- Email: [email protected]
Advances in Gene Technology: Human Genetic Disorders (ICSU Short Reports, Vol. 1)
TINS-January 1985
37
ing as being inconclusive). In a number of cases the authors do cite experimental data from other laboratones, but at times they badly m~squote that data By way of example, the authors state that McCormick and his colleagues recorded from the 'acoustic colhculus' using 20 kHz sound stimulation to the head. In checking the reference (McCormick, J. A , Weaver, E G , P a h n , J. and Rldgway, S. H. (1970) J Acoust Soc A m 48, 14181428), tt turns out that McCormick and his colleagues recorded cochlear potentials (microphonic potentials) and that they used a range of frequencies instead of 20 kHz Thus, the critique by Purves and Pilleri of the observations made by McCormick and his colleagues on the pathways of sound to the ear must be treated very cautiously
W h d e presentmg a btased view of echolocation is the m a j o r problem with this book, the book has also been badly edited. Without detailing all of the problems, one ddftculty with the book is that the writing style changes drastically between dtfferent sublects (the material based upon work by Purves is far better presented than the work by Pilleri) Most significantly, I find it difficult to understand how this book could have b e e n published with the incluston of a seven line quotation (page xtii) wtthout mentioning the n a m e of the person being quoted. The quote ts from an extremely important conference on animal sonar It is even more amazmg that this very t m p o r t a n t conference, published in 1980, is never ctted in Purves and Pillen's text, and a reference to this animal sonar volume
ts not given m the reference section of the book In conclusion, whde the title and the reputation of the authors give one hope that this book will be of considerable value, it turns out to be very disappointing This volume may appeal to a spectahst mterested in learning the views of the authors However, the book ~s not an overview of echolocation for the soentist interested in learnmg about echolocation by marine mammals nor is it suitable as an introduction to the subject for the layman (as suggested by the authors)_
Advances in Gene Technology: Human Genetic Disorders (ICSU Short Reports, Vol. 1)
nology is also just beginning to provide some help in our understanding of the molecular pathology of c o m m o n dtseases, such as atherosclerosls, but here the problem IS to know which particular 'candidate genes' merit special attention by the molecular geneticist. The second half of the book consists of 73 'poster session reports', each of a page or two In length and covenng a wide range of subjects related to recombinant D N A , mcluding the cloning of genes of particular medical interest (such as hypoxanthIne-guan-
lne phosphonbosyl transferase and factor IX) and the generation of gene probes. There is an index of authors but regrettably no subject index Since the volume was published (in offset form) within a few months of the symposium being held, it is remarkably up-to-date However, because most of the reports are very brief and highly technical, this book is mainly for those actively engaged in research in the field, to whom it can be highly recommended ALAN EMERY
Glossogenetics: The Origin and Evolution of Language (Methods of Scientific Thought,Vol. 1)
recent developments in fields outside their own_ Thus while each specialist reader - whether anatomist, archaeologist, or linguist - may be impressed by the synthesis of work in fields outside his own, the same reader may wince at the inaccuracies that result when others attempt to summarize his own area of research For example, Gibson, Laltman, Livingston, Fischer, and Pulleyblank all base at least part of their arguments on comparisons between the behaviour and language of humans on the one hand and the behavlour and communication of n o n - h u m a n primates on the other This is certainly reasonable, but none of the authors has apparently bothered to review recent work on non-human primates and their communication. Pulleyblank, for example, states that ~mammalian call systems consist of a limited n u m b e r of specific, but variable, cries given In immediate response to emotional states and under the control of the hmblc part of the brain Speech IS controlled by the cortex does not require emotional stimulus [and] uses a lower part of the sound spectrum' These assertions
