The observation that neuropeptide Y (NPY) is the most abundant peptide present in the mammalian nervous system and the finding that it elicits the most powerful orexigenic signal have led to active investigations of the properties of the NPY family of hormones, including peptide YY (PYY) and pancreatic polypeptide (PP).
Most cells will survive removal from the natural mic- environment of their in vivo tissue and placement into a sterile culture dish under optimal conditions.
The purpose of Calpain Methods and Protocols is quite straightf- ward: it is to present the actual experimental methods used in many different laboratories for the study of calpain.
Gaining an understanding of the mechanisms by which cells process and respond to extracellular cues has become a major goal in many areas of bi- ogy and has attracted the attentions of almost every traditional discipline within the biological sciences.
It goes without saying that the principles and techniques of molecular biology are having and will continue to have a major impact on investigations into nervous system structure and func tion.
Despite the success of earlier Neuromethads volumes, I was initially reluctant to edit a further volume because my own - search is concerned with nonneural tissues.
The need to better understand the molecular, b- chemical, and cellular processes by which a developing neuronal system unfolds has led to the development of a unique set of experimental tools and organisms.
Blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown leading to cerebral edema occurs in many brain diseases-such as trauma, stroke, inflammation, infection, and tumors-and is an important factor in the mortality arising from these con- tions.
Given the popularity and utility of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, yeast-based functional genomics and proteomics technologies, developed over the past decade, have contributed greatly to our understanding of bacterial, yeast, fly, worm and human gene functions.
Investigations involving incisive mechanistic dissection of various types of synaptic plasticity have revealed that it plays key roles in neural development, sensory information processing, cortical remapping following brain injury, perception, and behavioral learning and memory.
While researchers with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) essentially addressed questions from the whole spectrum of cardiology, oncology, and the neurosciences, it was most notably the latter that provided completely new insights into physiological and disturbed human brain function.
Neuroproteomics: Methods and Protocols presents experimental details for applying proteomics to the study of the central nervous system (CNS) and its dysfunction through trauma and disease.
Divided into two convenient sections, Protein Kinase Technologies collects contributions from experts in the field examining recent methodologies and techniques generally applicable to protein kinase research as well as to individual protein kinases which require special attention in neuroscience.
MicroRNAs constitute a particularly important class of small RNAs given their abundance, broad phylogenetic conservation and strong regulatory effects, with plant miRNAs uniquely divulging their ancient evolutionary origins and their strong post-transcriptional regulatory effects.
Over the past years, the chem(o)informatics field has further evolved and new application areas have opened up, for example, in the broadly defined area of chemical biology.
RNA interference has become a key method in the suppression of gene expression and the development of therapeutic agents, yet there is still the problem of delivery, stability, and the danger of off-target effects such as the silencing of unwanted genes and activation of innate immunity.
Not only is the quantity of life science data expanding, but new types of biological data continue to be introduced as a result of technological development and a growing understanding of biological systems.
As the use of high-throughput screening expands and creates more interest in the academic community, the need for detailed reference materials becomes ever more pressing.
The successful previous volume on this topic provided a detailed benchwork manual for the most commonly used animal models of acute neurological injuries including cerebral ischemia, hemorrhage, vasospasm, and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.
Since the introduction of fluorescent calcium indicators and the subsequent development of capacities for real-time monitoring and imaging of calcium movements in the intact cells studied in isolation, in situ and in vivo, the complex and vital calcium signaling system has been illuminated, proving calcium signals to be excellent universal reporters of cellular activity.
Featuring current resources used to discover new legume family genes and to understand genes and their interactions, Legume Genomics: Methods and Protocols provides techniques from expert researchers to study these plants that are so vitally important for food, feed, human nutrition, bioenergy, and industrial purposes.
Activation, inhibition, or destruction of the nervous system or its component parts as a vital tool for the investigation of function has undergone remarkable development; indeed, new approaches have been developed that allow for these actions to be used as therapeutic tools.
The rapid expansion of synthetic biology is due to the design and construction of synthetic gene networks that have opened many new avenues in fundamental and applied research.
Due to their vital involvement in a wide variety of housekeeping and specialized cellular functions, exocytosis and endocytosis remain among the most popular subjects in biology and biomedical sciences.
