PREFACE 



Specialization in modern biology has assumed an extreme 

 form. In this situation, even within a small country such as 

 Israel, communication between speciaUsts could disappear 

 entirely if it were not actively encouraged. At our annual 

 'Oholo' conference, procedures which foster the desired inter- 

 discipHnary communication in biology are being followed. The 

 participants at these conferences represent widely divergent 

 approaches to the biological method. They come from the 

 different scientific institutions of Israel, and increasingly also 

 from distant countries now that funds and facilities for travel 

 have become more easily available. Subjects upon which dis- 

 cussion at these meetings has been centered* belong to areas 

 in which different biological disciphnes overlap and interlock. 

 Ample allowances of time for formal and informal discussions, 

 conducted against the serene background of an ancient and 

 beautiful lake in Galilee, have complemented and greatly 

 enhanced the value of the formal programs. 



The titles of the annual conferences convened as from the 

 spring of 1956 at Oholo have designated a very wide area of 

 discussion; yet this is, in fact, narrower than the one which 

 we have covered. 



The subject of this year's meeting, 'Cryptobiotic Stages in 

 Biological Systems', was one which has received less attention 

 in the scientific literature than it probably deserves. With the 

 notable exception of an important recent review on 'The Pro- 

 blem of Anabiosis or Latent Life : History and Current Con- 

 cept', by Prof. D. Keilin, the interdisciplinary approach in this 

 area has been the exception rather than the rule. We are hoping 

 that this book will help in some ways to answer the need. 



1956 Bacterial Genetics 



1957 Tissue Cultures in Virological Research 



1958 Inborn and Acquired Resistance to Infection in Animals 



1959 Experimental Approach to Mental Diseases 