edited by Walter A Scott, Fazal Ahmad, Sandra Black, Juhus Schultz and Wdham J Whelan, Cambridge University Press, 1984. £22 50/$39.50 (xx + 276 pages) ISBN 0 521 26749 8 The new methods of gene technology (also variously referred to as recomb i n a n t D N A technology or genetic engineering) are provtdlng unique ways of studying the fine structure of genes and the detailed molecular pathology of h u m a n disease, new and precise methods for c a r e e r detection and antenatal diagnosis, and perhaps in the not-too-distant future methods for treating genetic disease using gene therapy This current volume represents the record of a symposium concerned with various aspects of gene technology The first half of the book, consisting of 28 brief chapters, is divided into six sections concerned with oncogenes, translocatzons and gene activation, mechanisms of gene activation, the m a j o r hlstocompatlblhty loci, h u m a n genetic organization, and finally some of the hybridization, immunological and enzyme techmques used in the field_ Most of the contributions are concerned with man, though in a few instances mice and Drosophda are chosen as models Perhaps the most lmmedmtely Interesting chapters address the problems of gene regulation in normal and neoplastic tissues, and the use of D N A markers for cartier detection and prenatal dmgnosls in diseases such as D u c h e n n e muscular dystrophy and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome R e c o m b i n a n t D N A tech-
edited by Eric de Grolier, Harwood Acadermc Publishers, 1983 $38 50 (xt + 546 pages) ISBN 3 718 60158 3 This volume presents the results of the First International Transdlsclphnary Symposium on Glossogenetics, held in P a n s in 1981 The Paris conference followed two others on the same topic, and the present volume covers materlal similar to that covered in the proceedlngs of these earlier meetings (R W Westcott, ed., 1974, Language Origins, Linstock Press, Silver Spring, U S A and 1976, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol 180, New York ) C o n t n b u t o r s to this volume aim primarily to reconstruct the evolution of h u m a n language To do so they draw, often imaginatively, on a diverse array of data from comparative primate and fossil hominid anatomy, archaeology, animal behaviour and linguistics_ The book has an intriguing, eclectic flavour, but it suffers from the fact that many authors are unaware of
ARTHUR N POPPER
Department of Anatomy, Georgetown Untverszty Schools of Medicine and Den~try, N W Washtngton, DC 20007 USA
Medwal School, Umverslty of Edinburgh, UK
37
ing as being inconclusive). In a number of cases the authors do cite experimental data from other laboratones, but at times they badly m~squote that data By way of example, the authors state that McCormick and his colleagues recorded from the 'acoustic colhculus' using 20 kHz sound stimulation to the head. In checking the reference (McCormick, J. A , Weaver, E G , P a h n , J. and Rldgway, S. H. (1970) J Acoust Soc A m 48, 14181428), tt turns out that McCormick and his colleagues recorded cochlear potentials (microphonic potentials) and that they used a range of frequencies instead of 20 kHz Thus, the critique by Purves and Pilleri of the observations made by McCormick and his colleagues on the pathways of sound to the ear must be treated very cautiously
W h d e presentmg a btased view of echolocation is the m a j o r problem with this book, the book has also been badly edited. Without detailing all of the problems, one ddftculty with the book is that the writing style changes drastically between dtfferent sublects (the material based upon work by Purves is far better presented than the work by Pilleri) Most significantly, I find it difficult to understand how this book could have b e e n published with the incluston of a seven line quotation (page xtii) wtthout mentioning the n a m e of the person being quoted. The quote ts from an extremely important conference on animal sonar It is even more amazmg that this very t m p o r t a n t conference, published in 1980, is never ctted in Purves and Pillen's text, and a reference to this animal sonar volume
ts not given m the reference section of the book In conclusion, whde the title and the reputation of the authors give one hope that this book will be of considerable value, it turns out to be very disappointing This volume may appeal to a spectahst mterested in learning the views of the authors However, the book ~s not an overview of echolocation for the soentist interested in learnmg about echolocation by marine mammals nor is it suitable as an introduction to the subject for the layman (as suggested by the authors)_
Advances in Gene Technology: Human Genetic Disorders (ICSU Short Reports, Vol. 1)
