolic diseases, stratified by sex and race Encompasses a range of book chapters that highlight bioinformatic approaches to better understanding functionality of the noncoding regions of the human genome

How small can a free-living organism be? On the surface, this question is straightforward-in principle, the smallest cells can be identified and measured. But understanding what factors determine this lower limit, and addressing the host of other questions that follow on from this knowledge, require a fundamental understanding of the chemistry and ecology of cellular life. The recent report of evidence for life in a martian meteorite and the prospect of searching for biological signatures in intelligently chosen samples from Mars and elsewhere bring a new immediacy to such questions. How do we recognize the morphological or chemical remnants of life in rocks deposited 4 billion years ago on another planet? Are the empirical limits on cell size identified by observation on Earth applicable to life wherever it may occur, or is minimum size a function of the particular chemistry of an individual planetary surface? These questions formed the focus of a workshop on the size limits of very small organisms, organized by the Steering .Group for the Workshop on Size Limits of Very Small Microorganisms and held on October 22 and 23, 1998. Eighteen invited panelists, representing fields ranging from cell biology and molecular genetics to paleontology and mineralogy, joined with an almost equal number of other participants in a wide-ranging exploration of minimum cell size and the challenge of interpreting micro- and nano-scale features of sedimentary rocks found on Earth or elsewhere in the solar system. This document contains the proceedings of that workshop. It includes position papers presented by the individual panelists, arranged by panel, along with a summary, for each of the four sessions, of extensive roundtable discussions that involved the panelists as well as other workshop participants.

This book is about mobile genes—the transfer of DNA between unrelated cells. It discusses the machinery of gene transfer and its wide-ranging biological and health consequences. Mobile DNA makes possible the development of antibiotic resistance in microbes, the conversion of harmless to pathogenic bacteria, and the triggering of cancerous growth in cells. It also contributes to human evolution. This well-illustrated volume contains an up-to-date account of a topic now seen as increasingly important, and will be invaluable for both working scientists and as a textbook for advanced courses.