If you had a complete copy of a dinosaur’s DNA and the genetic code, you still would not be able to make a dinosaur—or even determine what one looked like. Why? How do animals get their shape and how does shape evolve? In this important book, Nobel laureate Gerald M. Edelman challenges the notion that an understanding of the genetic code and of cell differentiation is sufficient to answer these questions. Rather, he argues, a trio of related issues must also be investigated—the development of form, the evolution of form, and the morphological and functional bases of behavior. Topobiology presents an introduction to molecular embryology and describes a comprehensive hypothesis to account for the evolution and development of animal form.
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About the Author
Gerald M. Edelman is director of the Neurosciences Institute and chairman of the Department of Neurobiology at the Scripps Research Institute. He received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1972. He is also the author of Bright Air, Brilliant Fire; Tobiology; and The Remembered Present.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thick going, but worth the effort,
By A Customer
This review is from: Topobiology: An Introduction To Molecular Embryology (Paperback)
Edelman's Topobiology provides an excellent introduction to the field of molecular embryology. In the book you will be introduced to CAMs (cell adhesion molecules), SAMs (substrate adhesion molecules), and CJMs (cell junction molecules) that are produced and used by the body to keep itself organized and literally stuck together as it develops and grows. The processes of development and growth are extremely complex, and involve interactions among many different entities in the body.As the header suggests, this book is not an easy read; it presents abstract concepts, and the author uses extremely complex sentence constructions to tell his story. This is not a book for the faint of heart, it is written with the professional biologist in mind. If you have the strength and the courage, I suggest that you give this book a try.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interactions between cell surfaces allow embryo to develop,
By Howard Schneider (Thornhill, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Topobiology: An Introduction To Molecular Embryology (Paperback)
Analytic and innovative, yet fairly easy to read, book on the place-dependent interactions of cell surfaces with other cell surfaces that regulate the processes of embryological development in metazoans (ie, animals).
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy going, big payoff,
This review is from: Topobiology: An Introduction To Molecular Embryology (Paperback)
Edelman's Topobiology provides an excellent introduction to the field of molecular embryology. In the book you will be introduced to CAMs (cell adhesion molecules), SAMs (substrate adhesion molecules), and CJMs (cell junction molecules) that are produced and used by the body to keep itself organized and literally stuck together as it develops and grows. The processes of development and growth are extremely complex, and involve interactions among many different entities in the body. As the header suggests, this book is not an easy read; it presents abstract concepts, and the author uses extremely complex sentence constructions to tell his story. This is not a book for the faint of heart, it is written with the professional biologist in mind.If you have the strength and the courage, I suggest that you give this book a try P.S. I am the "reader" from Manchester College in the previous review -- I didn't get my name on that one though.
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WHEN I was a high school student, I came across Erwin Schrodinger's What Is Life? Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
historegulatory genes, morphoregulator hypothesis, phoregulatory molecules, topobiological principles, morphoregulatory genes, cortical tractor model, cell surface modulation, developmental genetic question, mechanochemical events, barb ridges, cell collectives, modulatory networks, molecular heterochrony, inducing collectives, morphologic evolution, epigenetic sequences, modulation network, global modulation, neural plate cells, morphogenetic determinants, epithelial folding, selector genes, embryonic sites, phenotypic function, inductive signaling Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Cell Biol, Cambridge University Press, Ciba Foundation Symposium, Harvard University Press, San Francisco, Animate Form, Basic Books, Dahlem Konferenzen, Life Sciences Research Report, Princeton University Press New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
WHEN I was a high school student, I came across Erwin Schrodinger's What Is Life? Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
historegulatory genes, morphoregulator hypothesis, phoregulatory molecules, topobiological principles, morphoregulatory genes, cortical tractor model, cell surface modulation, developmental genetic question, mechanochemical events, barb ridges, cell collectives, modulatory networks, molecular heterochrony, inducing collectives, morphologic evolution, epigenetic sequences, modulation network, global modulation, neural plate cells, morphogenetic determinants, epithelial folding, selector genes, embryonic sites, phenotypic function, inductive signaling Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Cell Biol, Cambridge University Press, Ciba Foundation Symposium, Harvard University Press, San Francisco, Animate Form, Basic Books, Dahlem Konferenzen, Life Sciences Research Report, Princeton University Press New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3
books:
25
books
cite this book:
See all 25 books citing this book
- Ontogeny and Phylogeny by Stephen Jay Gould on page 48
- Morphoregulatory Molecules (Neuroscience Institute Monograph Series) by Gerald M. Edelman on page 86
- Life Sciences by Thomas on page 56
- Biocomputing: Informatics and Genome Projects by Douglas W. Smith on page 168, and page 170
- Bright Air, Brilliant Fire: On The Matter Of The Mind by Gerald Edelman in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Onflow: Dynamics of Consciousness and Experience (Bradford Books) by Ralph Jason Pred in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Psychology and Experience by Benjamin Bradley in Back Matter
- The Mystery of Consciousness by John R. Searle on page 39
See all 25 books citing this book
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