Visions Of Cell Biology

Although modern cell biology is often considered to have arisen following World War II in tandem with certain technological and methodological advances—in particular, the electron microscope and cell fractionation—its origins actually date to the 1830s and the development of cytology, the scientific study of cells. By 1924, with the publication of Edmund Vincent Cowdry’s General Cytology, the discipline had stretched beyond the bounds of purely microscopic observation to include the chemical, physical, and genetic analysis of cells. Inspired by Cowdry’s classic, watershed work, this book collects contributions from cell biologists, historians, and philosophers of science to explore the history and current status of cell biology. Despite extraordinary advances in describing both the structure and function of cells, cell biology tends to be overshadowed by molecular biology, a field that developed contemporaneously. This book remedies that unjust disparity through an investigation of cell biology’s evolution and its role in pushing forward the boundaries of biological understanding. Contributors show that modern concepts of cell organization, mechanistic explanations, epigenetics, molecular thinking, and even computational approaches all can be placed on the continuum of cell studies from cytology to cell biology and beyond. The first book in the series Convening Science: Discovery at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Visions of Cell Biology sheds new light on a century of cellular discovery.

Cell Biology of the Eye discusses the eye tissues and its role in the investigations on active transport, growth factors, receptors, and differentiation. The book is comprised of articles which discuss corneal proteoglycans; transport of ions and metabolites across the corneal endothelium; the ontogeny and localization of the crystallins in eye lens development and regeneration; the biological-physical basis of lens transparency; the chromatic organization of the retina; and the dopamine neurons in the retina. This treatise will serve as a valuable reference text for graduate and professional students, teachers, researchers, clinicians, and to all in the vision field.

GOVERNOR GENERAL'S AWARD FINALIST Christopher Dewdney takes us on an enchanting hour-by-hour journey through the night. With eloquence and insight, Dewdney explores this dark frontier in its many guises: as it seeps into the habitats of nocturnal creatures, takes its place in our bedtime stories and ancient myths, makes its way into our sleeping bodies. Whether investigating the cosmology of the night or visiting a modern sleep clinic, Dewdney brings a philosopher’s mind, a scientist’s thirst and a poet’s eye to his subject. Highly acclaimed in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., Acquainted with the Night is bedside reading at its most intimate and illuminating.

This text is a comprehensive look at the current knowledge on stem cell application for vision loss, showcasing different types of stem cells (adult, embryonic, iPSCs) for diseases of the front and the back of the eye. It also highlights data obtained in various models from fish to human, as well as from the bionic eye project for vision regeneration. This volume in the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine series is essential reading for stem cell biologists, ophthalmologists, advanced and graduate students, in addition to academics and medical staff who work in these disciplines.

This textbook is intended for use in a course for undergraduate students in biology, neuroscience or psychology who have had an introductory course on the structure and function of the nervous system. Its primary purpose is to provide a working vocabulary and knowledge of the biology of vision and to acquaint students with the major themes in biological vision research. Part I treats the eye as an image-forming organ and provides an overview of the projections from the retina to key visual structures of the brain. Part II examines the functions of the retina and its central projections in greater detail, building on the introductory material of Part I. Part III treats certain special topics in vision that require this detailed knowledge of the structure and properties of the retina and visual projections.

The Retina: A Model for Cell Biology Studies, Part II, is the second of a two-part series that details developments in the study of retinal cell biology. The book begins with a review of the current evidence for the role of putative neurotransmitters at particular synapses in the retina. It then discusses pre- and postsynaptic regulatory mechanisms; the interactions of neurotransmitter-neuromodulatory systems; and cellular effects of putative neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. This is followed by an introduction to vision psychophysics, showing its application in studying the functioning of cells in the retina. The remaining chapters discuss how the retinal pigment epithelium cell might be used as a model for studying biological problems of current interest; extracellular matrix molecules; concepts and controversies regarding the biology of endothelial cells, the key elements in the phenomenon of intraocular neovascularization; the use of genetic mutations and genetic mosaics for the study of the retina; and the retina as a regenerating organ.

