Despite political and ethical controversies surrounding the study of human embryonic stem (hES) cells, new freedoms in regard to using them for research has allowed interest to remain high in understa
The development of new drugs is expensive and difficult especially when a candidate drug fails late in the process. There are many tools available to assist in drug design and testing, however, the m
In recent years, single nucleotide polymorphisms have received increased and special attention in a rapidly developing field of personalized medicine and drug treatment. Comprising more than eighty pe
In recent years, our ability to understand and manipulate epidermal cells has increased tremendously, opening significant new possibilities in both basic science research and in regenerative medicine,
Functional glycomics, the study of the structure-function relationships of glycans in a given biosystem, requires the continuous development of rapid and sensitive methods for the identification of gl
In the ten years since the publication of the first edition, great advances in fluorescent labeling, optics, and sample preparation have significantly improved the imaging capability of microscopy, al
With the development of polypeptide ionization processes for mass spectrometry and the rapid processing of large-scale datasets with bioinformatics, researchers now have the tools necessary to propel
Essential in biological functions like cell signaling and, when disturbed, a likely cause of disease, lipids have proven to be a vital force in cell biology. In Lipidomics: Methods and Protocols, an i
Since the development of the concept of “proteomics”, great progress has granted deeper insight into the cellular network, but the enormous range of protein abundance, dynamics, and interactions leave
In past decades, the area of bioinformatics has proved to be both dynamic and vital, producing a wide spectrum of novel approaches and assuming an increasingly important role in modern bio-technologi
Through the study and application of bioluminescence, scientists have painstakingly harnessed a powerful tool that enables us to seek a deeper understanding of the complex mechanisms underpinning so m
The ability to detect and quantify apoptosis, to understand its biochemistry, and to identify its regulatory genes and proteins is crucial to biomedical research. In Apoptosis: Methods and Protocols,
Over the past twenty years, the development of chromatin immunoprecipitation, or ChIP, assays has immensely enhanced the biological significance of the multifaceted DNA-binding proteins. In Chromatin
In the early years of microarray technology, efforts were directed mainly at profiling expressed genes, while recently the microarray platform has been adapted into diverse applications directed towa
In the years since the release of the popular first edition, the field of High Throughput Screening (HTS) has evolved considerably, from a small niche area of study to a major, essential scientific t
The unique chromosome dynamics of meiosis have fascinated scientists for well over a century, but in recent years there has been a proliferation of new data concerning the pairing, recombination, and
From the beginning of the OMICs biology era, science has been pursuing the reduction of the complex "genome-wide" assays in order to understand the essential biology that lies beneath it. In Protein N
The phenomenon of RNA interference has rapidly moved from groundbreaking scientific discovery to promising therapeutic approach. However, even as RNAi-based drugs enter the clinic, significant challe
Since its introduction almost 20 years ago, phage display technology has revolutionized approaches to the analysis of biomedical problems, quickly impacting the fields of immunology, cell biolo
With a wide variety of investigative approaches, T cell immunology is a vital and open field of study. In T Cell Protocols, Second Edition, an international panel of experts contribute fully updated
Diabetes is now reaching epidemic proportions, and the associated complications of this disease can be disabling and even life-threatening. In Type 2 Diabetes: Methods and Protocols, leading investig
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 understandin
Despite its inherent controversy, the exploration of the human embryo can unlock many of the answers to our deepest biological questions. In Human Embryogenesis: Methods and Protocols, internationall
According to the most recent clinical oncology data, one out of seven newly diagnosed malignancies worldwide result from infection and chronic inflammation in conjunction with cancer. In Inflammation
The G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), known to be one of the largest superfamilies in the human genome, underpin a multitude of physiological processes and represent a significant target for bioac
The revolutionary discoveries of RNA interference and bacterial regulatory RNAs led to further breakthroughs such as the identification of riboswitches and related RNA sensors, mRNA regions capable o
With the advent of modern methodology, the phenomenal complexity of the protein components and regulatory steps involved in mitosis has become approachable. In Mitosis: Methods and Protocols, experts
In the dramatic and rapidly developing field of neural transplantation for CNS repair, the most powerful contributor has been the vital research focusing on stem cells. In Neural Cell Transplantation
The storage, processing, description, transmission, connection, and analysis of the waves of new genomic data have made bioinformatics skills essential for scientists working with DNA sequences. In B
Over the past two decades, expressed sequence tags (ESTs - single pass reads from randomly selected cDNAs), have proven to be a remarkably cost-effective route for the purposes of gene discovery. Gai
Through a variety of mechanisms, cancer cells provide the biomarker material that can lead to their own detection, which then grants clinicians the opportunity for non-invasive body fluid and tissue
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. Cell-Based Assays for High-T
Due to the significant contributions of carbohydrates to the functional diversity of the cell, the challenging study of the glycome has expanded beyond the research of carbohydrate experts and into t
As increasing global population and continuing economic development ensure the need for further production and cultivation of maize, the necessity of the application of transgenic technology to this
Protein phosphorylation controls many basic cellular processes, such as cell growth, differentiation, migration, metabolism, and cell death, and its study can provide key insights into the signal tra
With the completion of the mouse and human genome sequences, the functional characterization of every mammalian gene and the deciphering of their molecular interaction network has become the next maj
The rapidly developing methods of systems biology can help investigators to make inference and predictions from their data that intuition alone would not discern; however, the difficulty lies in the
Recent advances in molecular and cellular biology techniques have significantly improved our ability to detect, monitor, model and study the underlying molecular basis and pathogenesis of leukemia, y
Proteases decisively contribute to cancer development and promotion by regulating the activities of growth factors/cytokines and signaling receptors, as well as the composition of the extracellular m
With the incredible potential of gene transfer into hematopoietic stem cells, active research in this field has become critically important. In "Genetic Modification of Hematopoietic Stem Cells: Metho
