Principles of Development

By Lewis Wolpert, Cheryll Tickle, Thomas M. Jessell, et al.

Book Overview

Developmental biology is at the core of all biology. It deals with the processes by which the genes in the fertilized egg control cell behavior in the embryo and so determine its pattern, its form, and much of its behavior. The progress in developmental biology in recent years, with the applications of advances in cell and molecular biology, has been remarkable, and an enormous amount of information is now available.
Designed for undergraduates, Principles of Development emphasizes basic principles and key concepts in developmental biology. Central to the authors' approach is the idea that development can best be understood by analyzing how genes control cell behavior. They have assumed that students have some basic familiarity with cell biology and genetics, but all key concepts, like the control of gene activity, are explained in the text. The authors have resisted the temptation to cover every aspect of development and have instead focused on those systems that best illuminate common principles, demonstrating throughout the book that there are universal principles governing development. The focus of the text is on vertebrates and Drosophila, but not to the exclusion of other systems, such as the nematode and the sea urchin, where they best illustrate a concept. An important feature of the book is the inclusion of the development of plants, a topic that has some unique and significant attributes but one that is usually neglected in other texts. Principles are presented clearly and numerous summaries are provided, both in words and in pictures. The illustrations in the book have been carefully designed and chosen to illustrate both experiments and mechanisms.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019850263X
• ISBN13: 9780198502630
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 504 Pages
• Weight: 3.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 1.2" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

nicer than expected

The book was said to be in good condition - it was actually fabulous. The cover in great condition and binding good - and no highlighting or writings in the margins - magnificent!

Excellent resource

As far as basic developmental biology books go, this one's one of the better that I've seen. Highly recommended to anyone in the fields of biology or biochemistry with an interest in how life first begins to develop.

review from lecturer

i used this book for some lectures i taught second year undergrads in a biology dept at a big uni ... it is a tad expensive (like all text books) and i would probably try to pick it up used to be honest.. (the development text books don't change that much year to year ..) and in the usa the undergrads are not expected to be using primary research papers by the second year... all in all a good book of its type.

An Excellent Textbook

Wolpert's developmental biology textbook is evidently an excellent text in its field. The authors are all well recognized in thier research areas. The organization of the text is also very well written. The summary of the concept presented at the end of each chapter is helpful. The figures presented througout the text are clear and the language used to explain them is simple but very understandable. Compared with the well-known Gilbert's text, this text may be less in dept but you can get the concept from this book for only half of the time reading Gilbert's. It is a nice book to have both for the new beginner in the field and for just a quick reference.

Greatest revolution of text in development

@I read this book for 2 months. Chapters of regeneration is more impressive than any other chapters.Moreover, I impressed that this bppk is best for beginners and students. Composition is also excellent.