Cold Spring Harbor Lab.

C. elegans atlas.

Central to research in genetic code, cell biology and development, the nematode C. elegans has been the subject of intense scrutiny since the work begun by Sydney Brenner in the 1960s and culminating with his lab's 2002 Nobel in Medicine for Physiology. This atlas reflects the work of Brenner and his colleagues and successors by presenting the full research on the nematode's anatomy in a single printed book. Detailed descriptive text introduces the chapters on each anatomical aspect. The superb color images take pride of place, with each drawing or electron micrograph accompanied by a lengthy descriptive caption. The volume concludes with an appendix on transverse thin sections of the adult hermaphrodite C. elegans. The volume is bound in a sturdy hidden spiral binding in an oversized horizontal format (12x8.75 inches). (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Davenport's dream; 21st century reflections on heredity and eugenics.

Editors Witkowski, executive director of the Banbury Conference Center of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Inglis, executive director of the center's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, provide a collection of essays on the pioneering work of influential geneticist Charles Davenport. In the collection, prominent academics discuss themes from Davenport's History in Relation to Eugenics, originally published in 1911 and used as a college text and as the foundation for the eugenics movement in the United States. Topics include human genetic variation, mental illness, nature vs. nurture, and human evolution in a modern context. A facsimile of Davenport's original work is included. The book will interest science historians and others interested in the social implications of human genetics research. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Neither gods nor beasts; how science is changing who we think we are.

Most people have an outmoded and inadequate perception of human life, says geneticist Carlson (emeritus, Stony Brook U., New York), better suited to the first or second millennium than this scientifically enlightened third. He summarizes biological and genetic perspectives in hopes of improving the understanding of non-scientists and policy making. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)