When Cells Die: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Apoptosis and Programmed Cell Death [Hardcover]

Richard A. Lockshin (Editor), Zahra Zakeri (Editor), Jonathan L. Tilly (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0471165697 | ISBN-13: 978-0471165699

When Cells Die

A Comprehensive Evaluation of Apoptosis and Programmed Cell Death

Edited by Richard A. Lockshin, Zahra Zakeri, and Jonathan L. Tilly

Cell death is fast becoming one of the most dynamic areas of biological research -involving as it does the study of apoptosis and programmed cell death and the role these phenomena play in development and homeostasis on the one hand, and aging and disease on the other. The profound implications for medicine and agriculture from the manipulation of these processes have spawned a deluge of research papers, articles, approaches, and methods -making it difficult for scientists to get an overview of the field.

When Cells Die establishes a coherent framework for the study of cell death -cutting across viewpoints and disciplines and consolidating disparate research efforts. Leading international researchers describe a wide range of topics, including evaluation methods for programmed cell death and apoptosis in numerous tissues and circumstances; genetic mechanism, signal transduction, and observed manifestations of physiological cell death; model systems ranging from nematodes to humans; relevant work in cancer research, AIDS, immune disorders, fertility, eye disease, and Alzheimer's disease; and more.

Written to provide an in-depth overview of cell death, the book is divided into five major parts:
* The phenomenon of cell death
* Themes and approaches to cell death
* Cell death where mitosis is high and evanescence is desirable
* Cell death in long-lived cells
* The clinical relevance of apoptosis.

When Cells Die offers a comprehensive introduction to an intriguing discipline, insight into areas in need of exploration, and information on new techniques and therapeutic applications -all supported with diagrams and flowcharts and a fully cross-referenced and indexed text. It is important reading for anyone working in cell and developmental biology, neuroscience, immunology, cancer research, and virology. It is also useful for advanced undergraduate and graduate-level students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers just entering the field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book provides a good background and summary of the scientific challenges in this very complex area of science and would be most appropriate for researchers new to this field." --The Quarterly Review of Biology, June 1999

From the Publisher

This book is the first to present an integrated and cross disciplinary introduction of cell death research. It emphasizes the persuasiveness of the phenomena and its importance in development, homeostasis, aging and disease.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Liss (March 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471165697
• ISBN-13: 978-0471165699
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,728,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Lockshin taught at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and at St. John's University, retiring from a professorship in 2010. He was educated at Harvard, where, although he toyed with majoring in poetry, his doctoral thesis, "Programmed Cell Death in an Insect," became one of the founding papers in a biomedical field that now boasts 250,000 publications. He has authored or co-authored approximately 200 papers and 8 books, including the first on cell death in 1981 and several well-received reviews after that. As a teacher, he realized that arts students frequently feared science, failing to appreciate that its logic and methodology was very similar to the logic of everyday life. He wrote "The Joy of Science" to address and teach that issue. For his students, he pointed out that the logic was straightforward and easy to grasp, and that multiple fields of inquiry, including sciences, history, and geography, interacted and nourished each other. He chose the topic of evolution as an illustration because it was the most important idea of the 19th C, because it clearly illustrated the cultural, historical, and scientific trends that coalesced into the theory, and because the theory (as well as the term 'theory' was frequently misunderstood. He is described in Wikipedia(r).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Review of When Cells Die, January 10, 2001

By 

Benjamin F. Trump, M.D. (Baltimore, Md USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Cells Die: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Apoptosis and Programmed Cell Death (Hardcover)

This is the best available review of the subject of cell death. It is both comprehensive and thorough including both vertebrate and invertebrate animals as well as plants It covers cell death as part of development, the cell cycle, the immune system and many diseases including cancer, CNS and myocardial ischemia and Alzheimer's disease. It also includes thoughtful analyses of evolution and death in single-celled organisms. The authors of individual chapters are experts in their fields and the editors have done a noteworthy task in organizing the book into a coherent whole. It is indispensable for students, fellows and senior investigators interested in the subject.