Mathematical and computational biology is playing an increasingly important role in the biological sciences. This science brings forward unique challenges, many of which are, at the moment, beyond the theoretical techniques available. Developmental biology, due to its complexity, has lagged somewhat behind its sister disciplines (such as molecular biology and population biology) in making use of quantitative modeling to further biological understanding. This volume comprises work that is among the best developmental modeling available and we feel it will do much to remedy this...

Current Topics in Developmental Biology provides a comprehensive survey of the major topics in the field of developmental biology. The volumes are valuable to researchers in animal and plant development, as well as to students and professionals who want an introduction to cellular and molecular mechanisms of development. The series has recently passed its 30-year mark, making it the longest-running forum for contemporary issues in developmental biology.

Current Topics in Developmental Biology provides a comprehensive survey of the major topics in the field of developmental biology. The volumes are valuable to researchers in animal and plant development, as well as to students and professionals who want an introduction to cellular and molecular mechanisms of development. The series has recently passed its 30-year mark, making it the longest-running forum for contemporary issues in developmental biology.

The chapters contained in this two-volume set provide a broad perspective on the novel strategies and conceptual paradigms that drive the current resurgence of interest in somitogenesis - the process by which somites form and elaborate differentiated tissues and structures. Because somites are a ubiquitous feature of vertebrate embryos, they can be studied in a variety of experimental animal models including those amenable to genetic (zebrafish, mammalian), molecular/genetic (mammalian, avian) as well as those already well established for classical experimental embryological and cell...

Together with other volumes in this series, Volume 56 of Current Topics in Developmental Biology presents thoughtful and forward-looking articles on developmental biology and developmental medicine.

Reviews include:

• Selfishness in moderation: evolutionary success of the yeast plasmid
• Nongenomic actions of androgen in sertoli cells
• Regulation of chromatin structure and gene activity by Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases
• Centromeres and Kinetochores, Who Needs 'Em? The Role of Non-centromeric Chromatin in Spindle Assembly
• Modeling...