- Email: [email protected]
Mass spectrometry for biotechnology
64
Book Reviews~BiochemicalEducation 27 (1999) 60-66
who have worked for several years in the field may wish to read this book to keep fully abreast of the latest technology. N Jenkins
PII: S0307-4412(98)00242-8
The Ethics of Science - - An Introduction by David B Rcsnik. pp 221. Routledge, London and New York. 1998. £14.99 ISBN 0-415-16698-5 The author is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for the Advancement of Ethics at the University of Wyoming. The book is described as a comprehensive and student-friendly introduction to the study of ethics in science and scientific research. The book covers: Science and Ethics, Ethical Theory and Applications, Science as a Profession, Standards of Ethical Conduct in Science, Objectivity in Research and Ethical Issues in the Laboratory, The Scientist in Society, Toward a More Ethical Science. The author covers each subject without expressing his personal views until the final chapter. As well as an extensive bibliography, there are fifty case studies which could bc uscd as the basis of tutorial discussions. 1 found this to be an excellent book, well illustrated with mention of famous cases such as 'The Baltimore Affair'. Although most of us claim that there are few cases of clear cut intention to defraud in out sciences, this book draws attention "to many instances where such activities as 'economy with the truth' are involved. I am convinced that all research workers should be introduced to ethical matters, but I am not convinced that the answcr is a series of lectures: rather I would encourage thc academic staff and graduate students to read this book and perhaps arrange a short series of tutorials based on the case studies. While the text is written from an American viewpoint, I found that it had a pretty widespread application. Peter Campbell
PII: S0307-4412(98)00147-2
Connective Tissue Biology: Integration and Reductionism Edited by R K Reed and K Rubin. pp 299. Portland Press, London. 1998. £75. ISBN 1-85578-118-2 This volume is No 71 in the Wenner-Gren International Series and represents the proceedings from a Wenner-Gren Symposium held in Stockholm in June 1996. It contains a collection of short and not necessarily connected papers. The idea behind the Symposium was to integrate (see title) scientists from various aspects of connective tissue biology - engineers, physiologists, cell biologists, biochemists and molecular biologists. On this basis it would seem to have been successful, although the molecular biologists may have problems in dealing with the mathematical equations provided by the engineers and physiologists. There are 46 authors and 21 chapters. Probably few people will be able to read and under-
stand the whole of this book, but they should try for there is a lot of important material here, not only about connective tissue, but also clinical practice and cell biological research. The introductory chapter by Laurent on the history of matrix biology which has become so transformed in the last twenty to thirty years was especially good. He writes '...we have now changed our view of the matrix from that of an amorphous ground substance to that of a highly organised supra-molecular structure'. The range of topics covered in the chapters is very wide, but always the integrative idea is that the extracellular matrix is involved in some way. There are chapters on genetic analysis, hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid), water and solute transport in the ECM, transgenic mice as models for cartilage and eye disease, degenerative joint disease, heart development, the role of PDGF in connective tissue, capillary permeability, the endothelial barrier, and microcirculation and transport phenomena in tumours. Overall, this volume lives up to the high reputation of this series, although the books are not cheap. We look forward to the publication of another volume The Chemistly, Biology and Medical Applications of Hyaluronan and its Derivatives this year. L R Coates
PII: S0307-4412(98)00148-4
