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The biochemistry of the nucleic acids (9th edn)
"IIBS -July 1982
266
The basics of molecular biology The Biochemistry of the Nucleic Acids (9th cdn) by R. L. P. Adams, R. H. Burdon, Campbell, D. P. Leader and R. Smellie, Chapman and Hall Ltd. £8.50 (paper) (xiv + 517pages) 0412 11690 1
A. M. M. S. 1981. ISBN
This is such a classical, well established, and important basic book, for scientists concerned with molecular biology, that it may be considered unnecessary to review it. However, when dealing with this subject, it is important to realize that this volume is the ninth edition of a simple and important book that appeared for the first time in 1950. As indicated by the authors in the first new paragraphs of the Preface 'nothing of the original book has been retained'. This is obviously a clear indication of the enormous speed in the advancement of knowledge in this field. Taking this into account one can see the author's difficulty in trying to write an up-to-date book and yet avoiding a substantial increase in its length. To attain their goal the authors have included new material published in the last few years and altered the arrangement of the new edition drastically. Indeed, although the book contains 14 chapters, as in the eighth edition, the general organization is very different and probably represents the largest change in this books format since the fh'st book appeared. The 14 chapters in this latest edition cover the following topics: (1) introduction; (2) The structure of nucleic acids; (3) Chemical analysis of DNA; (4) DNA and chromosomes; (5) The cellular RNAs; their location and structure; (6) Nucleases and related enzymes; (7) The metabolism of nucleotides; (8) Replication of DNA; (9) DNA repair and recombination; (10) RNA biosynthesis: the transcription apparatus; (11) Patterns of transcription and RNA processing; (12) The biological function of RNAs protein synthesis; (13) Nucleic acids and the regulation of protein synthesis; and (14) Genetic engineering: recombinant DNA technology. This last chapter is entirely new and has tried to concentrate the most relevant findings, concepts and references in Genetic Engineering into only 71 pages. Despite the growing difficulties in writing such a book, I think that the authors have really attained their goal in this edition and have maintained the consistently high standards of previous volumes. DAVIDvAZQUEZ David V~zquez is at the lnstituto de Bioqufmiea de MacromolOculas del (_SIC. UAM, Canto Blamv), Madrid-34, .Spain.
Outstanding overview of hemostasis Hemophilia and hemostasis (Progress in Clinical and Biological Research Vol. 72) edited by Doris" Menache, Douglas MacN. Surgenor and Harlan Anderson, Alan R. Liss lnc, 1981. £20.50/DM 90.00 (xxiii + 282 pages) 1SBN 0 8451 0072 9 This 72nd volume of the 'Progress in Clinical Research' series consists of the papers delivered at the XllIth Annual Scientific Symposium of the American Red Cross in May 1981. The occasion of the centenary of the American Red Cross was celebrated by organizing a major review of the status of research on plasma coagulation with emphasis on therapeutic applications. The symposium was dedicated to Kenneth Brinkhous and forms a magnificent tribute to that outstanding researcher's contributions to our knowledge of the haemostatic mechanisms. It is one of the most informative and stimulating compilations of research reviews on haemostasis that 1 have ever read. Every one of the 14 contributors has provided a comprehensive account of an important area in this rapidly advancing field, that in many cases stands as the best available review of its topic. These reviews, ranging from biochemistry of haemostasis, through haem0Philia and von Willebrand's disease to regulation of haemostasis have the great merit that they
not only bring the reader right up to date with the views of some of the most active workers but suggest to the researcher new avenues to pursue by highlighting unresolved problems. Since all the articles are of the highest standard, it is perhaps invidious to select any for special comment but 1 particularly enjoyed Aronson's 'Conjectures on factor VIII bypassing activity' and Nemerson and Zur's provocative chapter entitled 'Is haemophilia a disease of the tissue factor pathway of coagulation?' Jackson and Brenkle on the 'Biochemistry of the vitamin K-dependant clotting factors' and Hoyer on 'The factor VIII complex: structure and function' have written totally lucid, authoritative chapters that should be read by anyone attempting to understand blood coagulation in 1982. whether as a newcomer or as an established 'clotter'. The book is well produced (albeit by photolithography of typescript) with clear illustrations. The index is a bit sketchy but, since the text is tightly organized under subjects by the nature of the presentation, this is a minor criticism. At £20.50 it must be the best current buy for clinicians and researchers with an interest in haemostasis. Not to be missed. E. G. D. TUDDENHAM E. (;. l). Tuddenham is at the Haemophdia ( 'entre, The Royal FreeHospital. PondStreet. Hampstead. London NW3 2QG.
