Monographs 



5. 



S.J. COWARD, ed. 1973. DEVELOPMENTAL REGULATION, aspects of cell differentia- 

 tion 



Academic Press, New York, etc. Cell Biology: A Series of Monographs. XII, 266 pp., 

 80 figs., 9 tabs., author and subject indexes. $ 21.50, £ 10.30 



Contents: 1. RNA and protein synthesis during early animal embryogenesis 

 (Humphreys); 2. Developmental regulation in cotton seed embryogenesis and germina- 

 tion (Dure); 3. Plant hormones and developmental regulation: role of transcription and 

 translation (Key & Vanderhoef); 4. Transitions in differentiation by the cellular slime 

 molds (Gregg & Badman); 5. Metabolism, cell walls, and morphogenesis (Brody); 

 6. Colony differentiation in green algae (Kochert); 7. Myogenesis: differentiation of 

 skeletal muscle fibers (Lentz); 8. Some comparative aspects of cardiac and skeletal 

 myogenesis (Manasek); 9. Chondrogenesis (Searls) 



Developmental biology more and more becomes a unifying discipline transcending the 

 boundaries of classical compartments such as zoology, botany, and microbiology. It is 

 therefore fortunate that the present book contains four chapters dealing with animal 

 material, two dealing with higher plants, and three with organisms of a comparatively low 

 degree of organization. 



All contributors are Americans. All chapters are up to date and well organized and 

 most suggest new ideas. In most chapters the discussion is on the biochemical, genetic, 

 and cytological level, but some treat organismal factors as well. 



The book is weil produced and well illustrated. 



6. 



G.D.TUMANISHVILI and N.V.SALAMATINA. 1973. DIFFERENTIATION, GROWTH, 



AND CELL INTERACTION (in Russian) 



Metsniereba, Tbilisi. 198 pp., 57 figs. 



Research monograph with the following chapters: Preliminary remarks (34 pp.); Dif- 

 ferentiation and growth (59 pp.); Fundamental types of intercellular interactions 

 (62 pp.); Additional considerations on the problems of differentiation, growth, and 

 intercellular interactions (12 pp.); 18-page bibliography (6 pp. of older and recent Rus- 

 sian literature). 



THEORETICAL AND MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY (see also 72) 



Monographs 



7. 



H.H.PATTEE, ed. 1973. HIERARCHY THEORY, the challenge of complex systems 



G.Braziller, New York. XVI, 156 pp., 9 figs. $ 6.95 (cloth), $ 2.95 (paper) 



Contents: 1. The organization of complex systems (Simon); 2. Hierarchical order and 

 neogenesis (Grobstein); 3. Hierarchical control programs in biological development 

 (Bonner); 4. The physical basis and origin of hierarchical control (Pattee); 5. The limits 

 of complexity (Levins); Postscript: Unsolved problems and potential applications of 

 hierarchy theories (Pattee) 



This book arose out of a series of public lectures. One of the main aims of the lectures 

 was to emphasize the fundamental necessity of hierarchical control in all living organiza- 

 tions. The essays are written in simple, non-technical language and serve admirably as an 

 introduction to this important area. No comprehensive bibliographies are provided. The 

 authors are physicists, biologists, and systems theorists. In several essays the computer as 

 a hierarchical system is stressed as an analogue to living organizations. 



171 



