The marine environment has been, and continues to be, a fruitful source of novel chemical compounds that are not found in terrestrial and freshwater organisms. Many of these substances show potential biomedical applications, which could lead to development of new pharmaceutical products. Research on the utilization of natural products from marine o

Presents information that can be useful to facilitate the aquaculture of a wide variety of food species. Operation of an economically successful aquaculture venture depends upon the complete life cycle of a species occurring in captivity. Possible solutions to how such complete control of life cycles of important food organisms might be accomplishe

This book presents the most recent information on the molecular genetics of marine organisms. It provides the reader a major thrust toward a better understanding of the present state of research on the molecular genetics of marine organisms.

This book discusses petroleum spill bioremediation, the use of spectroscopy to identify microbial metabolic pathways, the detoxification of mercury by using recombinant mercury-resistant bacteria, and the use of manganese-oxidizing bacteria for bioremediation.

Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review remains one of the most cited sources in marine science and oceanography. The ever-increasing interest in work in oceanography and marine biology and its relevance to global environmental issues, especially global climate change and its impacts, creates a demand for authoritative refereed reviews summarizing and synthesizing the results of both historical and recent research. This Volume celebrates 60 years of OMBAR, over which time it has been an essential reference for research workers and students in all fields of marine science. The peer-reviewed contributions in Volume 60 are available to read Open Access via this webpage and on OAPEN. If you are interested in submitting a review for consideration for publication in OMBAR, please email the Editor-in-Chief, Stephen Hawkins ([email protected]) for Volume 61. For Volume 62 onwards, please email the new co-Editors in Chief, Dr Peter Todd ([email protected]) and Dr Bayden Russell ([email protected]). Volume 60 features an editorial on the UN Decade of Ocean Science and goes on to consider such diverse topics as Cenozoic tropical marine biodiversity, blue carbon ecosystems in Sri Lanka, marine litter and microplastics in the Western Indian Ocean, and the ecology and conservation status of the family Syngnathidae in southern and western Africa. This volume also contains a retrospective Prologue on the evolution of OMBAR and pays tribute to one of its early Editors in Chief, Margaret Barnes, by providing an update on her review in OMBAR of the stalked barnacle Pollicipes. Supplementary online videos as well as additional Tables and Appendices are available on the Support Tab of the book's Routledge webpage. An international Editorial Board ensures global relevance and expert peer review, with editors from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore and the UK. The series volumes find a place in the libraries of not only marine laboratories and oceanographic institutes, but also universities worldwide.

Molecules of nature are created by living organisms in their quest to survive and thrive in Earth’s challenging environments. This ages-old evolutionary struggle has produced an immense library of chemicals from which humans have selected invaluable therapeutics critical to modern medicine. Natural products presently provide half of all prescription medications and 70% of all cancer drugs. The success of continued drug development from natural products depends upon the diversity of molecules of nature, which in turn depends upon biodiversity. Unfortunately, human-caused damage to the environment, from pollution to habitat loss to overexploitation of resources, is causing unprecedented ecological damage and death of species: a mass extinction event. Unless this biotic crisis is obviated, humanity will lose a primary source of future novel medicines. This book assembles a powerful argument for nature’s critical role in providing medicines for humanity and how that irreplaceable service is threatened by the extinction crisis. A sampling of the molecules of nature employed in modern medicine reads like a catalog of biodiversity. For example, one of the most prescribed drugs in the United States is lisinopril, which controls high blood pressure. Lisinopril originated from the venom of a deadly viper from the Amazonian forests. A denizen of US southwestern deserts provided a therapeutic for type-II diabetes. The ancient horseshoe crab of the US Atlantic coast enables a critical test for deadly endotoxins in medical products of all kinds. Once, a diagnosis of acute lymphocytic leukemia in children was a death sentence. A tropical flower from Madagascar provided two natural products that changed a 90% fatality rate to a 90% cure rate. The Pacific Yew tree from the US northwest was discovered to contain the potent anticancer agent Taxol, now vital in the treatment of breast and ovarian cancers and Kaposi’s sarcoma. This book tells the fascinating story of these and other medicines. It also summarizes some of the driving forces of the Sixth Mass Extinction and shows how it threatens at least half of the planet’s species with extinction. We rightly ask: What will be the future of medicine without the contribution of millions of species? How many treatments for disease will be forever lost? What cures are we asking future generations to forgo? As we willy-nilly extinguish the future of one organism after another together with all the knowledge they hold, we are like the looters of the Great Library of Alexandria. The final chapter challenges readers to pursue a different outcome: By uniting our efforts, we can still preserve many of the remaining species on our blue-green planet and the invaluable gifts they offer.

Advances in Biomembranes and Lipid Self-assembly, Volume 31, formerly titled Advances in Planar Lipid Bilayers and Liposomes, provides a global platform for the study of cell membranes, lipid model membranes and lipid self-assemblies, from the micro- to the nanoscale. As planar lipid bilayers are widely studied due to their ubiquity in nature, this book presents research on their application in the formulation of biomimetic model membranes, and in the design of artificial dispersion of liposomes. Moreover, the book discusses how lipids self-assemble into a wide range of other structures, including micelles and the liquid crystalline hexagonal and cubic phases. Chapters in this volume present both original research and comprehensive reviews written by world leading experts and young researchers. - Surveys recent theoretical and experimental results on lipid micro- and nanostructures - Presents potential use applications, such as clinically relevant diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, biotechnology, pharmaceutical engineering and food products - Includes both original research and comprehensive reviews written by world-leading experts and young researchers - Provides a global platform for a broad community of experimental and theoretical researchers studying cell membranes, lipid model membranes, and lipid self-assemblies, from the micro- to the nanoscale