Skilful and lucid account of gene expression Gene f u n c t i o n - E , coil and its Heritable Elements by Robert E. Glass, Croom Helm, 1982, £9.95 (paper), £19.95 (cloth) (iii + 487 pages) 1SBN 0 7099 0082 1 (paper) 1SBN 0 7099 0081 (cloth)
In Gene Function Robert Glass presents a concise, current and eminently readable account of gene expression in the 'workhorse' of molecular biology, the bacterium Escherichia coll. The emphasis throughout is on a mechanistic level. A wide range of basic concepts is presented and the text is amply supported by numerous tables and well-chosen figures. This is not a book which presents new insights, but Glass has succeeded in keeping admirably abrest of current scientific findings in a rapidly advancing and extremely broad field of research. This is a difficult task considering the voluminous body of new research publications generated monthly on the subject. The book's first three sections serve to lay the foundations for the clear presenta-
tion of operon regulation in Part IV. Part 1 provides basic information on structure, composition and growth characteristics of E. coll. The emphasis is DNA chemistry, structure, replication, recombination, repair and expression. Part II further develops the central theme of gene function by providing the reader with a clear description of the components, mechanisms and control systems involved in RNA and protein synthesis. This is appropriately tbllowed by an unusually lucid explanation of the nature of mutation, mutagenesis and the various types of mutational suppression. Building on the material in earlier sections, Glass goes on in Part lit to introduce the molecular biology of extrachromosomal replicons known to propagate in E. coil - plasmids and bacteriophage. This discussion identifies common genetic processes exhibited by the extrachromosomal replicons and E. coli itself, and expands on the previous description of DNA replication, repair and recombination. The text and figures used here are par-
266
The basics of molecular biology The Biochemistry of the Nucleic Acids (9th cdn) by R. L. P. Adams, R. H. Burdon, Campbell, D. P. Leader and R. Smellie, Chapman and Hall Ltd. £8.50 (paper) (xiv + 517pages) 0412 11690 1
A. M. M. S. 1981. ISBN
This is such a classical, well established, and important basic book, for scientists concerned with molecular biology, that it may be considered unnecessary to review it. However, when dealing with this subject, it is important to realize that this volume is the ninth edition of a simple and important book that appeared for the first time in 1950. As indicated by the authors in the first new paragraphs of the Preface 'nothing of the original book has been retained'. This is obviously a clear indication of the enormous speed in the advancement of knowledge in this field. Taking this into account one can see the author's difficulty in trying to write an up-to-date book and yet avoiding a substantial increase in its length. To attain their goal the authors have included new material published in the last few years and altered the arrangement of the new edition drastically. Indeed, although the book contains 14 chapters, as in the eighth edition, the general organization is very different and probably represents the largest change in this books format since the fh'st book appeared. The 14 chapters in this latest edition cover the following topics: (1) introduction; (2) The structure of nucleic acids; (3) Chemical analysis of DNA; (4) DNA and chromosomes; (5) The cellular RNAs; their location and structure; (6) Nucleases and related enzymes; (7) The metabolism of nucleotides; (8) Replication of DNA; (9) DNA repair and recombination; (10) RNA biosynthesis: the transcription apparatus; (11) Patterns of transcription and RNA processing; (12) The biological function of RNAs protein synthesis; (13) Nucleic acids and the regulation of protein synthesis; and (14) Genetic engineering: recombinant DNA technology. This last chapter is entirely new and has tried to concentrate the most relevant findings, concepts and references in Genetic Engineering into only 71 pages. Despite the growing difficulties in writing such a book, I think that the authors have really attained their goal in this edition and have maintained the consistently high standards of previous volumes. DAVIDvAZQUEZ David V~zquez is at the lnstituto de Bioqufmiea de MacromolOculas del (_SIC. UAM, Canto Blamv), Madrid-34, .Spain.
