Kategoria BISAC: Medical >> Genetics

This volume opens by covering two main types of approaches widely used to determine essential genes: single-gene knockouts and transposon mutagenesis, in both prokaryotes and Candida albicans. Given the significant advancement in the computational predictions of microbial essential genes, the second half of the book examines four main types of approaches: comparative genomics, supervised machine learning, constraint-based methods, and corrections of transposon mutagenesis data, as well as databases and servers that are often used in studying gene essentiality. Written in the highly...

Recent studies have indicated that epigenetic processes may play a major role in both cellular and organismal aging. These epigenetic processes include not only DNA methylation and histone modifications, but also extend to many other epigenetic mediators such as the polycomb group proteins, chromosomal position effects, and noncoding RNA. The topics of this book range from fundamental changes in DNA methylation in aging to the most recent research on intervention into epigenetic modifications to modulate the aging process. The major topics of epigenetics and aging covered in this book are:...

Gene Expression and its Discontents examines a class of probability models describing how epigenetic context affects gene expression and organismal development, using the asymptotic limit theorems of information theory in a highly formal manner. Taking classic results on spontaneous symmetry breaking abducted from statistical physics in groupoid, rather than group, circumstances, the work suggests that epigenetic information sources act as analogs to a tunable catalyst, directing development into different characteristic pathways according to the structure of external signals. The...

The aim of this edition is to introduce the beginner to the basics of affinity chromatography and provide practical knowledge for the development of affinity separation protocols. Affinity Chromatography: Methods and Protocols, Third Edition guides readers through new state of the art protocols, molecular modelling, and the study of ligand-target interactions. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible...

Circadian rhythms are such an innate part of our lives that we rarely pause to speculate why they even exist. Some studies have suggested that the disruption of the circadian system may be causal for obesity and manifestations of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). Shift-work, sleep-deprivation and bright-light-exposure at night are related to increased adiposity (obesity) and prevalence of MetS. It has been provided evidence of clock genes expression in human adipose tissue and demonstrated its association with different components of the MetS. Moreover, current studies are illustrating the...

The central question of this book is whether or not particular cell entities of human origin ought to be considered human beings. The answer is crucial for making moral decisions for or against research and experimentation. Experts in the field discuss the production of embryonic-like pluripotent stem cells by altered nuclear transfer, parthenogenesis and reprogramming of adult somatic cells. They thoroughly analyse the biological and moral status of different cell entities, such as human stem cells, embryos and human-animal hybrid embryos, and make a decisive step towards establishing...

In recent years, a number of groundbreaking structural and mechanistic studies deepened our understanding of helicase mechanisms and established new approaches for their analyses. Many fundamental mechanistic questions ranging from the mechanism of force generation, mechanochemical coupling to distinct mechanisms by which the same enzyme translocates on DNA removing obstacles, unwinds DNA and/or remodels nucleoprotein complexes, however, remain to be answered. It is even less understood how the helicase motors are incorporated into a wide range of genome maintenance and repair machines....

This book provides an introduction to the latest gene mapping techniques and their applications in biomedical research and evolutionary biology. It especially highlights the advances made in large-scale genomic sequencing. Results of studies that illustrate how the new approaches have improved our understanding of the genetic basis of complex phenotypes including multifactorial diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity), anatomic characteristics (e.g., the craniofacial complex), and neurological and behavioral phenotypes (e.g., human brain structure and...

Germ cells in sexually reproducing metazoa, through the germline lineage, are the route by which genetic material and cytoplasmic constituents are passed from one generation to the next in the continuum of life. Chapters in this book review germ cell development in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, discussing the biology, the genetics and the molecular mechanisms for various processes, as well as drawing comparisons with other organisms. Processes discussed include specification of germ cell fate, meiosis, gametogenesis, environmental/ physiological controls, epigenetics...