Advances in Oncobiology, Volume 1 Edited by G Heppner and E E Bittar. pp 356. JAI Press, Greenwich, Connecticut and London. 1996. ISBN 0-7523-01460-5 This volume is more of an introductory text to oncobiology than a typical Advances compilation. The Editors say that it is aimed at clinical and non-clinical oncologists, graduate students and medical students. In fact, some chapters are fairly clinical, but many chapters would be useful for graduate students and would also be of interest to medical students (perhaps later in their course) trying to get to grips with the nomenclature of oncology and with some recent advances. Pathology of Neoplasia (Chapter 1) explains much of what you need to know to understand the jargon of oncology. It contains a number of useful Tables that lecturers may want to 'borrow' in preparing a lecture course, and surprisingly in a book of this type, the Reference list only runs to one page of carefully chosen key references. Chapter 2 deals very adequately with Cancer induced by ionising radiation, and is vcry sensibly written. It deals with epidemiology too. Appropriately it leads on to Chapter 3 on Environmental causes of cancer. Chapter 4 is on Progestin regulation ~f celhdar proliferation seems to have a rather different flavour - of treatment and clinical aspects, but it does provide a reasonably good background to the cell cycle. The next chapters (5-10) deal with more basic aspects and their relation to cancer, namely tumour angiogenesis, gap junctions, cell adhesion, the protein ras, cytokines and, continuing this theme, immunity to cancer. In contrast, Chapter 11 is rather different, being applied, clinical and pathological. It deals with the quantitative analysis
65
Book Reviews~Biochemical Education 27 (1999) 60-66
of nuclear size for prognosis-related malignancy grading. Chapter 12 is again fundamentally more clinical and deals with prostate cancer - epidemiology, pathology, detection, treatmcnt, etc, and Chapter 13 essentially does the same for melanoma. The much shorter Chapter 14 is on aspects of the trcatment of B cell malignancies (multiple myeloma and follicular lymphoma). The last chapter (15) returns to a more general theme, that of the principles of cancer chemotherapy. This is well written, but is marred by some incorrect chemical formulae (eg those for deoxycytidine and cytosine arabinoside on p. 330). This is an interesting and readable collection of chapters that I would recommend, especially those that deal with basic aspects of topics. T Wright
P1I: S(1307-4412(98)00105-8
Protein Targeting: Frontiers in Molecular Biology Series Edited by Stclla M Hurtlcy. pp 214. IRL Press at Oxford University Press. 1996. £29.95. ISBN 0-19-963561-7 This book tries, within seven chapters, to explain protein targeting events. The majority of proteins arc manufactured in the cytosol, but function elsewhere. The first chapter describes the mechanisms responsible for targeting precursor proteins to mitochondria. With a model diagram, import of a nascent mitochondrial presequencc is explained. An N-terminal sequence with a propensity to form two or three turns of a basic, amphipathic helix has been shown to be responsible for targeting precursor proteins to mitochondria. In the second chapter, a description of protein transport to the nucleus and its regulation is given. Here, the mechanisms regulating the amount of a particular protein in nucleus, the time and rate at which the nuclear entry occurs, are also described. The third chapter covers targeting and import of peroxisomal proteins with an overview of peroxisome, glyoxysome and glycosome biogenesis. The most interesting chapter, undoubtedly, is the fourth in which a description of protein translocation into the cndoplasmic reticulum is covered. This highlights the signal hypothesis, according to which, secretory proteins differ from cytosolic proteins by initially containing an N-terminal signal peptide which mediates their association with the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. A molecular description of the signal recognition particle-mediated targeting cycle is now awfilable. The fifth chapter covers endoplasmic reticulumGolgi membrane traffic and protein targeting. Transport of newly-synthesised proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum through the Golgi complex is discussed. The sixth chapter gives details of biogenesis of constitutive secretory granules and synaptic vesicles. The last chapter is on protein sorting during endocytosis. This covers recent developments in understanding the amino acid requirements of the signals which direct proteins at the cell surface to clathrin-coated pits. A unique feature of this book is that it contains more than 1000 references. A comprehensive book, would be useful to cell and molecular biologists. C V Anand
P 1I: S(/3(17-4412(98)(1(I 17(I-8