Outstanding overview of hemostasis Hemophilia and hemostasis (Progress in Clinical and Biological Research Vol. 72) edited by Doris" Menache, Douglas MacN. Surgenor and Harlan Anderson, Alan R. Liss lnc, 1981. £20.50/DM 90.00 (xxiii + 282 pages) 1SBN 0 8451 0072 9 This 72nd volume of the 'Progress in Clinical Research' series consists of the papers delivered at the XllIth Annual Scientific Symposium of the American Red Cross in May 1981. The occasion of the centenary of the American Red Cross was celebrated by organizing a major review of the status of research on plasma coagulation with emphasis on therapeutic applications. The symposium was dedicated to Kenneth Brinkhous and forms a magnificent tribute to that outstanding researcher's contributions to our knowledge of the haemostatic mechanisms. It is one of the most informative and stimulating compilations of research reviews on haemostasis that 1 have ever read. Every one of the 14 contributors has provided a comprehensive account of an important area in this rapidly advancing field, that in many cases stands as the best available review of its topic. These reviews, ranging from biochemistry of haemostasis, through haem0Philia and von Willebrand's disease to regulation of haemostasis have the great merit that they
not only bring the reader right up to date with the views of some of the most active workers but suggest to the researcher new avenues to pursue by highlighting unresolved problems. Since all the articles are of the highest standard, it is perhaps invidious to select any for special comment but 1 particularly enjoyed Aronson's 'Conjectures on factor VIII bypassing activity' and Nemerson and Zur's provocative chapter entitled 'Is haemophilia a disease of the tissue factor pathway of coagulation?' Jackson and Brenkle on the 'Biochemistry of the vitamin K-dependant clotting factors' and Hoyer on 'The factor VIII complex: structure and function' have written totally lucid, authoritative chapters that should be read by anyone attempting to understand blood coagulation in 1982. whether as a newcomer or as an established 'clotter'. The book is well produced (albeit by photolithography of typescript) with clear illustrations. The index is a bit sketchy but, since the text is tightly organized under subjects by the nature of the presentation, this is a minor criticism. At £20.50 it must be the best current buy for clinicians and researchers with an interest in haemostasis. Not to be missed. E. G. D. TUDDENHAM E. (;. l). Tuddenham is at the Haemophdia ( 'entre, The Royal FreeHospital. PondStreet. Hampstead. London NW3 2QG.
Skilful and lucid account of gene expression Gene f u n c t i o n - E , coil and its Heritable Elements by Robert E. Glass, Croom Helm, 1982, £9.95 (paper), £19.95 (cloth) (iii + 487 pages) 1SBN 0 7099 0082 1 (paper) 1SBN 0 7099 0081 (cloth)
In Gene Function Robert Glass presents a concise, current and eminently readable account of gene expression in the 'workhorse' of molecular biology, the bacterium Escherichia coll. The emphasis throughout is on a mechanistic level. A wide range of basic concepts is presented and the text is amply supported by numerous tables and well-chosen figures. This is not a book which presents new insights, but Glass has succeeded in keeping admirably abrest of current scientific findings in a rapidly advancing and extremely broad field of research. This is a difficult task considering the voluminous body of new research publications generated monthly on the subject. The book's first three sections serve to lay the foundations for the clear presenta-
tion of operon regulation in Part IV. Part 1 provides basic information on structure, composition and growth characteristics of E. coll. The emphasis is DNA chemistry, structure, replication, recombination, repair and expression. Part II further develops the central theme of gene function by providing the reader with a clear description of the components, mechanisms and control systems involved in RNA and protein synthesis. This is appropriately tbllowed by an unusually lucid explanation of the nature of mutation, mutagenesis and the various types of mutational suppression. Building on the material in earlier sections, Glass goes on in Part lit to introduce the molecular biology of extrachromosomal replicons known to propagate in E. coil - plasmids and bacteriophage. This discussion identifies common genetic processes exhibited by the extrachromosomal replicons and E. coli itself, and expands on the previous description of DNA replication, repair and recombination. The text and figures used here are par-