Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 087893250X, Hardcover)

The Eighth Edition of Developmental Biology expands its coverage of the mechanisms of development, the roles that environmental factors play in development, the medical applications of our knowledge of development, and the roles that development plays in evolution, highlighting all the incredible advances that have been made in the last three years. Written primarily for undergraduate biology majors, it also serves to introduce graduate students and medical students to developmental biology.

A completely updated text integrates classical developmental biology with contemporary techniques, including new material on: stem cells niches; microRNAs; sperm-egg attraction and binding; induction and maintenance of pluripotency; pioneer transcription factors and the recruitment of nucleosome remodeling proteins; left-right gene expression asymmetry; heart chamber specification; neural crest cell specification and differentiation; somite formation; human brain growth genes; the syndetome; new sources of muscle precursor cells; newly discovered mechanisms of teratogenesis; the effects of endocrine disruptors on human development; sex determination pathways in the brain; the effects of maternal nutrition on gene expression and disease susceptibility in the adult offspring; controversies over digit specification in birds and dinosaurs and whether mammalian blastomere fate is biased at the first division; and much more. Included with every copy of the book is Vade Mecum2: An Interactive Guide to Developmental Biology. In addition to a wealth of interactive content, this updated version includes a new Teachers' and Student's Resource with PowerPoint® slides of chick whole mounts and serial sections. A searchable PDF file on the CD contains full citations for the book's literature cited, with links to PubMed. The CD also includes Mary Tyler's laboratory manual, Developmental Biology: A Guide for Experimental Study, Third Edition, in electronic (PDF) format. textbook and provides more information for advanced students, historical, philosophical, and ethical perspectives on issues in developmental biology, movies, interviews, Web links, and updates. The website includes the full bibliography of literature cited in the book (over 5,000 references), most of which are linked to their PubMed citations.

Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0878932437, Hardcover)

Developmental Biology, Sixth Edition captures the richness, the intellectual excitement, and the wonder of contemporary developmental biology. It is written for junior- and senior-level undergraduates who have taken a course in either cell biology or genetics. In addition to exploring and synthesizing the organismal, cellular, and molecular aspects of animal development, the Sixth Edition expands its coverage of the medical, environmental, and evolutionary aspects of developmental biology.

Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0878932585, Hardcover)

Developmental Biology, Seventh Edition captures the richness, the intellectual excitement, and the wonder of contemporary developmental biology. It is written primarily for undergraduate biology majors but will be useful for introducing graduate students and medical students to developmental biology. In addition to exploring and synthesizing the organismal, cellular, and molecular aspects of animal development, the Seventh Edition expands its coverage of the medical, environmental, and evolutionary aspects of developmental biology.

FEATURES OF THE SEVENTH EDITION

A completely updated text integrates classical developmental biology with contemporary techniques, including the new material on vertebrate limb cell specification, microarrays, RNA interference, microtubular motors, floxed genes, vertebra formation, neural crest differentiation, neural crest specification, heart cell specification, herbicide-induced gonadal disruptions, pancreatic development, digit determination, tadpole deiodinases, insulin-like growth factors, developmental symbioses, and the developmental origins of feathers, jaws, and teeth during evolution.

A new chapter on medical implications of developmental biology • The news is full of developmental biology and its medical implications. Therapeutic cloning and cancer therapies, in vitro fertilization, congenital anomalies, and teratogenesis are major concerns not only of scientists but of all citizens. Chapter 21, "Medical Implications of Human Development," brings these topics together and discusses:

* the regulation of fertility
* the identification of genetic defects that affect development
* the identification of teratogenic compounds that affect development
* the identification of factors in the maternal environment which may influence the health of the fetus or the adult
* the realization that cancers can be disruptions of developmental regulation and might be cured through developmental processes
* the attempts to cure developmental diseases (including cancers) through detection, cloning, stem cell therapy, and genetic engineering
* the attempt to cure traumatic and degenerative disease through regeneration.