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470 BIOCHEMICAL SOCIETY TRANSACTIONS Dynamic Aspects of Bioelectrolytes and Blomembranes F. OOSAWA (Editor) Kodansha, Tokyo, 1982,pp. 500, I5 000 yen ( f42.00) - This volume contains the proceedings of two post-congress symposia held after the International Biophysical Congress in Kyoto in September 1978. The two symposia were on dynamic properties of polyions and on electrokinetic aspects of biomembranes. Both symposia were closely related to the scientific activities of the late Aharon Katzir-Katchalsky and the majority of the papers presented in these symposia were actually based on his pioneering work. Honouring the memory of A. Katzir-Katchalsky was the main reason for publishing the proceedings. The volume contains a wealth of interesting material on synthetic and biological polyelectrolytes on model and biological membranes. It contains articles on polyelectrolyte interactions, ion binding and conformational dynamics studied by different physico-chemical methods and treated theoretically. Another series of articles deals with membrane structure and electrical properties, receptors on biomembranes and energy transduction, self-assembly and morphogenesis. There are altogether 45 articles in this volume. Seven articles discuss ion binding of polyelectrolytes and its effect on their hydration and configuration. Two articles deal with polymeric or polyionic autolysis. Seventeen articles discuss conformations of proteins, polypeptides and polymoleic acids, their dynamics, their fluctuations and kinetics of their changes. Ten articles discuss membrane structure potential and ionic conductance. The subject of five other articles is membrane energetics, including chemoreception energy transduction and redox reaction. The last four articles in the morphogenesis section discuss electrical-field-modulated membrane structure, self-assembly and stability. It is a pity that a very long time elapsed between the writing of the manuscripts and the publication. This does not make the book obsolete, but it is not exactly-up-to-date. I. R. MILLER Problems of Normal and Genetically Abnormal Retinas R. M. CLAYTON, J. HAYWOOD, H. W. READINGand A. WRIGHT (Editors) Academic Press,London and New York, 1982, pp. 388, El 9.00 It is always difficult to write a comprehensive review of the proceedings of a symposium, and for this volume it is exceptionally so, as it seems to confuse two separate symposia. The common link is the retina, but with subjects as diverse as molecular biology and biochemical pharmacology being placed side by side with, but unrelated to, studies on inherited degenerative diseases, it is difficult to define who will buy such a book. It could have been an extremely useful exercise if editorial links were given between sections, but as it is it will not help the expert who has already read most of the material in original research papers, and it can only serve to confuse the student. Even within the book’s three subsections there appears to be an unacceptable degree of editorial inconsistency, as individual authors are given free range to produce either a full paper or an extended abstract. If this volume succeeds anywhere, it is in its final section on inherited retinal diseases. Its major strength here is that it has gathered together the thoughts of many of the World’s experts on this particular problem. The contributions from American laboratories are paramount and give some insight into the recent advances in this exciting, and recently fast moving, area of research. It is particularly gratifying to see that in some animal diseases the cellular site of expression of the genetic defect has now been determined; in this respect the contributions of Dr. M. LaVail and Dr. G. Aguirre are particularly valuable. In all this is an unhappy volume. It is to be hoped that perhaps the reduction in book buying during the recession will dissuade publishers and scientists alike from publishing collections of material such as this, in the hope that it would sell on the basis of an attractive title. JOHN MARSHALL Publications Received Advances in Microbial Ecology, K. C. Marshall (Editor), Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 240, $39.50 Advances in Myocardiology, Volume 3, E. Chazov, V. Srnirnov and N. S. Dhalla (Editors), Plenum Press, New York, 1983, pp. 656, $69.50 Advances in Myocardiology, Volume 4, E. Chazov, V. Saks and G. Rona (Editors), Plenum Press, New York, 1983, pp. 649, $69.50 Allosteric Enzymes, B. I. Kurganov, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1982, pp. 344, E29.95 Applied Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Volume 1, Fundamentals, T. P. Moyer and R. L. Boeckx (Editors), American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Washington, DC, 1982, pp. 240, price not available Bioactive Carbohydrates in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biology, J. F. Kennedy and C. A. White, Ellis Horwood, Chichester, 1983, pp. 331, E32.50 (cloth), f12.50 (paperback) The Biochemistry of Natural Pigments, G. Britton, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1983, pp. 366, f30.00 3iochemistry of Selenium, R. J. Shamberger, Plenum Press, New York, 1983, pp. 334, $42.50 Biological Control of Nitrogen in Wastewater Treatment, D. Barnes and P. J. Bliss, E. & F. N. Spon, London and New York, 1983, pp. 146, f15.00 Biophysics of Water, F. Franks and S. Mathias (Editors), John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1982, pp. 400, f29.95 Biosynthesis of Indole Alkaloids, A.