Originally published in 2005, this unique resource presents 27 easy-to-follow laboratory exercises for use in student practical classes in developmental biology. These experiments provide key insights into developmental questions, and many of them are described by the leaders in the field who carried out the original research. This book intends to bridge the gap between experimental work and the laboratory classes taken at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. All chapters follow the same format, taking the students from materials and methods, through results and discussion, so that they learn the underlying rationale and analysis employed in the research. The book will be an invaluable resource for graduate students and instructors teaching practical developmental biology courses. Chapters include teaching concepts, discussion of the degree of difficulty of each experiment, potential sources of failure, as well as the time required for each experiment to be carried out in a class with students.

This book presents a wide variety of model systems currently used by developmental biologists. Experiments range from classic slide or whole animal observations to more modern techniques in immunohistochemistry and manipulation of gene expression. All of these experiments can be completed on a relatively small budget.

Developmental biology is one of the most exciting and fast-growing fields today. In part, this is so because the subject matter deals with the innately fascinating biological events—changes in form, structure, and function of the organism. The other reason for much of the excitement in developmental biology is that the field has truly become the unifying melting pot of biology, and provides a framework that integrates anatomy, physiology, genetics, biochemistry, and cellular and molecular biology, as well as evolutionary biology. No longer is the study of embryonic development merely “embryology.” In fact, development biology has produced important paradigms for both basic and clinical biomedical sciences. Though modern developmental biology has its roots in “experimental embry- ogy” and the even more classical “chemical embryology,” the recent explosive and remarkable advances in developmental biology are critically linked to the advent of the “cellular and molecular biology revolution.” The impressive arsenal of expe- mental and analytical tools derived from cell and molecular biology, which promise to continue to expand, together with the exponentially developing sophistication in fu- tional imaging and information technologies, guarantee that the study of the devel- ing embryo will contribute one of the most captivating areas of biological research in the next millennium.

Developmental biology is one of the most exciting and fast-growing fields today. In part, this is so because the subject matter deals with the innately fascinating biological events—changes in form, structure, and function of the org- ism. The other reason for much of the excitement in developmental biology is that the field has truly become the unifying melting pot of biology, and provides a framework that integrates anatomy, physiology, genetics, biochemistry, and cellular and mole- lar biology, as well as evolutionary biology. No longer is the study of embryonic development merely “embryology.” In fact, development biology has produced - portant paradigms for both basic and clinical biomedical sciences alike. Although modern developmental biology has its roots in “experimental emb- ology” and the even more classical “chemical embryology,” the recent explosive and remarkable advances in developmental biology are critically linked to the advent of the “cellular and molecular biology revolution.” The impressive arsenal of expe- mental and analytical tools derived from cell and molecular biology, which promise to continue to expand, together with the exponentially developing sophistication in fu- tional imaging and information technologies, guarantee that the study of the devel- ing embryo will contribute one of the most captivating areas of biological research in the next millennium.

Dynamics of Development: Experiments and Inferences provides an understanding of the dynamic order of living systems. This book presents a methodical approach to the unrestricted exploration of all the aspects that a living system offers, which is evaluated logically through experiment and inference. Organized into five parts encompassing 24 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the adaptive features of the nervous system. This text then examines the molecular control of cellular activity. Other chapters focus on resolving the fragments of the chemical endowment of the cell. This book discusses as well the mechanisms of respiration and photosynthesis, which have been connected with arrays of macromolecular complexes in definite sequential order. The final chapter deals with the fundamental principle of neural intercommunication. This book is a valuable resource for biochemists, biologists, zoologists, neurophysiologists, and scientists. Students and research workers interested in the dynamic order of living systems will also find this book useful.

The fast-growing field of developmental biology provides a unifying framework that integrates anatomy, physiology, genetics, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, as well as evolutionary biology. The number of "reference" publications that deal specifically with the practical aspects of experimental developmental biology are relatively scarce. Developmental Biology Protocols grows out of this need for a comprehensive laboratory manual that provides the readers with the principles, background, rationale, as well as practical protocols, for studying and analyzing the events of embryonic development. Its highly practical format and wide range of model systems and multidisciplinary experimental techniques attest to the authors' determination to provide a balanced presentation of both background information and actual laboratory details. This three-volume compilation of relevant and useful information will be a well-utilized resource for both the students and teachers of developmental biology at all levels. Developmental Biology Protocols offers the most comprehensive, cutting-edge collection of contemporary experimental methods available for the study of embryogenesis and development. Written by an interdisciplinary team of leading scientific investigators, this authoritative collection provides step-by-step instructions for successful laboratory execution. Topics range from animal model system acquisition to molecular genetics, and include high resolution imaging, transgenesis, teratology, comparative anatomy and embryology, the characterization of embryonic structure and function, the analysis of cell function, and the regulation of gene activity. In addition to many unique, new experimental protocols, the authors have also utilized a host of experimental approaches used in other disciplines applicable to the study of development. Comprehensive and richly annotated, Developmental Biology Protocols constitutes the gold-standard reference for today's developmental biologists.