Biological sciences round-up 2

May 22, 2008

Sensory Evolution on the Threshold: Adaptations in Secondarily Aquatic Vertebrates. Editors J. G. M. Thewissen and Sirpa Nummela. Edition Second. Publisher California University Press. Pages 358. Price £44.95. ISBN 97805202583.

From crocodiles and penguins to seals and whales, this synthesis explores the evolution of sensory systems in animals whose ancestors lived on land. It explores the transformation of smell, taste, sight, hearing, balance, mechanoreception, electroreception and magnetoreception that occurred as lineages of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals returned to aquatic environments.

Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology. Authors Russell K. Hobble and Bradley J. Roth. Edition Fourth. Publisher Springer. Pages 620. Price £54.00. ISBN 9780387309422.

Intended for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in biophysics, physiology, medical physics, cell biology and biomedical engineering, this text intends to bridge the gap between introductory physics and its application to the life and biomedical sciences. This revised and updated fourth edition reflects developments at the burgeoning interface between physics and biomedicine.

Wildlife Habitat Management: Concepts and Applications in Forestry. Author Brenda C. McComb. Edition First. Publisher CRC Press. Pages 384. Price £34.99. ISBN 9780849374890.

This book presents an integrated reference combining silvicultural and forest planning principles with principles of habitat ecology and conservation biology. With references and case studies drawn from real situations, this book considers management approaches for specific habitats including even-aged and uneven-aged systems, riparian areas and dead wood and highlights those approaches that will conserve and manage biodiversity.

Fundamental Food Microbiology. Author Arun Bhunia. Edition Fourth. Publisher CRC Press. Pages 536. Price £34.99. ISBN 9780849375293.

Revised and expanded to reflect recent advances, this fourth edition broadens coverage of foodborne diseases to include many new and emerging pathogens. With the inclusion of many more easy-to-follow figures and illustrations, this text provides an introductory source for undergraduates, as well as a reference for graduate-level and working professionals in food microbiology or food safety.

Human Heredity: Principles and Issues. Author Michael Cummings. Edition Eighth. Publisher Cengage. Pages 560. Price £41.99. ISBN 9780495554479.

Designed for the introductory genetics or heredity course, this concise text combines thorough coverage with a supplement and media package that offers a wealth of teaching and learning resources. The new eighth edition includes streamlined art, chapter sidebars that address everyday issues, and cases that challenge students to analyse tough decisions.

Biochemistry. Authors Mary K. Campbell and Shawn O'Farrell. Edition Sixth. Publisher Cengage. Pages 784. Price £43.99. ISBN 9780495390466.

This edition balances scientific detail with readability for students studying biochemistry for the first time. New in-text questions, positioned throughout the book, aim to help students master key concepts, while problem sets assist students in preparing for exams. Features such as Biochemical Connections highlight how biochemistry applies to other fields.

Phylogenetic Trees Made Easy: A How To Manual. Author Barry G. Hall. Edition Third. Publisher Palgrave Macmillan. Price £24.99. ISBN 9780878933105.

This book intends to help students get started in creating phylogenetic trees from protein or nucleic acid sequence data. Students are led through identifying sequences that are homologous to a sequence of interest, downloading these sequences from databases, creating multiple alignments, and using several different methods to construct trees.

Animal Physiology. Author Richard.W Hill. Edition Second. Publisher Palgrave Macmillan. Price £44.99. ISBN 9780878933174.

Richard W. Hill presents all the branches of modern animal physiology with a strong emphasis on integration among physiological disciplines, ecology, and evolutionary biology. The book's full-colour illustration program includes many novel, visually effective features to help students learn.

Stream Ecology: Structure and Function of Running Waters. Authors Allan J. David and Maria M. Castillo. Edition Second. Publisher Springer. Pages 436. Price £48.50. ISBN 9781402055829

This textbook is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students and as a reference source for specialists in stream ecology and related fields. This edition has been thoroughly updated and expanded to incorporate significant advances in our understanding of environmental factors, biological interactions and ecosystem processes, and how these vary with hydrological, geomorphological and landscape setting.

Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications. Author Fred Van Dyke. Edition Second. Publisher Springer. Pages 478. Price £42.50. ISBN 9781402068904

Presenting key information and examples, this student-friendly volume carefully integrates the science of conservation biology with its implications for ethics, law, policy and economics. Aimed primarily at undergraduates studying courses in conservation and conservation biology, this book also intends to be relevant for practising conservationists and natural resource managers.

Physiological Ecology: How Animals Process Energy, Nutrients, and Toxins. Authors William H. Karasov and Carlos Martínez del Rio. Edition First. Publisher Princeton University Press. Pages 744. Price £38.95. ISBN 9780691074535

William Karasov and Carlos Martínez del Rio present a one-volume overview of the physiological and biochemical principles that shape how animals procure energy and nutrients and free themselves of toxins – and how this relates to broader ecological phenomena. They introduce key methods and illustrate principles with wide-ranging vertebrate and invertebrate examples.

Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems. Author Andreas Wagner. Edition First. Publisher Princeton University Press. Pages 384. Price £35.00/£19.95. ISBN 9780691122403/134048

This book explores why genetic changes do not cause organisms to fail catastrophically and how evolution shapes organisms’ robustness. Andreas Wagner looks at this problem from the ground up, starting with the alphabet of DNA, the genetic code, RNA, and protein molecules, moving on to genetic networks and embryonic development and working his way up to whole organisms.

Understanding Genes and GMOs. Author Colin J. Sanderson. Edition First. Publisher World Scientific. Pages 360. Price £31.00/£19.00. ISBN 97898103750/3767

This concise book equips students with essential information about what genes are, how they work and how they can be modified and used in biotechnology. The book, which assumes no prior knowledge, includes a summary of the beginnings of life, the structure and components of living organisms, and an outline of genetic engineering.

First Ecology: Ecological Principles and Environmental Issues. Authors Alan Beeby and AnneMarie Brennan. Edition Third. Publisher Oxford University Press. Pages 416. Price £29.99. ISBN 9780199298082

This book provides a critical and evaluative introduction to the science of ecology. Alan Beeby and Anne-Maria Brennan present a succinct survey of ecology, describing and explaining the relationship between living organisms and their environment and continue to introduce ecology from a human perspective. This view of humanity as part of the ecology of the planet aims to make the fundamental relevance of ecology to all life science students apparent throughout.

An Introduction to Molecular Ecology. Authors Trevor Beebee and Graham Rowe. Edition Second. Publisher Oxford University Press. Pages 384. Price £.99. ISBN 9780199292059

Trevor Beebee and Graham Rowe introduce the latest molecular concepts and techniques, demonstrating how genetic markers and molecular tools can be used to answer a range of ecological questions. Blending conceptual detail with instructive examples, this is a resource for those new to the subject needing to develop a strong working understanding of the field.

Behavioural Ecology. Editors Etienne Danchin, LucAlain Giraldeau and Frank Cézilly. Edition First. Publisher Oxford University Press. Pages 912. Price £29.99. ISBN 9780199206292

Featuring chapters written by university teachers, each with research expertise in their respective fields, this book has been designed to give a uniform voice throughout. The book offers a fresh, contemporary account of a field re-invigorated by advances in the past decade.

Plant Biotechnology: The Genetic Manipulation of Plants. Authors Adrian Slater, Nigel W. Scott and Mark R. Fowler. Edition Second. Publisher Oxford University Press. Price 372. Price £24.99. ISBN 9780199282616

This second edition presents an objective exploration of the technology behind genetic manipulation, and the application of this technology to the growth and cultivation of plants. The book describes the techniques underpinning genetic manipulation and employs case studies to illustrate how this influential tool is used in practice.

Introduction to Bioinformatics. Author Arthur Lesk. Edition Third. Publisher Oxford University Press. Pages 496. Price £24.99. ISBN 9780199208043

This text introduces students to the power of bioinformatics as a set of scientific tools. The book explains how to access the data archives of genomes and proteins, and the kinds of questions these data and tools can answer: how to make inferences from the data archives, to make connections among them and to derive useful and interesting predictions.

Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms and Drug Delivery. Author Ram I. Mahato. Edition First. Publisher CRC Press. Pages 336. Price £42.99. ISBN 9780849392856

Integrating aspects of physical pharmacy, biopharmaceuticals, drug delivery and biotechnology, this book elucidates basic physicochemical principles and their application in the design of dosage forms, addressing the relevance of these principles to the biopharmaceutical aspects of drugs.

Introduction to Nutrition and Metabolism. Author David A. Bender. Edition Fourth. Publisher CRC Press. Pages 440. Price £26.99. ISBN 9781420043129

Extensively revised and updated to reflect our current understanding of nutritional and dietary requirements, this fourth edition includes information examining the role of nutrition in common chronic diseases. New to this edition are revised end-of-chapter exercises, key point summaries and a CD-Rom with PowerPoint presentations for each chapter, self-assessment tests, clinical problems, a virtual laboratory and a program for nutrient analysis and meal evaluation.

Plant Pathology Concepts and Laboratory Exercises. Author Robert N. Trigiano. Edition Second. Publisher CRC Press. Pages 576. Price £42.99. ISBN 9781420046694

Revised and updated with new concepts, case studies and laboratory exercises, this text supplies information in an accessible format. New additions to the second edition include five new topic and exercise chapters on soilborne pathogens, molecular tools, biocontrol, plant-fungal interactions and information on in vitro pathology. It also has an appendix on plant pathology careers and a section on how to use and care for the microscope.

Basic Pharmacokinetics. Author Mohsen A. Hedaya. Edition First. Publisher CRC Press. Pages 328. Price £42.99. ISBN 9781420046717

This volume is a self-instructional computer-assisted medium for active learning. The book and its companion CD are intended for students and practitioners in the health professions who need to comprehend the concepts and principles related to how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolises and excretes drugs.

The Toxicology and Biochemistry of Insecticides. Author Simon J. Yu. Edition First. Publisher CRC Press. Pages 296. Price £39.99. ISBN 9781420059755

This book provides up-to-date information on insecticide classification, formulation, mode of action, resistance, metabolism, environmental fate and regulatory legislation, as well as discussing mechanisms at the molecular level such as specific enzymes that contribute to insecticide resistance, the modification of which can change insecticide susceptibility and influence host plant selections in phytophagous insects.

Biology: The Dynamic Science. Authors Peter J. Russell, Stephen L. Wolfe, Paul E. Hertz and Cecie Starr. Edition First. Publisher Cengage. Pages 1456. Price £45.99. ISBN 9780495114550

This is the first general biology text with an experimental approach that connects historical research, recent advances achieved with molecular tools, and a glimpse of the future through the eyes of prominent researchers working on key unanswered questions of the day.

Biological Physics: Energy, Information, Life. Author Philip Nelson. Edition First revised. Publisher Palgrave Macmillan. Pages 600. Price £43.99. ISBN 9780716798972

This text focuses on new results in molecular motors, self-assembly and single-molecule manipulation that have revolutionised the field in recent years. This updated edition has new end-of-chapter problems giving fresh options for assignments and exams; and an updated chapter on enzymes and molecular machines.

Quantifying Behavior the JWatcher Way. Authors Daniel T. Blumstein and Janice C. Daniel. Edition First. Publisher Palgrave Macmillan. Pages 636. Price £11.99. ISBN 9780878930470

Quantifying Behavior the JWatcher Way provides detailed instructions for the freely distributed computer program JWatcher (www.jwatcher.ucla.edu for more details). This Macintosh/Windows application can be used to address any theoretical problem that requires a complex sequence of actions to be scored by a human observer.

Genetics. Author Benjamin A. Pierce. Edition Third. Publisher Palgrave Macmillan. Pages 832. Price £40.99. ISBN 9780716779285

This updated third edition builds on the features from previous editions: an engaging writing style, relevant applications, an accessible art program, an emphasis on problem-solving and, most importantly, a strong focus on concepts and connections.

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