CELLULAR DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY(incl. ceU culture, cytochemistry) (see also 



25,59,72,83) 



Treatises 



86. 



G. POSTE and G. L. NICOLSON, eds. 1976. THE CELL SURFACE IN ANIMAL EM- 



BRYOGENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT 



North-Holland, Amsterdam, etc. Cell Surface Reviews, vol. 1. XXIV, 766 pp., 151 figs, 

 20 tabs., subject index. D.fl.220.00, $ 89.95 



Contents: Fertilization (Gwatkin), Cytokinesis in animal cells: new answers to old 

 questions (Arnold), The implanting mouse blastocyst (Sherman and Wudl), Cell sur-. 

 face antigens in mammalian development (Edidin), The transport of molecules across 

 placental membranes (Miller, Koszalka and Brent), On the mechanism of metazoan 

 cell movements (Trinkaus), Inductive tissue interactions (Saxen, Karkinen-Jaaskelainen, 

 Lehtonen, Nordling and Wartiovaara), Cell coupling and cell communication during 

 embryogenesis (Sheridan), Transduction of positional information during development 

 (McMahon and West), Cell interactions in vertebrate limb development (Ede), Heart 

 development: interactions involved in cardiac morphogenesis (Manasek), Development 

 and differentiation of lymphocytes (Goldschneider and Barton), In vitro analysis of 

 surface specificity in embryonic cells (Maslow) 



This first volume of a new series is an ambitious undertaking, but the result is impres- 

 sive. All of the 13 extensive reviews are authoritative, comprehensive, well organised, and 

 interestingly written. A good balance is struck between events at the tissue and cell level 

 and those at lower levels of organisation. 



In works such as this it is always possible to disagree with the choice of subjects. I 

 personally feel the chapter on inductive tissue interactions is a bit too long, and I regret 

 that no attention is devoted to neuronal specificity and to work on insect imaginal discs. 

 The chapter on positional information is stimulating but, perhaps inevitably, very specu- 

 lative in places. The chapter bibliographies are extensive and up to date until 1975. 



The book is superbly produced and illustrated. 



Textbooks 



87. 



N. MACLEAN. 1977. THE DIFFERENTIATION OF CELLS 



Arnold, London. Genetics - Principles and Perspectives: a series of texts, vol. 1. VIII, 



216 pp.', 96 figs., 14 tabs., subject index. £ 12.00 (cloth), £ 5.95 (paper) 



This book was written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of genetics 

 and cell biology. It is on the whole a successful, well-balanced synthesis from the view- 

 point of cell biology; the presentation of embryological data is not always correct. 



The style is stimulating and the conclusions are carefully formulated. The subject is 

 developed logically on the basis of evidence from a broad variety of organisms, starting 

 with the Protozoa. Equal attention is devoted to the genome and the cytoplasm. There 

 are separate chapters or sections on the role of hormones, on the cell surface and cell con- 

 tact, on episomes, viruses and abnormal genetic elements, and on cancer and differentia- 

 tion. 



The illustrations on the whole serve their purpose weU, but some do not match the 

 text entirely, or the legends are not extensive enough to bring complete understanding. 

 The 15-page bibliography is of course selective but very useful. The books shows signs of 

 inadequate proofreading. 



227 



