Frontiers of Life, Four-Volume Set
1-4
Edited by- David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, U.S.A.
- Renato Dulbecco, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, U.S.A.
- François Jacob, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
- Rita Levi-Montalcini, Instituto di Neurobiologia del CNR, Rome, Italy
Frontiers of Life addresses fields of biology in terms of their frontiers--that is, the areas that will demand the most work in this new century. Because of their standing, the editors have been able to unite the most prestigious and well-informed authorities to place recent scientific advances into the context of their effects on daily human experiences and expectations. They ask, "What frontiers of the biological sciences will constitute the challenges of the next century?" Their first answer is an understanding of the processes and mechanisms that led to the origin of life. They take this answer as the starting point of the first section of the Encyclopedia. They thus proceed throughout the four volumes.Separating this Encyclopedia form others is its multidisciplinary approach to the "frontiers" theme. While other encyclopedias strive to describe the past and present states of many subjects, Frontiers of Life offers the insights of world-class scientists into their subjects' growth areas.
Audience
Major college and university library systems of the world; individuals, corporations, laboratories, and groups interested in the effects of biology on their particular subjects.
Hardbound, 3230 Pages
Published: October 2001
Imprint: Academic Press
ISBN: 978-0-12-077340-4
Reviews
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"a magnificent four-volume encyclopedia of the life sciences...This set is specifically written for the professional scientist, the university student, and the serious layperson, and editor in chief Andrea Turchi of Treccani has done a masterful job in producing this elegant set for such a learned audience. This set reminds this reviewer of olden times, when each topic of an encyclopedia was assigned to a recognized leader in a field who produced an article of the highest quality, a far cry from the usual CD-ROM encyclopedia of today, which is typically just a compilation of facts by unknown authors... Each article is well illustrated with photographs, sketches, and graphs, and ends with a comprehensive bibliography. An extensive subject index can be found at the end of volume 4. This reviewer enthusiastically recommends this encyclopedia for any life science academic library as well as public libraries serving a scientific clientele." AMERICAN REFERENCE BOOKS ANNUAL "A remarkable, eccentric, advanced treatise in four large quarto volumes, this set, which the publisher rightly does not call an encyclopedia, covers nine specific areas of contemporary biology... Each section contains about 20 articles, each 15 to 20 pages long, all by major authorities, with excellent and copious color illustrations, and usually 20-100 references, almost all earlier than 1997...The distinctive excellence of this work is found in the extraordinary high quality, readability, and wide-ranging sophistication of the individual articles, which despite the time lag in publication, will motivate well-prepared students to a wider exploration of fascinating subjects... Recommended enthusiastically to graduate or upper-division undergraduate collections." CHOICE
Contents
- Volume 1: THE ORIGINS OF LIFEPart One: ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF LIFECosmologyThe Physical and Chemical Basis of LifeThe Origin of LifeSelection and EvolutionThe Molecules of Inheritance: DNA and RNAHuman Origin and Evolution The Organisms ConstructionPart Two: THE GENETIC CODEOrganization of Language and Genetical InformationMechanisms of Genetical ExpressionPrograms of Genetic ExpressionGenes and EvolutionManipulations and Genetic ErrorsVolume 2: CELLS AND ORGANISMSPart One: CELLS AND CELL COMMUNITIESThe Cell ConstructionCommunication Among CellsNormal and Altered Cell HomeostasisFormation of Organs and TissuesPart Two: THE IMMUNOLOGICAL SYSTEMSConceptual and Experimental Milestones in ImmunologyLymphocyte DevelopmentStructure and Function of Antigen ReceptorsThe Generation of DiversityThe Cell Biology of Antigen PresentationSignal Transduction and Cell Fate Decision in the Immune SystemLymphocyte Selection by AntigenMolecular Circuits of Leukocytic Recruiting RegulationAntigen Presentation In Vivo Cell to Cell Interactions in the Immune SystemImmunological MemoryCytokine, Chemokine and Relations Between How Parasites Subvert the Immune SurveillanceComputer Modelling in ImmunologyTransgenic and Knock-out Mice as Models of Immune DeficiencyImmunology to the Bedside-immunotechnologyVaccinationHow Viruses Elude the Immune SystemVolume 3: THE INTELLIGENT SYSTEMSPart One: THE BRAIN OF HOMO SAPIENSIntroductionFrom Lucy to Homo SapiensThe Neural Communication CodeThe Modular Organization of the NeocortexStructural and Functional Basis of Learning and Memory ProcessesGenes and BehaviorThe Control of MovementVision and Selective AttentionEmotionsThe Human LanguageThought and Self-consciousnessPart Two: BUILDING BLOCKS FOR INTELLINGENCE SYSTEMSHistory and MethodologyThe Global ApproachBrain Components as Elements of Intelligent FunctionImplementations of Neural Devices for Parallel Distributive ProcessingInformation Flow In and Out of Neural SystemsModel Neural Networks for Computation and LearningVolume 4: THE LIVING WORLDPart One: BIOLOGY OF BEHAVIORThe History of Animal Behavior Study Comparative Methods in the Study of Behavior Biological ClocksForagingAnimal NavigationOntogeny of LearningBiological Variation of Cognition and LearningHormones and BehaviorRepresentation of TimeSong LearningSocial Play in MammalsSocial Learning and ImitationCooperationStress and Coping Conflict Resolution in Primates Tool Use in Monkeys and ApesAnimal WelfareEmotional States and Immune SystemAggressionFunctional Rules for Decision MakingBird MigrationSpatial RepresentationBehavior-Genetic AnalysisEthologyPsychology and the Social Sciences ImprintingSperm CompetitionBreeding SystemsParentingLife HistoriesSexual SelectionWasps as Models in the Evolutionary Study of Insect SocietiesPart Two: DISCOVERY AND SPOLIATION OF THE BIOSPHEREThe Unity of Organisms and EnvironmentThe Functioning EcosystemInteractions Man-EnvironmentMan in the Endangered Life-Support SystemsSearching for a Road to SurvivalPart Three: BIOETHICSBioethics: History and DefinitionsThe Body and the MarketOrgan TransplantsGenetic InformationGenetic ScreeningHumane Genome ResearchGenetic CounselingThe Informed ConsentA Comparative Overview of Medically Assisted ProcreationEmbryo ResearchGene TherapyThe End of LifeEthics and EcologyGenetically Modified OrganismsPatenting of LifeThe Moral Consideration of Non-Human BeingsThe Allocation of ResourcesThe Public Perception of BiotechnologyThe Role of Public Powers
