Control and Regulation of Stem Cells
(CSH Symposia on Quantitative Biology, Vol. LXXIII)

Based on presentations by world-renowned investigators at the 73rd annual Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology, this volume reviews the latest advances in research on the control and regulation of stem cells. The topics covered include nuclear reprogramming, regulation of stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, the stem cell niche, and signaling and gene regulation in stem cells. Studies of embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells are covered, along with research shedding light on the roles of these cells in regeneration and cancer.

The Skeletal System

The thirteen chapters presented in this book summarize our current understanding of the development, biology, and evolution of the vertebrate skeleton. Written by experts in the field, chapters cover everything from the differentiation of chondrocytes, limb and craniofacial patterning, and the origins and evolution of bone to the genetics of human skeletal disease. It is a useful reference for scientists and clinicians wishing to learn how the skeleton is built and works.

Max Perutz and the Secret of Life

“[A]n engaging read. Ferry freely steps back in time with almost every chapter to develop a particular theme. The result is an insightful look at Perutz’s life and work and the role he played in what was arguably the most productive collaboration of scientists in twentieth-century molecular biology.”

Experimental Heart: A Novel

“A molecular biologist herself and the founder of the online magazine LabLit.com, Rohn has taken a world that is mysterious and often ignored and placed it front and center in a way that appeals to scientist and non-scientist alike. If the best writing comes from those who write what they know, Rohn has succeeded brilliantly. The science serves the story, not the other way around, and that, perhaps, is why Rohn’s work is such an engaging read. In placing the universal struggle to untangle one’s personal and professional lives in the setting of international intrigue involving pharmaceutical development, corporate greed, and biomedical ethics, Experimental Heart is that most unusual debut: a truly fresh voice. ”

The Brain
(CSH Symposium, Vol. LV, 1990)

The brain will be to the next century what the gene has been to the 20th century. At the start of this century, we knew that genes were on chromosomes, but what they were chemically or how they functioned was a total mystery. Now, of course, much, much more is known about the brain. This has been far from a sleepy century for brain research, and an extraordinary accumulation of anatomical data is now being complemented by experiments localizing definite tasks to specific collections of nerve cells. But compared to the gene, the brain, at least in today’s ignorance, seems an infinitely more daunting objective. No one has any precise ideas about how complex perceptions are stored in our brains, much less retrieved when our memories work as we wish.

How we will reach these objectives is far from clear, except for the virtual truism that we should diversify our approaches and at least for the present not divert too many of our resources toward anyone approach. We must also see to it that the theorists learn the facts of the experimentalists and that the experimentalists also begin seriously to learn what the neural modelers are up to. It was with this objective that we decided to hold the 1990 Symposium (our 55th) on The Brain. (read more)

Hundreds of important advances in biology were announced, debated, and distilled at the Cold Spring Harbor Symposia. These meetings, held each year on the tranquil grounds of one of the world’s leading research institutes, have been notable events in biomedical research since 1933. Now this essential archive, dating from 1933 to 2003, is available online. Among highly influential volumes is the 1990 meeting “The Brain” (Vol. LV), above is an excerpt from the exclusive new online introduction to this volume. (read more)