nology is also just beginning to provide some help in our understanding of the molecular pathology of c o m m o n dtseases, such as atherosclerosls, but here the problem IS to know which particular 'candidate genes' merit special attention by the molecular geneticist. The second half of the book consists of 73 'poster session reports', each of a page or two In length and covenng a wide range of subjects related to recombinant D N A , mcluding the cloning of genes of particular medical interest (such as hypoxanthIne-guan-
lne phosphonbosyl transferase and factor IX) and the generation of gene probes. There is an index of authors but regrettably no subject index Since the volume was published (in offset form) within a few months of the symposium being held, it is remarkably up-to-date However, because most of the reports are very brief and highly technical, this book is mainly for those actively engaged in research in the field, to whom it can be highly recommended ALAN EMERY
Glossogenetics: The Origin and Evolution of Language (Methods of Scientific Thought,Vol. 1)
recent developments in fields outside their own_ Thus while each specialist reader - whether anatomist, archaeologist, or linguist - may be impressed by the synthesis of work in fields outside his own, the same reader may wince at the inaccuracies that result when others attempt to summarize his own area of research For example, Gibson, Laltman, Livingston, Fischer, and Pulleyblank all base at least part of their arguments on comparisons between the behaviour and language of humans on the one hand and the behavlour and communication of n o n - h u m a n primates on the other This is certainly reasonable, but none of the authors has apparently bothered to review recent work on non-human primates and their communication. Pulleyblank, for example, states that ~mammalian call systems consist of a limited n u m b e r of specific, but variable, cries given In immediate response to emotional states and under the control of the hmblc part of the brain Speech IS controlled by the cortex does not require emotional stimulus [and] uses a lower part of the sound spectrum' These assertions
edited by Walter A Scott, Fazal Ahmad, Sandra Black, Juhus Schultz and Wdham J Whelan, Cambridge University Press, 1984. £22 50/$39.50 (xx + 276 pages) ISBN 0 521 26749 8 The new methods of gene technology (also variously referred to as recomb i n a n t D N A technology or genetic engineering) are provtdlng unique ways of studying the fine structure of genes and the detailed molecular pathology of h u m a n disease, new and precise methods for c a r e e r detection and antenatal diagnosis, and perhaps in the not-too-distant future methods for treating genetic disease using gene therapy This current volume represents the record of a symposium concerned with various aspects of gene technology The first half of the book, consisting of 28 brief chapters, is divided into six sections concerned with oncogenes, translocatzons and gene activation, mechanisms of gene activation, the m a j o r hlstocompatlblhty loci, h u m a n genetic organization, and finally some of the hybridization, immunological and enzyme techmques used in the field_ Most of the contributions are concerned with man, though in a few instances mice and Drosophda are chosen as models Perhaps the most lmmedmtely Interesting chapters address the problems of gene regulation in normal and neoplastic tissues, and the use of D N A markers for cartier detection and prenatal dmgnosls in diseases such as D u c h e n n e muscular dystrophy and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome R e c o m b i n a n t D N A tech-
edited by Eric de Grolier, Harwood Acadermc Publishers, 1983 $38 50 (xt + 546 pages) ISBN 3 718 60158 3 This volume presents the results of the First International Transdlsclphnary Symposium on Glossogenetics, held in P a n s in 1981 The Paris conference followed two others on the same topic, and the present volume covers materlal similar to that covered in the proceedlngs of these earlier meetings (R W Westcott, ed., 1974, Language Origins, Linstock Press, Silver Spring, U S A and 1976, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol 180, New York ) C o n t n b u t o r s to this volume aim primarily to reconstruct the evolution of h u m a n language To do so they draw, often imaginatively, on a diverse array of data from comparative primate and fossil hominid anatomy, archaeology, animal behaviour and linguistics_ The book has an intriguing, eclectic flavour, but it suffers from the fact that many authors are unaware of
ARTHUR N POPPER
Department of Anatomy, Georgetown Untverszty Schools of Medicine and Den~try, N W Washtngton, DC 20007 USA
Medwal School, Umverslty of Edinburgh, UK