Since the publication of the popular first edition, the explosion of DNA sequence information, the access to bioinformatics and mutation databases coupled with the ability to readily detect and confirm mutations has cemented the role of molecular diagnostics in medicine and, in particular, mutation detection by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Recent efforts to characterize genetic variation in the human genome, coupled with the rapidly developing field of genomics, have lead directly to the development of new and innovative approaches to the identification of genes contributing to complex human diseases.
Over the last two decades advances in genotyping technology, and the development of quantitative genetic analytical techniques have made it possible to dissect complex traits and link quantitative variation in traits to allelic variation on chromosomes or quantitative trait loci (QTLs).
Molecular biology has transformed prenatal diagnosis because it permits an accurate diagnosis to be made from very small quantities of fetal material, even single cells.
The recent accumulation of information from genomes, including their sequences, has resultednotonlyinnewattemptstoansweroldquestionsandsolvelongstandingissues inbiology,butalsointheformulationofnovelhypothesesthatarisepreciselyfromthis wealth of data.
Aiming toward improvement in the safety, efficiency, and specificity of viral vectors for neurobiological research and clinical applications, Viral Vector Approaches in Neurobiology and Brain Diseases covers key aspects related to the use of viral vectors in neuroscience, with a major emphasis on basic mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory, as well as molecular neuropharmacology and experimental animal models of brain disorders.
In DNA Cloning and Assembly Methods, expert researchers in the field detail many of the methods which are now commonly used for DNA cloning and make cloning procedures faster, more reliable and also suitable for high-throughput handling.
Comparative Genomics, Volume 2, provides a collection of robust protocols for molecular biologists beginning to use comparative genomic analysis tools in a variety of areas.
Due to their importance to cell biology, DNA topology-altering enzymes, collectively DNA topoisomerases and gyrases, have been studied thoroughly from a biochemical perspective, yet the expansion of research at the molecular and cellular levels continues to show a great deal of promise.
One of the major challenges currently facing the scientific community is to understand the function of the multitude of protein-coding genes that were revealed when the human genome was fully sequenced.
In miRNA Maturation: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers in the field detail many of the methods which are now commonly used to study miRNA maturation.
Microsatellites or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) have become the markers of choice for a variety of molecular studies because of their versatility, operational flexibility, and lower cost than other marker systems.
Homologous recombination is important in various aspects of DNA metabolism, including damage repair, replication, telomere maintenance, and meiosis, and yeast genetics has successfully provided a framework for the mechanism of homologous recombination.
In Post-Transcriptional Gene Regulation, renowned authors present current technical approaches to most aspects of post-transcriptional control and provide a useful and versatile laboratory bench resource.
The tiny microRNAs (miRNAs) can have huge impacts on the regulation of a variety of genes and play crucial roles in the fundamental cellular processes.
Immunoinformatics: Predicting Immunogenicity In Silico is a primer for researchers interested in this emerging and exciting technology and provides examples in the major areas within the field of immunoinformatics.
The field of epigenetics has grown exponentially in the past decade, and a steady flow of exciting discoveries in this area has served to move it to the forefront of molecular biology.
Understanding gene expression and how it changes under normal and pathological conditions is essential to our understanding of the fundamentals of cell biology through to the targeted treatment of disease.
Since each human is genetically distinctive, responding differently to disease-causing factors as well as drugs, the field pharmacogenomics arose to develop personalized medicine, or medicine that deals with the complexity of the human body.
Pyrosequencing(R) Protocols presents detailed protocols for the multidisciplinary application of Pyrosequencing(R) technology, all written by world-renowned experts in the field.
In Gene Therapy Protocols, Volumes 1 & 2, internationally recognized investigators describe cutting-edge laboratory techniques for the study of Production and In Vivo Applications of Gene Transfer Vectors (Volume 1) and Design and Characterization of Gene Transfer Vectors (Volume 2).
The rapid progression of genetics and molecular biology has turned chromosomal engineering from science fiction to reality, with the successful production of transgenic animals with engineered chromosomes and chromosomes developed for pharmaceutical protein production which are now ready for the medical industry.
Gene correction is a technology that gives us the tools for both repairing and mutating DNA, for discovering gene functions and for engineering new genetic variants.
In the last decade, several different optical imaging techniques, either based on various voltage or calcium dyes, or more recently on modified fluorescent or bioluminescent proteins (genetically encoded) that are sensitive to calcium, have been developed to study neuronal activity, and especially groups of neurons, with the goal of mapping and deciphering the neural code underlying major neurophysiological functions.
This book highlights recent research investigating psychological and neural mechanisms contributing to dysfunctional cognition in people with schizophrenia.
