The term "electrophoresis" was first used by Michaelis in 1909, to - scribe the migration of colloids in an electric field. The first practical elect- phoresis method was described by Tiselius in 1937. He used a U-tube filled with buffer layered on top of sample; migration could be monitored using Schlieren optics. In zone electrophoresis, the U-tube was replaced by paper, a support material employed simply to prevent or minimize diffusion of ions, so that ions applied in a narrow strip to the paper will separate and remain as relatively discrete zones. Paper was superceded by a variety of...

Since the first recognition of outbreaks of cerebrospinal or spotted fever at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries, the menace of the meningococcus has been high on the list of public health prio- ties. Few if any pathogens surpass the meningococcus in the rapidity and sev- ity with which it devastates previously healthy individuals. The challenge of understanding the biology of this fascinating microbe is immense, but few will doubt that successful control of meningococcal meningitis and septicemia will only transpire through the application of a body of...

Laboratory studies in hemostasis have traditionally focused on abn- malities of platelet function or the quantitative and qualitative disorders that affect the proteins involved in blood coagulation. However, over the last 10 years there has been an explosion in our understanding of the molecular bases that underlie many of the inherited and acquired disorders of hemostasis. Many of these disorders are now routinely diagnosed and assessed by methods that involve genotypic analysis. Indeed in the late 1990s the distinction between molecular methods for research and for routine diagnosis is...

The purpose of Applications Therapeutic of Ribozymes is to provide an overview of the utility of ribozymes to selectively inhibit the expression of RNA. The ribozyme applications appearing in this book should benefit not only those experienced in ribozymes, but also those applying this ribozyme technology for the first time. It is hoped that a better understanding of the therapeutic application ofribozymes will have a significant impact on human disease in the near future. The field ofribozyme biochemistry has come a long way since the initial observation that RNA is capable of catalysis,...

The identification of hepatitis C virus by Michael Houghton and his c- leagues at the Chiron Corporation nearly years ago represented a technical tour de force of modern molecular medicine. This breakthrough not only unearthed the causative agent of non-A non-B hepatitis that had eluded the best of scientists for more than 20 years, but also was symbolic of another chapter in the changing paradigm of modern science and medicine. The re- lutionary concept of identifying a pathogen without actually visualizing or detecting it will forever redefine the way we approach pathogenesis of d- eases...

Rubor (redness), tumor (swelling), calor (heat), and dolor (pain) are the classical signs of inflammation. These features are obvious in the skin, where injury or disease causes flare, wheal, and painful burning sensations. Vasodi- tation underlies the flare and heat, plasma exudation the swelling, and acti- tion of sensory nerves relays pain. In chronic conditions, skin biopsies show inflammatory cell infiltrate. Inflammation is not unique to the skin and contr- utes to disease and repair processes in other organ systems in the body. From the viewpoint of this volume, lung inflammation is...

This book presents a compendium of advanced and classical molecular biology methods targeted towards lipoprotein, atherosclerosis, and vascular biology research. It details classical methods as well as new protocols and strategies.