Product Description: In recent years much enthusiasm and energy has been directed toward the development of human gene therapies, especially for inherited conditions and cancers. However, current gene transfer technology is limited in its transduction efficiency and ability to permanently and safely correct genomic defects...read more

Product Description: This first title on the topic provides complete coverage, including the molecular basis, production and possible biomedical applications. Written by the most prominent academic researchers in the field as well as by researchers at one of the world's leading companies in industrial production of minicircle DNA, this practical book is aimed at everyone who is directly or indirectly involved in the development of gene therapies...read more

From a review by Moira Ferguson: "This richly documented biography of Mary Astell, pioneer thinker and writer, will become a central text in the history of feminist thought. In probing Astell's ideological contradictions as a political conservative and a feminist analyst, Ruth Perry supplies us with an authentic, rare portrait of late-seventeenth-century life and the female intellectual experience."

Nuclear Transfer Protocols: Cell Reprogramming and Transgenesis is a comprehensive review of nuclear transfer technology in vertebrates, aimed at reprogramming differentiated nuclei and effecting targeted gene transfer. The emphasis here is on providing readily reproducible techniques for the gene- tion of cloned embryos and animals in a number of key research and commercially important vertebrates. Additional chapters provide alternative cutting-edge methods for nuclear transfer, such as zona-free nuclear transfer and serial nuclear transfer. Of immense practical benefit are descriptions of procedures associated with cloning, such as in vitro maturation of oocytes, activation and culture of cloned embryos, maintenance of pregnancy, and neonatal care of clones. Nuclear Transfer Protocols: Cell Reprogramming and Transgenesis also provides an understanding of the factors involved in nuclear reprogramming, which is imperative for the success of cloning. A section dealing with such cloning-related issues as aging and normality of clones is also included making this an essential comprehensive handbook for research and commercial labo- tories involved in, or intending to work on, nuclear transfer. The volume will prove beneficial to molecular biologists, stem cell biologists, clinicians, biotechnologists, students, veterinarians, and animal care technicians involved with reprogramming, nuclear transfer, and transgenesis.

Prostate cancer remains the most common malignant tumor in elderly men. The National Cancer Institute estimated 210,000 new cases of prostate cancer in 1997. There is, however, no means of documenting the true incidence of prostate cancer because of the difficulty in detecting all cases. Even using yearly rectal exams, PSA determinations, and ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies, many cases are missed. Suffice it to say that prostate cancer is a widely occurring disease in men and early detection and treatment are extremely important. When I trained in Urology under Dr. Reed Nesbit at the University of Michigan from 1956 to 1959, the diagnosis of prostate cancer was made by a rectal examination and an acid phosphatase determination. If there was a small nodule in the prostate, then an anterior-posterior X-ray of the pelvis was obtained to look for possible bony metastases. If the acid phosphatase was normal and there was no evidence ofa bony metastasis, the prostate was exposed through the perineal approach and a biopsy of the nodule was obtained and sent for frozen section to Pathology to determine if it was indeed a cancer of the prostate. If the biopsy came back positive, the surgeon then proceeded to do a radical perineal prostatectomy. In those days, we usually did eight to ten radical perineal prostatectomies yearly. Many times the nodule that was biopsied was benign, and the incision was simply closed.

Product Description: This book brings together an interdisciplinary group of experts in bioethics, sports, law, and philosophy to examine the need for regulating such athletic performance-enhancing technologies as steroids and gene doping.The use of performance-improving drugs in sports dates back to the early Olympians, who took an herbal tonic before competitions to augment athletic prowess...read more

Product Description: Gliomas, which comprise astrocytic, oligodendroglial, and ependymal lesions, are the most frequent primary intracranial tumors. This volume summarizes the enormous advances in our knowledge of gliomas that have occurred during recent years...read more

Product Description: Epilepsy has afflicted humankind throughout recorded history; yet, it is only in the last half-century, that significant progress has been made in our basic understanding of the epileptic brain. Pivotal advances in drug development and surgical techniques, as well as the emergence of innovative approaches such as electrical stimulation of the nervous system, have led to a substantial reduction in the morbidity and mortality of patients with epilepsy...read more