Copper and Zinc Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases Edited by K D Rainsl~rd, R Milanino, J R J Sorenson and G P Velo. pp 197. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/ London. 1998. £82/$137 ISBN 0-7923-4827-3 Zinc is required in about 300 and copper is required in about 1(1(I enzymes. This makes copper and zinc important agents in biochemistry, but apart from some rare genetic defects, they have not emerged as important agents in disease. True enough, there is an abundance of observations on altered levels of copper and zinc in various acute and chronic inflammatory and degenerative diseases, but central roles for the metals are hard to define and evanescent at the level of inflammatory immune and degenerative processes. This is, of course, one of the bugbears of trace-metal studies. It is an incontrovertible fact for copper and zinc or just a defect in our knowledge? This book is an attempt to clarify this issue. As such, it is only moderately successful. After some introductory material on the physiology and biochemistry of copper and zinc, it is mainly concerned with the therapeutic potcntial of copper and zinc complexes, but it is precisely by the therapeutic yardstick that copper and zinc remain unconvincing as causative agents of inflammatory or degenerative disease. In this debate I can only say that there is a place for a thorough going meta-analysis of copper and zinc therapies. The book is likely to appeal mostly to those for whom it has been written, the perserverant in the application of metal ion therapies with copper and zinc complexes. W H Bannister
PII: S0307-4412(98)00176-9
Mentoring and Tutoring by Students Edited by Sinclair Goodlad. pp 312. Kogan Page, London, 1998. £15.99 ISBN 0-7494-2559-8 In Homer's Odyssey we read that after the Trojan war Telemachus set out to look for his father Odysseus. He was accompanied by a guide called Mentor (really a goddess in disguise)--and this is the origin of our word mentor--someone who acts as a guide or a brother or a sister to another. We also owe to the Ancient Greeks the practice of peer tutoring--the tutoring of students by students. Both topics are dealt with in this book which considers how to build into educational establishments schemes involving students as tutors and mentors. The book has been published in association with British Petroleum, and arose out of the second BP International Conference on Students as Tutors and Mentors, held early in 1997. It is not a book of conference proceedings but aims to stimulate and encourage the use of mentoring and peer tutoring in schools and colleges--secondary, tertiary, and higher education. It describes the latest developments, and includes reviews of research, case studies of tutoring/mentoring programmes, and ideas for new uses of tutoring or mentoring.
Book Reviews~BiochemicalEducation 27 (1999) 60-66
who have worked for several years in the field may wish to read this book to keep fully abreast of the latest technology. N Jenkins
PII: S0307-4412(98)00242-8
The Ethics of Science - - An Introduction by David B Rcsnik. pp 221. Routledge, London and New York. 1998. £14.99 ISBN 0-415-16698-5 The author is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for the Advancement of Ethics at the University of Wyoming. The book is described as a comprehensive and student-friendly introduction to the study of ethics in science and scientific research. The book covers: Science and Ethics, Ethical Theory and Applications, Science as a Profession, Standards of Ethical Conduct in Science, Objectivity in Research and Ethical Issues in the Laboratory, The Scientist in Society, Toward a More Ethical Science. The author covers each subject without expressing his personal views until the final chapter. As well as an extensive bibliography, there are fifty case studies which could bc uscd as the basis of tutorial discussions. 1 found this to be an excellent book, well illustrated with mention of famous cases such as 'The Baltimore Affair'. Although most of us claim that there are few cases of clear cut intention to defraud in out sciences, this book draws attention "to many instances where such activities as 'economy with the truth' are involved. I am convinced that all research workers should be introduced to ethical matters, but I am not convinced that the answcr is a series of lectures: rather I would encourage thc academic staff and graduate students to read this book and perhaps arrange a short series of tutorials based on the case studies. While the text is written from an American viewpoint, I found that it had a pretty widespread application. Peter Campbell
PII: S0307-4412(98)00147-2
Connective Tissue Biology: Integration and Reductionism Edited by R K Reed and K Rubin. pp 299. Portland Press, London. 1998. £75. ISBN 1-85578-118-2 This volume is No 71 in the Wenner-Gren International Series and represents the proceedings from a Wenner-Gren Symposium held in Stockholm in June 1996. It contains a collection of short and not necessarily connected papers. The idea behind the Symposium was to integrate (see title) scientists from various aspects of connective tissue biology - engineers, physiologists, cell biologists, biochemists and molecular biologists. On this basis it would seem to have been successful, although the molecular biologists may have problems in dealing with the mathematical equations provided by the engineers and physiologists. There are 46 authors and 21 chapters. Probably few people will be able to read and under-