-U. Rahman and A. Basha, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1983, pp. 270, f27.50 Brain: Biochemistry and Inherited Metabolic Disease, N. R. Belton, N. A. J. Carson, R. A. Harkness, R. J. Pollit and J. Stern (Editors), MTP Press, Lancaster, 1983, pp. 128, E17.95 1983 471 BOOK REVIEWS Branched-Chain Amino Acids, I . D. A. Johnston (Editor), MTP Press, Lancaster, 1983, pp. 112, f6.95 Cell Biology Monographs, Volume 10, Sialic Acids, R.Schauer (Editor), Springer-Verlag, Wien and New York, 1982, pp. 344, $65.60 Cell Interactions and Development, K. M. Yamada (Editor), John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1983, pp. 287, f33.00 Clinical and Cellular Immunology, Molecular and Therapeutic Reviews, A. A. Luderer and H. H. Weetall (Editors), Humana Press, Clifton, NJ, 1982, pp. 391, f36.75 Current Perspectives in the Use of Lipid Emulsion, I . D. A. Johnston (Editor), MTP Press, Lancaster, 1983, pp. 97, €6.95 Essays in Biochemistry, Volume 18, P. N. Campbell and R. D. Marshall (Editors), The Biochemical Society, London, 1982, pp. 126, f8.00 Essential Oils Analysis, V. FormaEek and K.-H. Kubeczka, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1982, pp. 373, f53.50 Handbook of Neurochemistry, Volume 2, A. Lajtha (Editor), Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 475, $59.50 The Herpes Viruses, B. Roizman (Editor), Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 445, $39.50 Immunassays for Clinical Chemistry, Second Edition, W. M. Hunter and J. E. T. Corrie (Editors), Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, 1983, pp. 701, f30.00 Immunobiology of Proteins and Peptides, Part II, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Volume 150, M. 2. Atassi (Editor), Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 230, $35.00 Legal Protection for Microbiological and Genetic Engineering Inventions, R. Saliwanchik, Addison Wesley, Reading, MA, 1982, pp. 256, f26.20 Macromolecular Sequences in Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, M. Goodman (Editor), Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 418, $45.00 Mammalian Neuroendocrinology, G. W. Bennett and S. A. Whitehead, Croom Helm, Beckenham, 1983, pp. 279, f17.95 (hardback), f8.95 (paperback) Membrane Reconstitution, G. Poste and G. L. Nicolson (Editors), Elsevier, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1982, pp. 273, $16.50 Vol. 11 The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, Fifth Edition, J. Stanbury, J. B. Wyngaarden, D. S. Fredrickson, J. L. Goldstein and M. S. Brown (Editors), McGraw-Hill, New York, 1983, pp. 2032, $95.00 New Vistas in Glycolipid Research, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, Volume 152, A. Makita, S. Handa, T. Taketomi and Y. Nagai (Editors), Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 490, $62.50 Outline Studies in Biology, Glycoproteins, R. C. Hughes, Chapman and Hall, London, 1983, pp. 95, f2.95 Organ and Species Specificity in Chemical Carcinogenesis, R. Langenbach, S. Nesnow and J. M. Price (Editors), Plenum Press, New York, 1983, pp. 693, $79.50 Osteoporosis, J. Menczel, G. C. Robin, M. Makin and R. Steinberg (Editors), John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1982, pp. 440, E24.95 Physiology and Biochemistry of Plant-Pathogen Interactions, I . J . Misaghi, Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 287, $32.50 Principles of Biochemistry, Seventh Edition, General Aspects, E. L. Smith, R. L. Hill, I. R. Lehman, R. J. Lefkowitz, P. Handler and A. White, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1983, pp. 886, f28.95 Principles of Biochemistry, Seventh Edition, Mammalian Biochemistry, E. L. Smith, R. L. Hill, 1. R. Lehman, R. J. Lefkowitz, P. Handler and A. White, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1983, pp. 760, f33.95 Prostaglandins and the Kidney, M. J. Dunn, C. Patron0 and G. A. Cinotti (Editors), Plenum Press, New York, 1983, pp. 414, $49.50 Supplements to the Second Edition, of Rodd’s Chemistry of Carbon Compounds, Volume III, Aromatic Compounds, M. F. Ansell (Editor), Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1983, pp. 438, $1 10.75 Topics in Nucleic Acid Structure, Part 2, S. Neidle (Editor), Macmillan Press, London, 1982, pp. 309, E47.00 Tunneling Spectroscopy, P. K. Hansma (Editor), Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 493, $65.00 Uses of Synchrotron Radiation in Biology, H. B. Stuhrmann (Editor), Academic Press, London, 1982, pp. 348, f36.40 Water, A Comprehensive Treatise, Volume 7, F. Franks (Editor), Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 484, $49.50