The Cambridge encyclopedia of human growth and development

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Growth and Development. Edited by Stanley J. Ulijaszek, Francis E. Johnson, and Michael A. Preece. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 1998. 497 pp. ISBN 0-521-56046-2. $95.00 (cloth).     

The Shanidar cave Proto-Neolithic human population: Aspects of demography and paleopathology

This paper presents bio-anthropological data concerning the Shanidar cave, Proto-Neolithic, Homo sapiens population at the dawn of sedentary life in SW Asia. It was proposed that changes in human organizational systems and perceived environmental contexts, as reflected by ecofacts and tool assemblages, indicating the intensification of harvesting of resources during this Proto-Neolithic cultural component, could have altered existing interrelationships between pathogens, vectors, and human hosts. The individuals comprising the skeletal collection represent both sex subcategories and most age subgroups. Further, no evidence of bio-distance has been documented between them judging from morphometrics and mensurational analyses. Paleopathological investigations of the skeletal record revealed the presence of infectious diseases, lesions of the joints, lesions of the jaws and teeth, benign tumors, hemopoietic and metabolic disorders, as well as severe traumatic conditions. Bone isotopic testing for investigations of dietary patterns indicated a diet heavily based on C3 plants, while the animal protein component was calculated to an intake of less than 10%. The paleopathological profile in conjunction with the archeometric studies, and the rest of the archaeological record present significant reflections of the lives of these Proto-Neolithic people in SW Asia, during this transitional time period.     

The Riken mouse genome encyclopedia project

The Riken mouse genome encyclopedia a comprehensive full-length cDNA collection and sequence database. High-level functional annotation is based on sequence homology search, expression profiling, mapping and protein-protein interactions. More than 1000000 clones prepared from 163 tissues were end-sequenced and classified into 128000 clusters, and 60000 representative clones were fully sequenced representing 24000 clear protein-encoding genes. The application of the mouse genome database for positional cloning and gene network regulation analysis is reported.     

Dental paleopathology in a Serbian Medieval population.

Analysis of the pattern of dental disease in two Late Medieval populations from cemeteries excavated at archaeological sites in western Serbia was based on the study of tooth wear, ante-mortem tooth loss, caries, dental enamel hypoplasia, alveolar resorption, abscesses and calculus. The findings reported here show a high prevalence of attrition, alveolar resorption and caries, which suggest an abrasive diet and poor oral hygiene.     

The promise of functional genomics: completing the encyclopedia of a cell

Genome sequencing provides complete parts lists of organisms. This presents the obvious challenge of determining how each gene contributes to the life of the organism. This task seems increasingly feasible; however, progress to date suggests that increased interaction between systematic efforts and individual investigators will be critical to completing the encyclopedia of the yeast cell.     

Computed tomography in paleopathology: Technique and case study

With the development of computed tomography, soft tissues and foreign body collections are distinguished with remarkable resolution. This distinction is particularly useful when examining desiccated human remains, both in construction of research strategies and when invasive procedures (i.e., traditional autopsies, needle biopsies, etc.) are not possible. Though the organs differ markedly from living tissue, it is possible to distinguish major organs with some certainty. One case study exhibited three separate pathological conditions which were not demonstrated with traditional radiological procedures.     

The “Gout of the Medici”: Making the modern diagnosis using paleopathology

Documentary sources show that painful joint disease afflicted several members of the Medici family, which dominated Renaissance Florence in Italy. The term frequently reported in contemporary archives to indicate these morbid episodes is “gout.” Paleopathology allows us to verify the nosological information obtained from the written documents and to clarify the nature of the rheumatological condition that afflicted the Medici.     

KEGG: kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes

KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) is a knowledge base for systematic analysis of gene functions, linking genomic information with higher order functional information. The genomic information is stored in the GENES database, which is a collection of gene catalogs for all the completely sequenced genomes and some partial genomes with up-to-date annotation of gene functions. The higher order functional information is stored in the PATHWAY database, which contains graphical representations of cellular processes, such as metabolism, membrane transport, signal transduction and cell cycle. The PATHWAY database is supplemented by a set of ortholog group tables for the information about conserved subpathways (pathway motifs), which are often encoded by positionally coupled genes on the chromosome and which are especially useful in predicting gene functions. A third database in KEGG is LIGAND for the information about chemical compounds, enzyme molecules and enzymatic reactions. KEGG provides Java graphics tools for browsing genome maps, comparing two genome maps and manipulating expression maps, as well as computational tools for sequence comparison, graph comparison and path computation. The KEGG databases are daily updated and made freely available (http://www. genome.ad.jp/kegg/).