DEVELOPMENTAL BIOCHEMISTRY, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (see also 6,19,27,71, 



95,97,99,100,107,114) 

 Textbooks 



102. 



J. BRACHET. 1974. INTRODUCTION TO MOLECULAR EMBRYOLOGY 



English Univ. Press, London - Springer, New York, etc. Heidelberg Science Library 

 Vol. 19. XIV, 176 pp., 67 figs., subject index. $ 5.90, DM 14.40 (paper) 



J. BRACHET. 1974. INTRODUCTION A L'EMBRYOLOGIE MOLECULAIRE 



Masson, Paris. Collection de Biol. Moleculaire 1. VIII, 197 pp., 67 figs., author and subject 



indexes. F.fr. 98 



These two books are basically very similar and are therefore reviewed together. Both 

 were written primarily for students, but the French book presupposes more knowledge of 

 molecular biology and is slightly more detailed in certain areas. It also gives more 

 literature for further reading, which in the English version is restricted to a minimum. 

 Both books could also serve as an introduction for molecular biologists into the major 

 problems and approaches of the complex science of embryology. 



The arrangement of the subject matter is largely but not strictly parallel. Both books 

 contain an outhne of the basic facts of descriptive and experimental embryology. They 

 then proceed to discuss in systematic fashion the molecular-biological aspects of gameto- 

 genesis and egg maturation, fertilization, cleavage, early embryogenesis in invertebrates 

 and vertebrates, nucleo-cytoplasmic interactions, and finally (and very briefly) later cell 

 differentiation. 



The books are lucidly and critically written, as we expect from this author. Yet the 

 present reviewer is inclined to regret two things: first, that virtually no attention is 

 devoted to early mammahan development, and second, that the author considers the 

 concept of determination as so ambiguous that he has decided to leave it out of the 

 discussion. True, little is known about the molecular biology of determination, but it is so 

 basic to developmental biology that is should present a major challenge to the molecular 

 embryologist of tomorrow. 



The illustrations are practically the same in the two books. They include many good 

 photographs, which however in the French version (printed in Spain) are rather badly 

 reproduced. The French book is also by far the most expensive. 



103. 



D. E. S. TRUMAN. 1974. THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF CYTODIFFERENTIATION 

 Blackwell, Oxford, etc. VI, 122 pp., 51 figs., 13 tabs., combined author and subject 

 index. £ 3.50 (cloth), £ 2.00 (paper) 



This book is the first in a series of short texts aimed primarily at students of 

 biochemistry and cell biology. It is highly sucessful in all respects: clarity of style, 

 modernity of treatment, selection of examples, and illustrations. The treatment is in the 

 main restricted to higher vertebrates. Notwithstanding the limited size of the book the 

 student really gets a grasp of the subject and of its main theoretical superstructure. The 

 book also seems almost ideal as an introduction into molecular embryology for zoologists 

 and geneticists. 



The book is well produced and has an excellent bibliography of 160 titles. 



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