stand the whole of this book, but they should try for there is a lot of important material here, not only about connective tissue, but also clinical practice and cell biological research. The introductory chapter by Laurent on the history of matrix biology which has become so transformed in the last twenty to thirty years was especially good. He writes '...we have now changed our view of the matrix from that of an amorphous ground substance to that of a highly organised supra-molecular structure'. The range of topics covered in the chapters is very wide, but always the integrative idea is that the extracellular matrix is involved in some way. There are chapters on genetic analysis, hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid), water and solute transport in the ECM, transgenic mice as models for cartilage and eye disease, degenerative joint disease, heart development, the role of PDGF in connective tissue, capillary permeability, the endothelial barrier, and microcirculation and transport phenomena in tumours. Overall, this volume lives up to the high reputation of this series, although the books are not cheap. We look forward to the publication of another volume The Chemistly, Biology and Medical Applications of Hyaluronan and its Derivatives this year. L R Coates
PII: S0307-4412(98)00148-4
Advances in Oncobiology, Volume 1 Edited by G Heppner and E E Bittar. pp 356. JAI Press, Greenwich, Connecticut and London. 1996. ISBN 0-7523-01460-5 This volume is more of an introductory text to oncobiology than a typical Advances compilation. The Editors say that it is aimed at clinical and non-clinical oncologists, graduate students and medical students. In fact, some chapters are fairly clinical, but many chapters would be useful for graduate students and would also be of interest to medical students (perhaps later in their course) trying to get to grips with the nomenclature of oncology and with some recent advances. Pathology of Neoplasia (Chapter 1) explains much of what you need to know to understand the jargon of oncology. It contains a number of useful Tables that lecturers may want to 'borrow' in preparing a lecture course, and surprisingly in a book of this type, the Reference list only runs to one page of carefully chosen key references. Chapter 2 deals very adequately with Cancer induced by ionising radiation, and is vcry sensibly written. It deals with epidemiology too. Appropriately it leads on to Chapter 3 on Environmental causes of cancer. Chapter 4 is on Progestin regulation ~f celhdar proliferation seems to have a rather different flavour - of treatment and clinical aspects, but it does provide a reasonably good background to the cell cycle. The next chapters (5-10) deal with more basic aspects and their relation to cancer, namely tumour angiogenesis, gap junctions, cell adhesion, the protein ras, cytokines and, continuing this theme, immunity to cancer. In contrast, Chapter 11 is rather different, being applied, clinical and pathological. It deals with the quantitative analysis
65
Book Reviews~Biochemical Education 27 (1999) 60-66
of nuclear size for prognosis-related malignancy grading. Chapter 12 is again fundamentally more clinical and deals with prostate cancer - epidemiology, pathology, detection, treatmcnt, etc, and Chapter 13 essentially does the same for melanoma. The much shorter Chapter 14 is on aspects of the trcatment of B cell malignancies (multiple myeloma and follicular lymphoma). The last chapter (15) returns to a more general theme, that of the principles of cancer chemotherapy. This is well written, but is marred by some incorrect chemical formulae (eg those for deoxycytidine and cytosine arabinoside on p. 330). This is an interesting and readable collection of chapters that I would recommend, especially those that deal with basic aspects of topics. T Wright
P1I: S(1307-4412(98)00105-8
