Decoding the epigenetic effects of chromatin

A report on the Alan Wolffe EMBO Workshop on 'Chromatin and Epigenetics', Heidelberg, Germany, 19-22 June 2003.     

Chromatin and epigenetics: dynamic organization meets regulated function

An EMBO workshop held June 19-22, 2003, at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, was dedicated to the memory of Alan Wolffe. It provided a venue to highlight new concepts in the establishment and maintenance of functional chromatin organization.     

Studying the microbiome and its complexities: an interview with Alan Walker

Alan Walker is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, UK, studying the intestinal microbiota and its interactions with the host’s diet. In this interview, Alan discusses his research interests, earlier studies of the ways contaminants can affect microbiome analyses, the excitement of experiments going well, and why science doesn’t need to be combative.     

SHORT REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
A Synoptic Guide to the Genus Primula. G.K. Fenderson, 21 1 pp., text figures. Allen Press, Kansas
Lilies. Victoria Matthews. 124pp., numerous colour plates and a few text figures. Collingridge
Avant-gardening - a guide to one-upmanship in the garden. Alan Titchmarsh. 127 pp., line drawings and monochrome photographs     

Turing's next steps: the mechanochemical basis of morphogenesis

Nearly 60 years ago, Alan Turing showed theoretically how two chemical species, termed morphogens, diffusing and reacting with each other can generate spatial patterns. Diffusion plays a crucial part in transporting chemical signals through space to establish the length scale of the pattern. When coupled to chemical reactions, mechanical processes - forces and flows generated by motor proteins - can also define length scales and provide a mechanochemical basis for morphogenesis. forces and flows generated by motor proteins - can also define length scales and provide a mechanochemical basis for morphogenesis.     

Telling a Story about the Past: Fact and Fiction in Two Recent Films on the History of Anthropology

Ishi, The. Last Yahi. 1992. 57 minutes, color. Produced and directed by Jed Riffe and Pamela Roberts. Distributed by the Center for Media and Independent Learning, University of California Extension, 2000 Center Street, Fourth Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704; 510/642-0460. Fax 510/643-9271. Available in video and 16mm.
Margaret Mead: An Observer Observed. 1995.85 minutes, color. Produced by Virginia Yans-McLaughlin. Directed by Alan Berliner. Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY l0016; 212/808-4980.     

Species of Echinococcus: pattern and process

Although classification and nomenclature within the cestode genus Echinococcus has, historically, been controversial, the past 20-30 years have provided a period of relative stability. Recent calls for taxonomic revision in the genus have therefore created something of a stir. In this article, Alan Lymbery and Andrew Thompson describe the reasons for the new controversy, and suggest that the problem can only be resolved by agreement on an appropriate species concept and on operational procedures for implementing that concept.     

Book Reviews

Senile Dementia: Outlook for the Future (Modern Aging Research, Vol. 5) edited by J. Wertheimer and M. Marois. Alan R. Liss
Nucleic Acid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology by W. I. P. Mainwaring, J. H. Parish, J. D. Pickering, and N. H. Mann.
Modulation of Sensorimotor Activity During Alterations in Behavioural States edited by R. Bandler. Alan R. Liss
Monoamine Innervation of Cerebral Cortex (Neurology and Neurobiolgy, Vol. 10) edited by L. Descarries, T. R. Reader, and H. H. Jasper, Alan R. Liss
Neurocommunications: An Introduction by I. C. Whitfield
Ionic Channels of Excitable Membranes by B. Hille
Metabolic Probes of Central Nervous System Activity in Experimental Animals and Man (Magnes Lecture Series, Vol. 1) by Louis Sokoloff
Neurobiology (The Clinical Neurosciences, Vol. V) edited by R. N. Rosenberg, R. G. Grossman, S. S. Schochet Jr., E. R. Heinz, W. D. Willis Jr.     

Book Reviews

Book reviews in this article:
Pineal Research Reviews, Volume 4 edited by R. J. Reiter. Alan R. Liss.
Two Hemispheres—One Brain. Functions of the Corpus Callosum (Neurology and Neurobiology, Volume 17) edited by F. Lepore, M. Ptito, and H. H. Jasper. Alan R. Liss.
Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Anesthetics edited by S. H. Roth and K. W. Miller.
Memory, Imprinting and the Brain: An Inquiry into Mechanisms (Oxford Psychology Series, Volume 10) by G. Horn.     

Alan Longman

Biography

Alan Longman     

Serotonergic pathology is not widespread in Alzheimer patients without prominent aggressive symptoms

Behavioural symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, such as aggression, may determine the care patients required. Most postmortem neurochemical studies have been of institutionalized patients and conclusions drawn from these may not be valid for all patients. We have shown that serotonin 2 receptors are not lost from 12 of the 13 areas of cerebral cortex examined in the patients assessed to be free of aggressive symptoms. This has been interpreted as representing the relative preservation of cortical interneurones. In contrast choline acetyltransferase activity was reduced in all areas whereas serotonin content was reduced in only 2 of the 4 areas examined.Abbreviations AD Alzheimer's disease - ChAT choline acetyltransferase activity - GABA gamma-amino butyric acid - 5-HT serotonin - SLIR somatostatin-like immuno-reactivity Special issue dedicated to Dr. Alan N. Davison.     

Holy Writ as Oral Lit: The Bible as Folklore

Holy Writ as Oral Lit: The Bible as Folklore. Alan Dundes. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1999. 131 pp.     

Mesoamerican Healers

Mesoamerican Healers. Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001. 403 pp.     

Spirits in Culture, History, and Mind

Spirits in Culture, History, and Mind. Jeannette Marie Mageo and Alan Howard. eds. New York: Routledge, 1996. 282 pp.     

Baseball on the Border: A Tale of Two Laredos

Baseball on the Border:. Tale of Two Laredos. Alan M. Klein. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997.291 pp.     

Intermediate Elites in Pre-Columbian States and Empires

Intermediate Elites in Pre-Columbian States and Empires . Christina M. Elson and R. Alan Covey, eds. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2006. 312 pp.     

The Anthropology of Love and Anger: The Aesthetics of Conviviality in Native Amazonia

The Anthropology of Love and Anger: The Aesthetics of Conviviality in Native Amazonia. Joanna Overing and Alan Passes. eds. London: Routledge, 2000. 305 pp.     

Phonologies of Asia and Africa, vols. 1 and 2.

Phonologies of Asia and Africa, vols. and 2. Alan S. Kaye. ed. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997. 1,041 pp.     

Between Artifacts and Texts: Historical Archaeology in Global Perspective

Between Artifacts and Texts: Historical Archaeology in Global Perspective. Anders Andrén. Translated by Alan Crozier. New York: Plenum, 1998. 216 pp.     

The Shaping of American Ethnography: The Wilkes Exploring Expedition, 1832–1842

The Shaping of American Ethnography: The Wilkes Exploring Expedition, 1832–1842. Barry Alan Joyce. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001,196 pp.