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Goldstein, Harper, and Edwards are well known hobbyist and if there are any real experts in the field, it's these guys.
This is an all around great reference for the North American native fish hobbyist.
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This book is becoming the standard for fellows in endocrinology.
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The last five chapters of the book are the most interesting ,for it is in these chapters that the authors discuss the genetic manipulation of animals, transgenic strategies, and biotechnology. We are all priveleged to be witnessing the development of new breeds of plants and animals, and hopefully this trend will continue in the 21st century. The impact of genetic engineering for medicine and agriculture will be immense, but even more mundance activities such as gardening and horticulture will be even more interesting with the development of new kinds of plants via transgenic strategies. In addition, genetic engineering is finding applications to areas outside of biology. It was recently reported that genetically engineered viruses are being used to assist in the development of quantum dots in microelectronics.
Some of the features of the book I found particularly helpful or interesting were: 1. The numerous diagrams employed in the book that tie concepts together or give flow charts for laboratory procedures. 2. The discussion on the physics of gel electrophoresis. Apparently the dynamics of stained molecules undergoing electrophoresis is poorly understood. 3. The historical and anecdotal information that the authors include at various places in the book. 4. The discussion on optimizing translation. The degeneracy of the genetic code might lead one to believe that the choice of codons by genes is essentially a random process. The authors argue this is not the case and give excellent references for further reading on this. Apparently protein translation is a tight scheme, and again, this is surprising given the degeneracy of the genetic code. 5. The box on express sequence tags. The most interesting part of this discussion was on the legal issues involving the patenting of ESTs. The patent applications were rejected because ESTs were viewed as incomplete sequences. This rejection might serve as a precedent to future attempts to patent genes or complete genomes. Will some of these patents be rejected on the grounds that genes do not completely determine the protein(s) or phenotype(s)? Whatever the outcome, the legal profession in the 21st century will have to deal with information-theoretic criteria when addressing patent issues in genetic engineering. 6. The listing of the Internet tools available for gene sequencing and protein structure. 7. The discussion on the quantitative effect of sequence accuracy on gene accuracy, assuming the random occurence of sequencing errors. The diagram shown of average sequence-error rate versus the fraction of error-free genes shows clearly the importance of robust and precise sequence-similarity search algorithms. Interestingly, the authors argue that, in spite of the success of statistical methods in these algorithms, the use of these methods will decrease as new sequences are accumulated and sequence conservation is used as the criterion for gene identification. They do however state that these methods will still remain useful for localizing frame shifts and for the choice of the initiation codon. 8. The box on the modes of replication of circular DNA molecules. The biophysicist reader will appreciate the discussion on the two types of replication: by theta-like structures or the rolling-circle type of mechanism. 9. The discussion on applications of transgenic mice, position effects, and transgene silencing. The authors discussion of the efficacy of transgenic strategies in mice progeny is fascinating in that some mice progeny has expression that was very different from that of the parents, or even absent. The authors give a brief discussion of boundary elements and matrix attachment regions with references for further reading. 10. The short discussion on transgenic fish. 11. The box on control of transgene expression in plants. 12. The discussion on the use of immunosuppressant drugs as chemical inducers of dimerization. The side effects of these drugs has prompted research into finding transgene induction strategies that do not have these side-effects. 13. The discussion on post-translational inducible protein activity. 13. The discussion on visible marker genes, especially the discussion on green flourescent protein. 15. The discussion on the use of antisense RNA to regulate gene expression in prokaryotes. 16. The discussion on the use of cosuppression in increasing the amount of pigment synthesized by petunia flowers. The application of transgenic strategies to horticulture is indeed exciting and one that will hopefully result in new varieties of houseplants and garden fruits and vegetables. 17. The discussion on the role of functional genomics. 18. Transgenic animals and plants as bioreactors: Tracy and her progeny in producing AAT. 19. Xenotransplantation. This is no doubt one of the most controversial techniques used in genetic engineering today.
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Once again, Richard Walton introduces each species and takes the listener through the various groupings. The birds are grouped based on habitat and the similarities of their calls. Walton points out key characteristics of each bird call to enhance the listener's learning experince. The handles he suggests for identifying each call are enormously helpful and enhance the listern's experience.
The birds featured on these discs are some of the rarer, hard to find species that can often only be identified by song. Rails, Empidonax flycatchers, cuckoos, kinglets, and a variety of waterbirds are inlcuded on the first disc. The second features around two-dozen warbler species (including the infamous waterthrushes) plus several of the less familar sparrows such as the Bachman's and Grasshopper. The third CD is comprised mostly of shorebirds, and finishes with habiat groups from such birding hotspots as Cape May. These groupings allow the listener to test his or her bird call identification skills. Sprinkled throughout the guide are species calls that tie up loose ends left by the previous discs; common loon, brown creeper, osprey, saw-whet owl, fish crow and blue-headed vireo are just a sample of the variety of species you'll find on this three disc set.
Along with the CDs, a complementry booklet with surprisingly good black-and-white illistrations is included. This helps the listener make visual assocations with the species they are hearing. Room is provided on each page for the listener to take notes on the various bird vocalizations. Page numbers for locating the birds on the plates in the PETERSON FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS: EASTERN/CENTRAL REGION are also provided in the booklet.
MORE BIRDING BY EAR is great learning tool for experienced and novice birders alike. The rails and shorebird sections are very helpful. The second disc is packed with warblers. The authors have done a superb job at covering close to all the birds found in Eastern North America. Between this disc set and the previous one, listeners should be able to learn enough to identifiy most of the birds they can hear while birding in the East. Another great buy.
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The book is highly readable and understandable by non technical people. This book is proof that "once upon a time" we did things "Right the First Time" in this country. An outstanding historical and technical account of the "ultimate" invention.
The birds in this guide are grouped together based on the similarities of their calls, as well as habitat preferences. By doing this, the authors of this guide have allowed the learner to compare similar sounding species likely to be confuse in the field.
Richard Walton's clear voice introduces each species and walks the listener through the various groupings. Throughout, he points out key characteristics of each bird call to enhance the listener's learning experince. The birds featured in each group on this three disc set include many familar eastern North American species. The eastern woodpeckers, several confusing sparrow species, buetos, tanagers and several other neotropical migrants are featured on the first disc. The second features several owl species and a variety of flycatchers among others. The third CD is comprised mostly of neotropical songbirds and a few odds and ends species: common eastern warblers, thrushes, plus American bittern. The third disc also includes a several groupings of birds that allows the listener's to test their bird vocalization identification skills.
Along with the CDs, a complementry booklet with surprisingly good black-and-white illistrations is included. This helps the birder make visual assocations with the species they are hearing. Room is provided on each page for the listener to take notes on the various bird vocalizations. Page numbers for locating the birds on the plates in the PETERSON FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS: EASTERN/CENTRAL REGION are also provided in the booklet.
Overall, this three-CD set serves as a nice introduction/learning tool to the voices of Eastern North America's birds. It allows the learner to broaden his or her bird identifiaction skills. It is especially useful for beginners, but experienced enthusiats may also find the guide highly useful in comparing bird calls. A great buy.