Wolpert's Principles of Development

About this book

All the key principles of developmental biology that students need to know, underpinned by experimental evidence and an exploration of the molecular basis of the subject.

Wolpert's Principles of Development opens up the fascinating field of developmental biology to any bioscience student. A focus on the underlying processes shared by diverse organisms lays the foundation for a richer understanding of the subject. Cutting edge science is explained clearly, supported by custom-drawn figures and learning features.

Key features:
- An emphasis throughout on the underlying principles – which underpin the commonalities between different organisms and their development – enables students to get a clear sense of the 'big picture' of the subject.
- The big picture perspective is reinforced by clear learning objectives and summaries to help students focus on the core concepts, and regular interactive quizzes to allow students to test their understanding.
- Custom-drawn artwork and integrated animations and videos help to make the visualisation of processes and mechanisms in this challenging subject as straightforward as possible.
- Medical boxes explore key developmental diseases and explain how developmental biology furthers our understanding human health and disease. Further experimental detail, including Experimental boxes, from both classic and current research, demonstrates 'how we know what we know'.

New to this edition
- Chapter 7, a new chapter on Embryonic stem cells, embryo models, and regenerative medicine, to ensure the book's coverage stays up to date with this very active area of developmental biology research.
- Chapters 3 and 4 on vertebrate development have been restructured and updated, especially in relation to mouse development, to ensure major concepts and principles are explained with recent supporting experimental evidence.
- Chapter 10 on the nervous system has been completely revised and updated, with more emphasis on neural tube patterning.
- Chapter 14, which covers nematodes and sea urchins, now appears online as part of the ebook.
- There are more examples of the use of CRISPR to address problems like sickle cell disease (chapter 6), and evolution of limbs from fins (chapter 13).
- Examples of single-cell RNA sequencing can be found throughout the book (chapters 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, and 12).

Contents

1. History and basic concepts
2. Development of the Drosophila body plan
3. Vertebrate development I: Establishing the body plan
4. Vertebrate development II: completing the body plan
5. Morphogenesis: change in form in the early embryo
6. Cell differentiation and stem cells
7. Embryonic stem cells, embryo models, and regenerative medicine
8. Germ cells, fertilization, and sex determination
9. Organogenesis
10. Development of the nervous system
11. Growth, post-embryonic development, and regeneration
12. Plant development
13. Evolution and development

Customer Reviews

Biography

Cheryll Tickle, Emeritus Professor, University of Bath. Her research focused on how cells become organized in embryos using the developing chick limb as her main experimental model. She has lectured on developmental biology to biology undergraduates, to medical and dental students, and to scientists from a wide range of different backgrounds, including industry and veterinarians on continuing professional development courses

Alfonso Martinez Arias, ICREA Research Professor at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. His research makes use of Pluripotent Stem Cells to develop in vitro models of early mammalian development with a focus on the process of gastrulation. Before moving to the UPF he spent 35 years at the University of Cambridge (UK) where he did research and taught Developmental Biology in graduate and undergraduate courses.

Marysia Placzek, Professor at the University of Sheffield. Marysia is a neurobiologist who studies the development of the vertebrate neural tube, with a particular focus on the hypothalamus. For the last 30 years, she has combined research with undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, co-ordinating modules in basic and translational developmental biology.

Lewis Wolpert (1929-2021) was Emeritus Professor of Biology as Applied to Medicine at University College London. He was an eminent developmental biologist whose ideas have had a profound and lasting impact on the way we think about development. He believed that, even though the development of different organisms seems to be overwhelmingly complex, there are general principles. His philosophy forms the basis of Principles of Development which was first published in 1998. Lewis also authored several books aimed at the general public including The Triumph of the Embryo and an influential book on depression, Malignant Sadness, based partly on his own experiences.