Annual Review of Biophysics and Biomolecular Structure, Vol. 23

ANNOTATION

The book contains predominantly black-and-white illustrations, with some color illustrations.

This book is a collection of review articles that provides an intelligent synthesis of the vast amount of research literature on the principal contributions in the field. It is edited by the most distinguished scholars in the field and written by authors who are recognized experts in their discipline. For contents and abstracts, visit us online at www.AnnualReviews.org.

FROM THE CRITICS

Anatoly Bezkorovainy

This is the 24th volume in an annual review series of biophysics and structural biochemistry, especially as these pertain to proteins and nucleic acids, and to some extent, membranes. It is a must for any library serving scientists who conduct research or teach in any of the basic biomedical fields. The purpose is to document developments in various biophysical and biostructural topics that have shown considerable degrees of progress in recent years. Articles in this volume are aimed at experts in the field, though the book is also useful for the general biomedical scientific audience and graduate students. The book is modestly illustrated, the extent and sophistication of illustrations depending on individual articles. Table of contents and index are adequate, and references are plentiful and current. As in previous volumes, the vita of a noted contributor to the area of biophysics and/or biostructure is a welcome touch, in this case that of Dr. Ephraim Katchalski-Katzir. The overall appearance of the book is, or should be, irrelevant for this most recent addition to a well-known and well-received Annual Reviews series. Nevertheless, an effort has been made to make it attractive. The review articles, written by recognized experts in their respective fields, are, as usual, of the highest caliber and sophistication. The general reader would appreciate the background material that most, but not all, articles contain to put the topics discussed in the proper perspective. For instance, the article on calmodulin contains an introduction describing the function of this protein in the second messenger system, which is then followed by the main body of the article on its structuralcharacteristics. On the other hand, the article on colicins simply states that they are bacteriocins without explaining what bacteriocins are. If one is not a lactic acid bacteria expert, chances are that this term would not be familiar. This is an excellent volume with a wealth of information on many subjects of current interest.

Eugene A. Davidson

This volume is divided into four sections -- Structural Principles, Structure and Function, Dynamics, and Emerging Techniques. This book is the latest in a continuing series that provides current reviews in selected areas of structural biology. It will be a useful reference for those working in the area of structural biology. Three articles focus on structural analyses. Included are X-ray analyses of four RNA folds (tRNA, hammerhead ribozyme, the P4-P6 domain of the Tetrahymena group I intron, and the hepatitis delta virus ribozyme). This is followed by a discussion of complex oligosaccharide conformation and interaction of these structures with proteins studied by both NMR and X-ray methods and the physical principles governing the folding of membrane proteins. In subsequent chapters contributors discuss transcriptional regulation, DNA repair mechanisms (recognition and removal of altered bases), lysosomal cysteine proteases, the 26s proteasome, and the structure of bacteriorhodopsin. Physical and computational means of structure determination are emphasized in all of the reviews and will be of interest to scientists concerned with these problems. The volume concludes with a short section on problems not approachable by standard methods, including computer simulations and solid state NMR. The increasing use of physical methods to study large structures such as the ribosome and membrane-associated biomolecules is providing new insight into the architecture of macromolecular complexes.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer: Eugene A Davidson, PhD (Georgetown University School of Medicine)Description: The 29th volume in this series contains 20 reviews on a broad variety of topics. Purpose: The purpose is to present topics ranging from several areas concerned with protein structure and folding pathways to means for analysis of single cells, microfluidic analysis and actin filament dynamics. Each of the chapters is authoritative and contains a useful and current bibliography. Audience: Scientists working with proteins will find much of interest as will those concerned with DNA conformation. Features: Topics somewhat removed include a discussion of C1C chloride channels, mechanism of vancomycin action and the use of atomic force microscopy to monitor crystal growth. A chapter on structural symmetry is more philosophical than material but nonetheless of interest. Assessment: This volume should be present in all science or medical libraries.

Booknews

This collection of 19 contributions describes recent progress in the application of physics to the study of biomolecular structures. The authors present new developments in analyzing the atomic structure of ribosomes, the crystal structure of rhodopsin, the regulation of integrins, protein transmembrane channels, and DNA-protein interactions. Other topics include a thermodynamic perspective of T cell signaling, computer modeling of cellular systems, lanthanide chelates as fluorescent labels, and paramagnetic resonance of biological metal centers. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Representing the current state of research concerning numerous problems in quantitative biology, 21 papers discuss topics including: hydrogen bonding, base stacking, and steric effects in DNA; structures and proton-pumping strategies of mitochondrial respiratory enzymes; mass spectrometry; Cre- site-specific recombination; NMR probes of molecular dynamics; ab inito protein structure prediction; structural relationships among phosphorylses; biomolecular simulations; protein folding; binding of ligands and activation of transcription by nuclear receptors; microtubule function; and ribozyme structures and mechanisms. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

RATING

4 Stars! from Doody

ACCREDITATION