This text presents the topic of endocrinology viewed from the perspective of molecular biology.

This book is the first volume in a new series Progress in Gene Expres- sion. The control of gene expression is a central-most topic in molecular biology as it deals with the utilization and regulation of gene informa- tion. As we see huge efforts mounting all over the developed world to understand the structure and organization of several complex eukaryotic genomes in the form of Gene Projects and Genome Centers, we have to remember that without understanding the basic mechanisms that gov- ern the use of genetic information, much of this effort will not be very productive. Fortunately,...