A Harvard neurobiologist explains how vision works, citing the scientific origins of artistic genius and providing coverage of such topics as optical illusions and the correlation between learning disabilities and artistic skill.

Half a billion years of evolution have turned the eye into an unbelievable pattern detector. Everything we perceive comes in delightful multicolored forms. Now, in the age of science, we want to comprehend what and why we see. Two dozen outstanding biologists, chemists, physicists, psychologists, computer scientists and mathematicians met at the Institut d'Hautes Etudes Scientifiques in Bures-sur-Yvette, France. They expounded their views on the physical, biological and physiological mechanisms creating the tapestry of patterns we see in molecules, plants, insects, seashells, and even the human brain. This volume comprises surveys of different aspects of pattern formation and recognition, and is aimed at the scientifically minded reader. p>Sample Chapter(s) Chapter 1.1: Introduction (242 KB) Chapter 1.2: Single blind agent with finite memory (170 KB) Chapter 1.3: Single blind agent with inflnite memory (190 KB) Chapter 1.4: Single sighted agent receiving cues from the environment (one-way exogenous control) (315 KB) Chapter 1.5: Single sighted agent receiving cues from the structure (two-way exogenous control) (165 KB) Chapter 1.6: Single self-controlled agent (endogenous control) (176 KB) Chapter 1.7: Multiple blind agents with finite memory (189 KB) Chapter 1.8: Multiple blind agents with infinite memory (124 KB) Chapter 1.9: Multiple sighted agents (264 KB) Contents:Growth and Form:Paradigms of Pattern Formation — Towards a Computational Theory of Morphogenesis (P Prusinkiewicz)Growth and Form of Sponges and Corals in a Moving Fluid (J A Kaandorp & P M A Sloot)From Pseudo-Random Numbers to Stochastic Growth Models and Texture Images (L P Yaroslavsky)Crystal Growth, Biological Cell Growth, and Geometry (J W Cannon et al.)Recent Results on Aperiodic Wang Tilings (J Kari)Reaction-Diffusion and Beyond:Biological Pattern Formation as a Complex Dynamic Phenomenon (H Meinhardt)Andronov Bifurcations and Sea Shell Patterns (M Argentina & P Coullet)Rational and Irrational Angles in Phyllotaxis (Y Couder & S Douady)Cellular Patterns:Organogenetic Cellular Patterning in Plants (P W Barlow et al.)A Classification of Plant Meristems Based on Cellworks (3D L-Systems). The Maintainance and Complexity of Their Cellular Patterns (J Lück & H B Lück)Plant Meristems and Their Patterns (B Zagórska-Marek)Mechanical Stress Patterns in Plant Cell Walls and Their Morphogenetical Importance (Z Hejnowicz)Tensorial Model for Growth and Cell Division in the Shoot Apex (J Nakielski)DNA and Genetic Control:DNA Nanotechnology — From Topological Control to Structural Control (N C Seeman)3D DNA Patterns and Computation (N Jonoska)Circular Suggestions for DNA Computing (T Head)DNA Computing by Matching — Sticker Systems and Watson-Crick Automata (G Paun)Images and Perception:Aspects of Human Shape Perception (J Ninio)Pattern Recognition in the Visual System and the Nature of Neural Coding (S Thorpe)How Can Singularity Theory Help in Image Processing? (M Briskin et al.) Readership: Biologists, mathematicians and computer scientists. Keywords:Growth Models;L-Systems;Cell Growth;Phyllotaxis;Cellular Patterns;DNA Nanotechnology;DNA Computation;Tiling;Vision;Pattern Recognition;Shape PerceptionReviews: “This gorgeously produced book gives an important entrée into the emerging world of biological mathematics … One of the most revolutionary and exciting areas discussed in this book is that of DNA computing and DNA nanotechnology … Mathematicians should find this book a fascinating introduction as well as a useful source book.” Journal la Gazette des Mathematiciens