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Overview
John Walker and Ralph Rapley have collected a wide-ranging group of molecular and biochemical techniques that are the most frequently used in medical and clinical research, especially diagnostics. The authors-well-established investigators who run their own research programs and use the methods on a regular basis-outline the practical procedures for using them and describe a variety of pertinent applications. Among the technologies presented are southern and western blotting, electrophoresis, PCR, cDNA and protein microarrays, liquid chromatography, in situ hybridization, karyotyping, flow cytometry, bioinformatics, genomics, and ribotyping. The applications include assays for mutation detection, mRNA analysis, chromosome translocations, inborn errors of metabolism, protein therapeutics, and gene therapy.
Synopsis
The editors (both of the U. of Hertfordshire, UK) present chapters covering 44 of the most frequently used molecular and biochemical techniques in medical and clinical research, especially diagnostics. Contributors describe the theory behind each technique and discuss their applications. Those who require laboratory protocols are referred elsewhere through the cited references. The CD-ROM contains an "eBook" version of the volume that can be downloaded to only one computer and synchronized for viewing on a personal digital assistant. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Doody Review Services
Reviewer: Eugene A Davidson, PhD (Georgetown University School of Medicine)
Description: This book contains a series of articles describing commonly used methods in medical laboratory work. The focus is on molecular biological techniques.
Purpose: The goal is to provide investigators (advanced students, research fellows, senior scientists) with information regarding commonly used techniques as applied to diagnostic procedures. Given the increasingly molecular approach to diagnostics, this is a worthwhile objective. Success is mixed in that presentations vary somewhat in quality and some areas have received insufficient attention.
Audience: The target audience is the working scientist interested in specific applications. The editors have assembled a capable group of contributors.
Features: There has been an increasing shift in medical diagnostics from the relatively descriptive nature of histology through data sets obtained from multichannel analyzers to specific molecular information at the DNA level. It can reasonably be anticipated that this will continue and that there will be a growing emphasis on molecular level information. This book provides a set of articles on newer methods of (primarily) molecular biology as applied to diagnostic medicine. The 44 chapters cover a wide variety of techniques with an emphasis on those associated with nucleic acid sequences. A brief overview chapter provides a general introduction. Each of the contributions is accompanied by an appropriate bibliography to allow the reader access to the primary literature. In general, sufficient detail is provided to give a sense of applicability to a particular problem but this is not a collection of protocols. Rather, the articles offer an introduction to the various procedures with a general focus on principles and pragmatic utility. Somewhat more than half of the material is concerned with various aspects of DNA technology:separation methods, probe design, single nucleotide polymorphisms, quantitative PCR, gene expression and related. Antibody-based methods are also reviewed as are some aspects of whole cell analysis (flow cytometry). Investigators wishing background about one or another such procedure will find much of utility here. There are, however, some omissions. Current applications of mass spectrometry (proteomics) are insufficiently discussed; non-PCR procedures for DNA amplification (critical for a number of applications) are not mentioned. Finally, the organization of the book could be improved:articles covering related methods should be grouped together to provide a logical flow. In spite of these caveats, it will be of value to most investigators.
Assessment: This book is good as far as it goes but it is missing some new and important methods. Proteomics in particular is sufficiently mature that its omission is a notable flaw. Still, given the overall coverage and useful bibliographies, it is valuable for most investigators in the area.
Editorials
From The Critics
Reviewer: Eugene A Davidson, PhD(Georgetown University School of Medicine)Description: This book contains a series of articles describing commonly used methods in medical laboratory work. The focus is on molecular biological techniques.
Purpose: The goal is to provide investigators (advanced students, research fellows, senior scientists) with information regarding commonly used techniques as applied to diagnostic procedures. Given the increasingly molecular approach to diagnostics, this is a worthwhile objective. Success is mixed in that presentations vary somewhat in quality and some areas have received insufficient attention.
Audience: The target audience is the working scientist interested in specific applications. The editors have assembled a capable group of contributors.
Features: There has been an increasing shift in medical diagnostics from the relatively descriptive nature of histology through data sets obtained from multichannel analyzers to specific molecular information at the DNA level. It can reasonably be anticipated that this will continue and that there will be a growing emphasis on molecular level information. This book provides a set of articles on newer methods of (primarily) molecular biology as applied to diagnostic medicine. The 44 chapters cover a wide variety of techniques with an emphasis on those associated with nucleic acid sequences. A brief overview chapter provides a general introduction. Each of the contributions is accompanied by an appropriate bibliography to allow the reader access to the primary literature. In general, sufficient detail is provided to give a sense of applicability to a particular problem but this is not a collection of protocols. Rather, the articles offer an introduction to the various procedures with a general focus on principles and pragmatic utility. Somewhat more than half of the material is concerned with various aspects of DNA technology — separation methods, probe design, single nucleotide polymorphisms, quantitative PCR, gene expression and related. Antibody-based methods are also reviewed as are some aspects of whole cell analysis (flow cytometry). Investigators wishing background about one or another such procedure will find much of utility here. There are, however, some omissions. Current applications of mass spectrometry (proteomics) are insufficiently discussed; non-PCR procedures for DNA amplification (critical for a number of applications) are not mentioned. Finally, the organization of the book could be improved — articles covering related methods should be grouped together to provide a logical flow. In spite of these caveats, it will be of value to most investigators.
Assessment: This book is good as far as it goes but it is missing some new and important methods. Proteomics in particular is sufficiently mature that its omission is a notable flaw. Still, given the overall coverage and useful bibliographies, it is valuable for most investigators in the area.
3 Stars from Doody