Developmental Biology [Paperback]

No field of contemporary biomedical science has been more revolutionized by the techniques of molecular biology than developmental biology. This is an outstanding concise introduction to developmental biology that takes a contemporary approach to describing the complex process that transforms an egg into an adult organism. The book features exceptionally clear two-color illustrations, and is designed for use in both undergraduate and graduate level courses. The book is especially noteworthy for its treatment of development in model organisms, whose contributions to developmental biology were recognized in the 1995 Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine.No field of contemporary biomedical science has been more revolutionized by the techniques of molecular biology than developmental biology. This is an outstanding concise introduction to developmental biology that takes a contemporary approach to describing the complex process that transforms an egg into an adult organism. The book features exceptionally clear two-color illustrations, and is designed for use in both undergraduate and graduate level courses. The book is especially noteworthy for its treatment of development in model organisms, whose contributions to developmental biology were recognized in the 1995 Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine.-Development: organisms construct and organize themselves on the basis of inherited information. -Basic stages, principles and terms of developmental biology. -Model organisms in developmental biology. -Comparative review: the phylotypic stage of vertebrates, common vs. disuniting features, and aspects of evolution. -The egg cell and sperm get a dowry. -The start: fertilization and activation of the egg. -Precisely patterned cleavage divisions are driven by an oscillator. -Determination: cells are programmed and committed to their fates. -Epigenetic pattern formation. -Differentiation is based upon differential gene expression that is programmed during determination. l/