Protein Targeting: Frontiers in Molecular Biology Series Edited by Stclla M Hurtlcy. pp 214. IRL Press at Oxford University Press. 1996. £29.95. ISBN 0-19-963561-7 This book tries, within seven chapters, to explain protein targeting events. The majority of proteins arc manufactured in the cytosol, but function elsewhere. The first chapter describes the mechanisms responsible for targeting precursor proteins to mitochondria. With a model diagram, import of a nascent mitochondrial presequencc is explained. An N-terminal sequence with a propensity to form two or three turns of a basic, amphipathic helix has been shown to be responsible for targeting precursor proteins to mitochondria. In the second chapter, a description of protein transport to the nucleus and its regulation is given. Here, the mechanisms regulating the amount of a particular protein in nucleus, the time and rate at which the nuclear entry occurs, are also described. The third chapter covers targeting and import of peroxisomal proteins with an overview of peroxisome, glyoxysome and glycosome biogenesis. The most interesting chapter, undoubtedly, is the fourth in which a description of protein translocation into the cndoplasmic reticulum is covered. This highlights the signal hypothesis, according to which, secretory proteins differ from cytosolic proteins by initially containing an N-terminal signal peptide which mediates their association with the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. A molecular description of the signal recognition particle-mediated targeting cycle is now awfilable. The fifth chapter covers endoplasmic reticulumGolgi membrane traffic and protein targeting. Transport of newly-synthesised proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum through the Golgi complex is discussed. The sixth chapter gives details of biogenesis of constitutive secretory granules and synaptic vesicles. The last chapter is on protein sorting during endocytosis. This covers recent developments in understanding the amino acid requirements of the signals which direct proteins at the cell surface to clathrin-coated pits. A unique feature of this book is that it contains more than 1000 references. A comprehensive book, would be useful to cell and molecular biologists. C V Anand
P 1I: S(/3(17-4412(98)(1(I 17(I-8
Copper and Zinc Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases Edited by K D Rainsl~rd, R Milanino, J R J Sorenson and G P Velo. pp 197. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/ London. 1998. £82/$137 ISBN 0-7923-4827-3 Zinc is required in about 300 and copper is required in about 1(1(I enzymes. This makes copper and zinc important agents in biochemistry, but apart from some rare genetic defects, they have not emerged as important agents in disease. True enough, there is an abundance of observations on altered levels of copper and zinc in various acute and chronic inflammatory and degenerative diseases, but central roles for the metals are hard to define and evanescent at the level of inflammatory immune and degenerative processes. This is, of course, one of the bugbears of trace-metal studies. It is an incontrovertible fact for copper and zinc or just a defect in our knowledge? This book is an attempt to clarify this issue. As such, it is only moderately successful. After some introductory material on the physiology and biochemistry of copper and zinc, it is mainly concerned with the therapeutic potcntial of copper and zinc complexes, but it is precisely by the therapeutic yardstick that copper and zinc remain unconvincing as causative agents of inflammatory or degenerative disease. In this debate I can only say that there is a place for a thorough going meta-analysis of copper and zinc therapies. The book is likely to appeal mostly to those for whom it has been written, the perserverant in the application of metal ion therapies with copper and zinc complexes. W H Bannister
PII: S0307-4412(98)00176-9
Mentoring and Tutoring by Students Edited by Sinclair Goodlad. pp 312. Kogan Page, London, 1998. £15.99 ISBN 0-7494-2559-8 In Homer's Odyssey we read that after the Trojan war Telemachus set out to look for his father Odysseus. He was accompanied by a guide called Mentor (really a goddess in disguise)--and this is the origin of our word mentor--someone who acts as a guide or a brother or a sister to another. We also owe to the Ancient Greeks the practice of peer tutoring--the tutoring of students by students. Both topics are dealt with in this book which considers how to build into educational establishments schemes involving students as tutors and mentors. The book has been published in association with British Petroleum, and arose out of the second BP International Conference on Students as Tutors and Mentors, held early in 1997. It is not a book of conference proceedings but aims to stimulate and encourage the use of mentoring and peer tutoring in schools and colleges--secondary, tertiary, and higher education. It describes the latest developments, and includes reviews of research, case studies of tutoring/mentoring programmes, and ideas for new uses of tutoring or mentoring.